Since the spinning mill was shut down at the end of 1991, the former Schönau textile factory site in Wetzikon has been used temporarily. A sound artist creates impressive sounding sculptures here, photographers, graphic artists, painters and sculptors have their studios here, there are cultural events, open studio days or, like last summer, a Schönau summer bar with concerts. A children's clothing store, a musical theater group, a carpenter's workshop or the job bus of the Stiftung Netzwerk also use the historic rooms, some of which are even used today. Since 2006, storks have lodged on the former factory chimney during the summer months. The natural landscape forms an idyllic setting around this colorful world of Schönau.
Hiag intends to develop the area in stages up to 2030, taking up the character of Schönau and continuing to tell its story. There will also be room for creativity here in the future. In the heart of Schönau, new public facilities are to be created, such as a café,
Shops, market stalls with regional products or a showroom, but also commercial premises. There will also be new residential buildings with around 100 apartments and innovative forms of housing such as studios or cluster apartments.
The almost 200-year-old listed factory buildings are to be carefully renovated. The historical buildings lie in a spacious park and are embraced on the west side by the Schönauweiher, which is actually a technical body of water: it was dammed to generate hydroelectric power. A historic hydroelectric power plant, which is to be preserved and renovated, still bears witness to this today. There is a small raft in the pond. It was installed in 2012 as part of the Wetziker Fjord Strategy, which strengthens the natural space along the Aabach from the neighboring Kulturfabrik to the Pfäffikersee. This natural area is preserved as a place for recreation and meeting, upgraded and partly made accessible to everyone. Large parts are reserved exclusively for the animal and plant world.
The Schönau lies on a hilltop. Wetzikon train station and Oberwetzikon town center can each be reached on foot in just under a quarter of an hour. There are various bus stops nearby.
Participation and communication are important issues in the process. The development of the Schönau should be a project in which everyone could participate. Information events are held regularly and there are various information channels. The current tenants participate and help with projects and events.
Since the end of 2020, the participation process for future uses in the historic cotton magazine, which is to become the public meeting place of Schönau, has been running. The collected ideas are currently being further developed into a concrete utilization concept.
The city of Wetzikon has drawn up a public design plan for the Schönau with various experts. To ensure that his specifications are as specific and meaningful as possible, several well-known architectural offices and landscape architects have carried out a guideline project for the area. The Wetzik city parliament is expected to vote on the design plan in the first half of the year. When it is final, the new building projects will be worked out. A first construction project could be the design of the future heart of the Schönau in 2023 at the earliest – the renovation of the cotton magazine. The main building will remain in its current state until at least 2025.
