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The city of Zurich has revised its rules for the construction of high-rise buildings. A draft previously encountered a lot of resistance.
It caused a stir at the beginning of the year: In an interim report by the city of Zurich, there was talk of 250 meter high skyscrapers. The Tages-Anzeiger wrote that they should rise up as “metro high-rises”. This is planned in Zurich West and along the track field.
No height limit specified
These headlines provoked outrage among opponents. Environmentalists and architects who fight against high-rise buildings did not spare their criticism. The city of Zurich has now revised the interim report and presented the new rules for high-rise buildings.
The 250 meter high skyscrapers no longer appear in the new paper. “The number was only mentioned as part of a test plan,” says Zurich building manager André Odermatt. Various teams explored their ideas in the draft.
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In other words: the number was only fictitious. According to Odermatt, there is no height limit. But this has been the case in the past. A client can already build a tower of 250 meters.
However, no such projects are currently planned, says the Zurich building manager. The hurdles for this are high: “It needs a design plan. And this must be approved by Parliament.” This will also be the case in the future if a tower is to be higher than 80 meters.
A vantage point for everyone
The city’s new guidelines sharpen the areas in which high-rise buildings are possible. This applies to all buildings over 25 meters high.
The city is also introducing stricter regulations for builders. If a skyscraper is higher than 60 meters, there must be a public attic. “The top vantage point is the most interesting,” says Katrin Gügler, Director of the Office for Urban Planning. “It should be accessible to everyone.”
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High-rise buildings are also to be heated with renewable energies. A green environment is also specified. “We want to make more binding demands for issues that have gained in importance,” says Gügler.
The plans are met with resistance from bourgeois parties. “Obviously the city council has not understood that there is a shortage of living space in Zurich,” says Përparim Avdili. The president of the city of Zurich FDP fears that the construction of high-rise buildings will become less attractive for investors. “The regulations are delaying the creation of much-needed housing.”
First of all, the population can now comment on the plans. The city council of Zurich then deals with the high-rise building guidelines. Critics like Përparim Avdili are likely to cause debate.