Neumarkt, Zurich Oerlikon

Located to the east of Zurich Oerlikon Train Station, the site is bordered on three sides by very busy streets. The building is articulated into three main parts: the plinth (with two garages, storage floors and four retail levels), an office high-rise with a further eleven storeys, and lastly a five-storey residential building that rises from the plinth. The retail section accommodates around thirty shops, restaurant, and services businesses.

The three-storey shopping centre was conceived as a plinth architecture with glazed arcades, on three sides the office tower has a “hole-in-the-wall” facade, whereas the west front is wrapped in a stepping, glass and steel curtain wall. Like in English models the residential building sits on the roof of the shopping centre, which is equipped with numerous servant elements.

The ground floor provided the basis for a rational construction system both upwards and downwards. It was built on piles and columns to enable traffic and driveways to operate unhindered, to allow approaches to the neighbouring properties, and to provide storage areas used during the construction of the building.