Haus Pacific

History This type of building was defined by its dual function: production and representation. It was a storage and handling space, and it housed the preparation and packaging of the embroidered products which came from various suppliers, including home producers. In addition there were administrative, design and sales departments, all in the same building, and a flat for the patron was not uncommon. It is unsurprising that the successful and proud business owners wanted their “Etablissements” to be representative. St.Gallen was a mini metropolis which soaked up the influences of other metropoloi: Vienna, Munich, Berlin, Chicago, San Francisco were all reference points for the architects who built in St.Gallen. Architecture «Haus Pacific» was built by Robert Curjel & Karl C. Moser (1906-07) for the company Zürcher, Niederer & Co. The architecture office had its headquarters in Karlsruhe, but ran so many large public and private projects in St.Gallen that an annex was opened here, in «Haus Pacific». In terms of architecture history, the early use of reinforced concrete, which made this voluminous yet delicate pillar construction possible, is particularly significant. The reinforced concrete skeleton is clad with sandstone, and the sandstone façade animated with discrete ornaments. Present-day use Today, the building holds its own in the neighbourhood of the Raiffeisen Bank’s Headquarters and the Roter Platz (Red Square). It houses the construction management school of the Gewerbliche Berufsschule St. Gallen (commercial vocational school of St. Gallen) as well as several medical and healthcare practices.