We carve the future in stone
The 2291 Bank, with the numbers 2, 2, 9, 1 made from natural stone from Switzerland’s four language regions, weighs a total of 9.3 tons — a solid platform for open dialogue about the future. A work of art for unforgettable get-togethers, surprising experiences, and new perspectives. For now and for future generations.
Tatüren
The first number “2” is carved from Tatüren natural stone from Fribourg and represents the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It was produced by Carlo Bernasconi and his team in Bern — an independent family business since 1907 that lives tradition and loves innovation. Tatüren, or Plasselb quartz sandstone, is a type of flysch sandstone. It was formed around 60 million years ago from clay and sand particles that were carried by rivers from the land into the shallow sea and from there into the deep sea by submarine landslides, where they were later compacted and solidified. The colors vary from gray to beige to white. This makes the natural stone visually attractive and suitable for design purposes. The quartz sandstone has very high compressive strength and absorbs hardly any water. This makes it resistant to frost and weathering and therefore especially durable.
Cresciano and Bodio Nero Gneiss
Bollinger-Lehholz Sandstone
Calanca Gneiss
Cresciano and Bodio Nero Gneiss
The second number “2” is carved as a mix of light Cresciano gneiss and dark Bodio Nero gneiss by Giovanni Ongaro and his team in Cresciano/Ticino. Ongaro Graniti SA was founded in 1930 and is now run by the third generation. Cresciano is a very light gneiss with weak to moderate schistosity and medium to coarse grain, with clearly visible light and dark mica minerals. The original rock of Bodio Nero, a granite, formed around 300 million years ago from magma that rose from the Earth’s mantle into the crust and cooled slowly. During the Alpine mountain-building period around 35 million years ago, this rock was transformed deep inside the Earth by increased pressure and temperature into a gneiss and later brought to the surface through uplift and erosion. Even the earliest settlers in the region used Bodio Nero as a building material for shelters and religious buildings. With the construction of the Gotthard Railway from 1872 onward, the stone was also used for railway structures and, after completion of the tunnel, as a building material north of the Alps.
Bollinger-Lehholz Sandstone
The number “9” made of Bollinger-Lehholz sandstone comes from the upper Lake Zurich region and represents German-speaking Switzerland. Bruno Kuster Junior and his team extracted the material in their 300-meter-long tunnel. Since 1882, the family business has been quarrying and processing sandstone from the region. Bollinger is a type of molasse sandstone from the Lower Freshwater Molasse. It formed around 20 million years ago from sand deposits transported from the Alps into the foreland basin by widely branching river systems. These deposits, composed mainly of quartz, feldspar, and mica grains, were later compacted and cemented with lime into sandstone. Bollinger sandstone was already used by the ancient Romans. From the 10th century onward, many buildings in the lakeside villages, monasteries, and the city of Zurich were built with it, including most stone facades of larger buildings in Zurich from the period between 1860 and 1910.
Calanca Gneiss
The number “1” is carved from Calanca gneiss and represents the Romansh region of Graubünden. Giovanni Polti and his team produced this stone in Arvigo, in the Val Calanca / Graubünden. In 1920, Giovanni Polti’s grandfather began commercial quarrying by producing roof slabs from exposed rock blocks. To this day, the family-run Alfredo Polti SA connects Stone Age craftsmanship with modern working methods. Calanca is a light- to dark-gray, moderately schistose gneiss of medium grain size. A special feature is its dark mica minerals. The rock consists roughly half of feldspar, along with quartz and biotite (dark mica). In the past, Calanca was quarried at numerous locations near Castaneda on the mountain spur that separates the Val Calanca from the Misox. The local gneiss was used to create numerous dry-stone walls and many houses in the Val Calanca.