Europaallee, Zurich CH
Kees Christiaanse KCAP, 2002 - present
Europaallee is one of the largest real estate developments in the heart of Zurich and lies just beyond the main train station. This project won first prize in the invited competition for a 30,000sq m mixed use building of commercial space and housing. The project is located on a key site within the masterplan for the redevelopment of former railway land on the south side of Zurich Hauptbahnhof by the SBB (Swiss National Railways). The project is one of several large new buildings to be constructed along the planned Europaallee, a street running through the centre of the masterplan leading southwest from the main station.
Station precincts all over the world are being developed into layered urban hubs where flows of traffic converge and functions such as living, working, shopping and recreation are bundled together. The areas surrounding railway stations must also often be adapted to accommodate the dynamics of various traffic flows and all manner of amenities.
The unusual mixed program for the site comprises retail space on the ground floor with offices and apartments above and is an opportunity to make a truly metropolitan building at a prominent corner location within the masterplan. The building is arranged with five floors of commercial space on the lower levels, with the upper part emerging as two apartment towers 13 and 11 stories in height.
Competition: 2003
Project start: 2004
Completion: 2020
Gross floor area: 100.000 m2 masterplan for Zurich’s station area with 350,000 m2 of housing, offices, public space, retail and leisure
Floors: 5-20 stories
Client: Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), Zürich Municipality of Zürich
Architect: KCAP Architects
Participating: Ernst Basler + Partner, Zurich
Parties: (coordinatior) Rotzler Krebs, Winterthur (landscape)
Participating: Max Dudler, David Chipperfield
Architects: Architects, Gigon-Guyer Architects, aruso St. John Architects, Graber Pulver Architects, E2a Eckert Architects
