Westlink

Benefiting from good public and private transport connections and its proximity to the city center, the Altstetten district has developed into an important economic sub-center of the city of Zurich in recent years. The Westlink site on the north side of the station is one of the SBB sites along the track field that no longer primarily serve railroad operations and has therefore been given a new use. The Westlink development around Vulkanplatz was completed with the Tower and Cube high-rise ensemble.

The urban disposition and the volumetry of the four buildings in total are based on a master plan. The Plaza and Connex buildings were realized as the first stage several years ago. The Tower and Cube sub-project, consisting of an 80-metre-high tower and a 30-metre-high cube, was completed in autumn 2017 after a planning and construction period of more than ten years. The elements of the ensemble perform various image-building, representational and identity-creating functions - especially the tower, which as a landmark is a highly visible symbol of the new center. The three orthogonal main volumes - Tower, Cube and Plaza - create two contrasting open spaces. The Vulkanplatz - surrounded by the final loop of the Zurich-West streetcar line - is a park-like space with dense trees and a gravel surface. In contrast, there is an urban space with hard and green areas, which is defined by the three main volumes. The surrounding buildings and uses characterize its urban quality.

The buildings are based on the architectural principles of classical modernism. In keeping with the tradition of high-rise architecture of the 1940s and 1950s, a differentiated facade was developed that takes into account the specific requirements of the building, the different uses and the energy requirements. The regular, relief-like facade structure is given an almost textile appearance by the sinusoidal design of the sun protection.

At Westlink, a sustainable and energy-efficient energy delivery system was developed and implemented for the tower building. With an innovative ceiling system and the TABS boxes developed for this purpose, the high requirements for energy efficiency, heat and cold management and ventilation were met. All rooms are heated and cooled energy-efficiently via a Tabs system. This "invisible" system enables completely flexible room design, even for future conversions and room relocations within the storeys. In meeting rooms with increased internal loads, high-performance cooling baffles are installed invisibly above the expanded metal ceiling.