Bern: The competition for the Gaswerk site is decided
The Gaswerk area in Bern is to become a new urban quarter. The "Downtown Gastown" project won the urban planning ideas competition.
On the Gaswerkareal on the Aare, the city of Bern wants to create a "forward-looking and sustainable urban quarter" with mixed use and an above-ground floor area of between 60,000 sqm and 80,000 sqm. The "Downtown Gastown" project by the consortium Holzhausen Zweifel Architekten, RK Studio, Camponovo Baum-Gartner Architekten and Eder Landschaftsarchitekten is to be implemented. The concept is "a tailor-made basis for the further planning steps with regard to urban planning, socio-spatial, ecological and economic criteria", writes the city of Bern in a statement. It is well suited for the construction of affordable housing and non-profit housing.
For the northern part of the site, the team proposes a heterogeneous development with high density and urban alley spaces. The ground floor and first floor are intended for commercial and service uses, restaurants and public uses, while the upper floors are intended to be residential. On the rooftops, the planners propose community-building uses and appropriation spaces for residents. A sports hall complex and an undeveloped square for neighbourhood and sports activities are planned under the Monbijou Bridge.
The area between the gas boiler and the forest should not be further developed and should be preserved as open space. The team is developing the southern perimeter as an independent location with high density and mainly residential uses. While the planning team proposes a high-rise building of around 60 metres at the bridgehead, the jury recommends staying below a height of 50 metres. The concrete project is to be determined by means of a project competition. A balcony with a pavilion and a panoramic view of the old town, the Bundeshaus and the Aare valley is planned for the platform at the current lift opposite the new high-rise.
The "Downtown Gastown" project is now to be further developed. According to the current state of planning, the referendum on the planning instruments (ZPP Gaswerkareal and ZPP Brückenkopf West) is expected to take place in mid-2023, the city of Bern further announces. The building plots will then be marketed and sold under building rights. (ah)
