immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Zürichsee

  • Zurich’s “city in the lake”

    Zurich’s “city in the lake”

    bosshard presented his “City in the Lake” to the public in 1961. A gigantic terrace of 700,000 square meters, enthroned 14 meters above the water level, was to serve as a pedestrian city, including traffic arteries and over 70,000 parking spaces.

    The three zones were clearly designed.

    • In the north, a cultural center with theaters, museums, cinemas and an administration building.
    • In the middle, the office and business district for up to 50,000 workplaces, flanked by a shopping and gastronomy center.
    • To the south, a hotel zone with a view of the lake and the foothills of the Alps.

    A green strip up to 100 meters wide around the new city was to transform the lake basin into a park and river landscape.

    Infrastructure from a single source
    Bosshard’s plan envisaged a rigid separation of pedestrians and traffic. Cars, streetcars and a possible underground train were to run beneath the artificial plateau. Escalators would have guided commuters from the substructure into the high-rise city. Bosshard pointed to the public purse, the inexpensive use of cantonal waters and the use of prefabricated construction elements to finance the project.

    Criticism and opposition
    The reactions were fierce. In the NZZ, an architect voiced his “energetic objection” and spoke of a “frostily monumental” foreign city that would take away Zurich’s lake and thus its essence. The press felt compelled to emphasize that the publication of the project was not an endorsement, but was intended to provide information.

    Bosshard’s vision was criticized as a show of strength, even as “utopian folly”. Ecological aspects or the legal basis for such an embankment were largely ignored in the project dossier.

    A time of bold urban ideas
    Bosshard’s plan fits in with the 1960s and 1970s, when Zurich experimented with several radical projects. in 1971, for example, Guhl, Lechner and Philipp designed the “Wohncity” above the tracks between the main railway station and Altstetten, another plan that failed due to its cost and complexity.

    In retrospect, ETH urban researcher Christian Schmid speaks of an “act of desperation”. The narrowness of Zurich’s city center left little room for expansion. The idea of moving out to sea or over railroad land was spectacular, but neither practical nor financially viable.

    Housing construction remains an ongoing problem
    Today, the debate about covering railroad tracks is being revisited. This time, the main focus is on the lack of affordable housing. Schmid remains skeptical that such projects would also incur enormous costs and ultimately result in luxury apartments. Urban expansions such as those proposed years ago by the Krokodil architects’ group for Dübendorf are more realistic. Large areas, well developed and with potential for affordable housing developments.

    The “City im See” may have failed as an urban planning utopia, but it remains a symbol of an era in which Zurich designed high-flying ideas to solve its structural problems. Then as now, the city searched for space that did not exist and found answers in the boldest visions.

  • City Council approves CHF 300 million for CoolCity

    City Council approves CHF 300 million for CoolCity

    On 10 July 2024, the Zurich City Council approved expenditure of CHF 303.7 million from the “Thermal grids” framework credit for the realisation of the CoolCity energy network. This will heat and cool Zurich’s city centre with renewable energy from Lake Zurich and thus represents a significant step towards reducing the city’s CO2 emissions to net zero by 2040.

    Expansion of thermal grids
    The expansion of thermal grids is one of the greatest levers that the city of Zurich has to reduce CO2 emissions. Fossil-fuelled heating systems can be replaced by connecting to district heating and the local gas distribution network can be replaced in stages. The CoolCity energy network, which runs on 100 per cent renewable energy, should make a major contribution to this.

    Network area and utilisation of lake water
    The network area extends from the main railway station to Bürkliplatz, bordered by the Limmat, Sihl and Schanzengraben rivers. It includes the City, Fraumünster Energy Network and Old Town perimeters. In future, the properties there are to be heated and cooled with Zurich lake water, which will enable the greenhouse gas emissions of the connected properties to be reduced to net zero.

    Lake water and energy centres at the heart of the network
    The construction of a lake water and energy centre is necessary to realise the network. Lake water will be collected at a depth of 28 metres at the Zürichhorn and transported to the lake water centre in the Kurt Guggenheim complex via a two-kilometre-long pipeline. There, energy is extracted from the lake water using heat exchangers, which is then channelled to the ewz Selnau substation. The cooled lake water is then returned to the Limmat.

    The heart of the energy network will be the energy centre in the former ewz Selnau substation. Here, the heat and cold obtained from the lake water will be brought to the required temperature using heat pumps and chillers. Following extensive investigations, the ewz Selnau substation has proven to be the ideal location to fulfil the technical and economic requirements.

    Staged construction between 2025 and 2039
    The energy network will be realised in stages between 2025 and 2039 and will be implemented in coordination with the civil engineering department’s road and utility projects. The first energy supply is planned for 2031, whereby the continuous expansion will have largely covered the supply area (excluding the perimeter of the old town) by 2035. The connection of the old town is planned for 2035 to 2039.

    The city council already approved CHF 8.5 million for preliminary investments from the framework credit in 2023. Ewz has started the initial construction work and is building a connecting structure between the CoolCity and Fraumünster energy networks, which will be completed in spring 2025.

    An important step towards climate neutrality
    The CoolCity energy network is a key building block on the path to climate neutrality in the city of Zurich. By using 100 per cent renewable energy from Lake Zurich, the city centre is supplied with sustainable and environmentally friendly heating and cooling, making a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

  • Hug Baustoffe takes over Stauffacher Beläge

    Hug Baustoffe takes over Stauffacher Beläge

    Hug Baustoffe AG has acquired Stauffacher Beläge GmbH, based in Lachen in the canton of Schwyz. According to a media release, the acquisition represents a logical step for the building materials trader in its expansion around Lake Zurich. “Through the acquisition, we are expanding our local presence with the well-known showroom and personal advice,” Managing Director Dominik Rieder is quoted as saying.

    The full-range retailer stocks 500,000 articles for private as well as public-commercial new construction and renovation projects. At ten locations, Hug operates craftsmen’s shops, building materials warehouses, bathroom and tile exhibitions for interior fittings, as well as a large-scale gardening exhibition at its headquarters. In addition to the building materials range, machines and tools are sold and rented out.

    Hug takes over all employees of Stauffacher Beläge GmbH. The wholesaler has made a name for itself with its selection of high-quality ceramic wall and floor tiles, facades and parquet. The company advises private builders and developers as well as architects, tilers and general contractors on floor and wall concepts tailored to interior and exterior spaces.

    Customers benefit from the “alliance”, which allows access to new product lines. “In terms of advice, we are now reinforced by the large team of experts at Hug Baustoffe AG,” Edith Stauffacher, owner of Stauffacher Beläge since 2015, is quoted as saying in the press release.

  • Energie 360° starts construction of the Tiefenbrunnen energy network

    Energie 360° starts construction of the Tiefenbrunnen energy network

    The Zurich-based energy supplier Energie 360° will start building the Tiefenbrunnen energy network on July 25. According to a press release , by 2030, 5,300 residents in Tiefenbrunnen will be using renewable energy from Lake Zurich. Energie 360° is investing CHF 60 million in the new energy network.

    From July, work on the construction of the lake water catchment and the underground energy center is to begin. The energy center is being built under the parking lot at the Zürichhorn. According to the information, the first lines of the heating network are to be laid in the coming year. From 2024, the first of a total of 400 properties will be connected to the new heat supply.

    The Tiefenbrunnen network is an important building block on the way to becoming a climate-neutral city. Zurich aims to reach net zero by 2040. Heat from the lake represents a “climate-friendly, secure supply alternative” to heat from gas heating.

    After completion of the energy network and the resulting replacement of fossil heating, Zurich will save 6,500 tons per year. That is as much CO2 as 290,000 trees could filter out of the air every year.

    Energie 360° wants to shut down the gas network wherever climate-friendly heating solutions will be created in the next few years. Further energy networks using lake water are being developed for Zurich-Lengg, Zurich-Wollishofen and Thalwil.

    “The City of Zurich is driving the transformation forward consistently and quickly together with its energy supply companies,” Silvia Banfi Frost, Energy Commissioner for the City of Zurich, is quoted as saying in the press release.

  • Flooded river Sihl should flow into Lake Zurich

    Flooded river Sihl should flow into Lake Zurich

    From 2026, extreme flood peaks in the Sihl are to be channeled into Lake Zurich via a relief tunnel, according to a statement from the Canton of Zurich ‘s building department. For this purpose, a 2 km long underground tunnel with a diameter of 6.6 m is planned between Langnau am Albis and Thalwil. The start of construction for the project took place on March 18th with the groundbreaking ceremony.

    Extreme flooding of the Sihl could cause severe flooding in the lower Sihl valley and in the city of Zurich, the statement said. The possible damage for the city of Zurich alone is estimated at up to 6.7 billion Swiss francs. They should be averted by the relief tunnel.

    The costs for the planning and construction of the tunnel as well as for the ecological replacement measures on the Sihl and on Lake Zurich are estimated at around 175 million francs. They are largely borne by the canton of Zurich. In addition, the federal government, the city of Zurich, the SBB and the Sihltal Zurich Uetliberg Bahn SZU AG share in the costs. The Canton of Zurich is making further information on the project available on the internet .

  • Basler Stadtwerke get involved in Energie Ausserschwyz

    Basler Stadtwerke get involved in Energie Ausserschwyz

    Energie Ausserschwyz AG wants to supply renewable heat and electricity for 7,000 households in the villages of Siebnen, Galgenen, Lachen, Altendorf, Pfäffikon and Freienbach in the Schwyz districts of March and Höfe by 2030. To this end, it is currently building a wood-fired thermal power station at its existing Bodenwies energy center in Galgenen. It should be heated with old, residual and forest wood from the region.

    Now, as part of a capital increase, IWB are also joining the shareholders of Energie Ausserschwyz AG. According to a press release , Basler Stadtwerke now holds 20 percent of the capital. The regional energy supplier EW Höfe will remain the main shareholder. Brugg Group AG and Züger Unternehmerungen AG are also involved in the district heating operator.

    IWB sees their participation as a continuation of their previous strategy. "Energie Ausserschwyz focuses on a heat supply from regional, renewable sources", its CEO Claus Schmidt is quoted in the announcement. “IWB can bring its experience from climate-friendly district heating supply to Energie Ausserschwyz and benefits from its strong presence in the Upper Lake Zurich region. IWB had already joined Agro Energie Schwyz AG at the beginning of 2021 , which operates a district heating network in the Schwyz basin.