Groundbreaking ceremony for Botta Observatory
The groundbreaking ceremony for the S3O observatory was celebrated in Niedermuhlern (BE) on the Uecht. The building was designed by the renowned architect Mario Botta.
The new Swiss Space Sustainability Observatory (S3O) of the Uecht Observatory Foundation will serve as a research, and information center for astronomy, space exploration and sustainability.
It will be built on the Uecht, where the inventor Dr.h.c. Willy Schaerer built a private observatory in the 1960s. The new building planned by Mario Botta will replace the historic observatory with
a new building and a modern observing instrument. In contrast to the current upper observatory, S3O will also be usable during the day.
The project consists of a white, 11.5 meter high observation tower with a dome. Located underground and radially
is a 640-square-meter information center, which will house workshop rooms and a 360° planetarium with a floor area of around 90 square meters. The total height of the structure, including the dome, is 14.4 meters.
The rooms are lit by skylights arranged in a ring around the tower. The observation platform is accessed via an elevator and a central spiral staircase, with niches for exhibitions and visualizations. Four staircases lead from the surrounding park directly into the underground spaces.
For the realization of the project, the foundation has established a network of partners from research, for financing and operations
and interested parties.
In the coming months, it is hoped to find private partners for the "last mile of financing" of around 2 million, which corresponds to one fifth of the total financing, according to a statement by the Uecht Observatory Foundation. Operation of the S3O is expected to be self-sustaining. Until the financing goals are reached, the tender plans will be refined, implementation partners for the construction project will be evaluated and the realization phase will be planned.. (ah)
