Lucerne: Theater project suffers defeat
The new theater building, which was unanimously supported by Lucerne politicians, has suffered a setback at the ballot box. The feasibility of the project is considered open.
Lucerne has been discussing the construction of a new theater for a long time and the plans were very concrete. Now, surprisingly, the electorate has spoken out clearly against the project. It is unclear whether it can still be realized at all. The opponents won just under 58 % of the vote. The vote was about a special credit of CHF 13.8 million for the project planning.
A good two years ago, the winner of an architectural competition the design by the Zurich office Ilg Sander for the new theater. There were several complaints against the result, but these were rejected (IB reported). At an estimated cost of CHF 130 million, the existing theater in a central location on the Reuss is to be renovated and given a double façade.
City council stood united behind the project
All political groups in the city parliament had supported the project planning loan, which was unanimously approved. "The city council is very disappointed about the rejection by the electorate," reads a statement. "The carefully initiated planning and discussion process for a new Lucerne theater has come to an abrupt end with this result." Time is now needed to analyze the result. "With this decision, the 'überall' project by Ilg Santer Architekten for the further development of a professional music, speech and dance theater can no longer be pursued."
The city council suspects that the exposed urban location and the volume of the proposed project at this site motivated the rejection. "We have always made it clear that there is no plan B and that today's vote is therefore a landmark for theater culture in Lucerne," says City President Beat Züsli. (aw)
