Zurich: Foundation stone laid for the Koch Quarter
The Koch Quarter will include 360 cooperative apartments for 900 people, commercial space and a public neighborhood park. The first residential and commercial spaces are expected to be ready for occupation in 2026.
The two cooperatives ABZ and Kraftwerk1, the commercial developer Senn and Grün Stadt Zürich are jointly realizing the Koch Quarter. By 2026, non-profit housing, studios for creative work, workshops for manufacturing, stores, restaurants and cultural spaces as well as green areas will be built at the interface between Albisrieden and Altstetten. After the private design plan and the four construction projects remained unappealed, the construction process started on schedule this spring with the remediation of contaminated sites. The four developers laid the foundation stone a few days ago together with representatives of the city.
The developers have been working together on the realization of the new district since the concept competition for the transfer of land under building rights was launched in 2017 by Liegenschaften Stadt Zürich and the Verband Wohnbaugenossenschaften Zürich. The shared vision should be particularly visible in the park. It continues beyond the boundaries of the construction site. Special attention is also paid to climate adaptation measures, for example through cross-site rainwater management, the reuse of locally reclaimed building components or cross-site parking spaces. Underpinning and sealing have been reduced to a minimum, it is said. In addition to the coal storage hall, tracks and many trees will also be preserved, and concrete slabs from the demolished buildings will be reused in the spirit of the circular economy.
15,000 square meters for "urban production"
Developer Senn is planning the Mach residential and commercial building on the Letzigrund stadium site. The company sees the project as a "conscious statement for urban production". It offers the manufacturing industry around 15,000 square meters of flexibly usable space. Thanks to extra-high rooms, high payloads, direct delivery and plenty of scope for design, it can be adapted to a wide range of requirements. "Genuine, permanent commercial space is in short supply in the city of Zurich," says Johannes Eisenhut, Managing Director of Senn Development AG. "We want to change that, because a vibrant city is a productive city." (aw)
