Zurich: Competition for Schwamendinger triangle decided

The existing, approximately 60-year-old housing estate of the Glattal Zurich Building Cooperative (BGZ) on construction site B of the Schwamendinger Triangle is to be replaced by new buildings in two stages by 2040. The "Drüegg" project by the Zurich team of Graber Pulver Architekten and Hager Partner emerged as the winner of the architectural competition conducted by the Office of Structural Engineering in a selective procedure.

In the two upcoming renovation stages 5 and 6, 200 new non-profit 2.5- to 5.5-room apartments are to be built, as well as two nursing homes with assisted living, a major retailer, rooms for the city of Zurich's school health services and for the BGZ office. Construction of the 5th stage is scheduled to begin in 2023, and that of the 6th stage in 2025.

Investment volume of CHF 132 million

The replacement construction project envisions two similar buildings mirrored to each other, creating a new focal point at the apex of the Schwamendinger triangle and a transition to the other BGZ residential areas. Wholesale distributors, community space, and commercial space will be arranged around a neighborhood square, while the two residential care units and school health services will be located at the rear of the development site facing Roswiesenstrasse. The new development is expected to achieve the energy values of the Minergie-P-Eco standard. BGZ estimates the target construction costs at around CHF 132 million.

BGZ owns over 1,900 apartments in Zurich North, 718 of which are located in the Schwamendinger Triangle. BGZ's property portfolio is being developed on the basis of the "Schwamendinger Triangle Master Plan" drawn up in 2012. In the Schwamendinger Triangle, the winning project from 2014 by BS + EMI Architektenpartner and Hoffmann & Müller Landschaftsarchitektur is currently being implemented on construction site A. (ah)