Bülach: Building application for "Glasi Quarter

For the large-scale project "Glasi-Quartier" in Bülach, the construction team of 21 buildings with building heights of 21 to 25 meters and a high-rise of 60 meters has already been erected recently. This currently marks the approximately 315,000 cubic meters of above-ground construction volume that will be built here by 2023. In addition to around 550 apartments, the overall project also includes 20,000 square meters of commercial and service space. Construction approval is expected in January 2018.

The new urban quarter in Bülach North will have "an exceptionally high density by Swiss standards," writes Steiner AG, and this represents both a challenge and an opportunity. The "GlasiQuartier" project, with around 450 affordable rental apartments and 104 condominiums, is intended to "attract broad sections of the population thanks to its diverse range of living space, enable a colorful sociological mix" and make the new urban district in Bülach Nord a sought-after place to live and work in the Zurich Unterland region.

For 111 years, glass packaging for beverages, food and pharmaceuticals was produced on the approximately 42,000 square meter site of the Vetropack company (formerly Glashütte Bülach). Since production stopped in 2002, the site, which is located north of the city center in the direct vicinity of Bülach train station, has lain fallow. In 2012, Logis Suisse and BGZ acquired the site and concluded an exclusive contract with Steiner for project development and realization.

Steiner AG was then commissioned by Logis Suisse and BGZ to organize a single-stage urban planning study with international participation. Of the eleven submissions received for the planned "GlasiQuartier", the project submitted by Duplex Architekten (Zurich) emerged as the winner. The corresponding design plan became legally binding at the end of 2015.