Development of the university district from the Polyterrasse to the Gloriapark
By 2030, the Zurich City university district is set to undergo major changes. ETH will renovate its canteen and multi-purpose building under the Polyterrasse as well as the main building and forecourt. USZ and UZH will build a new hospital as well as an education and research centre. The streets, cycle paths and green spaces will be redesigned.
Over the next decade, building works will be part of everyday life for university students and staff who study and work in the ETH main building or on the Zentrum campus. ETH Zurich, the University Hospital Zurich (USZ) and the University of Zurich (UZH) will be implementing various large-scale construction projects in the Zurich City university district (HGZZ) through to 2028.
ETH Zurich is currently preparing extensive construction work on the ETH main building and the canteen and multi-purpose building (MM), including the Polyterrasse. The MM building is to be completely renovated between 2023 and 2026. The ASVZ’s sports facilities will be expanded and enhanced and the catering facilities infrastructure will be modernised. In addition, access to the Polyterrasse will be opened up and upgraded as a public space. The canteen and redesigned cafeteria will be more directly and easily accessible. A new two-storey events space will replace the GEP pavilion for future events.
Conversion with temporary buildings
A temporary restaurant above Karl-Schmid-Strasse is planned as a canteen replacement, construction of which is scheduled to begin in spring 2022. As an interim solution, the UZH is setting up temporary facilities for the ASVZ sports programme on the Irchel campus and in Gloriarank. ETH is working with the city of Zurich on solutions for public transport and traffic flow. A temporary bridge will be built for pedestrians from the Polybahn to the HGZZ and the ETH Link stop will be temporarily moved to Leonhardstrasse. Following renovation of the MM, the ETH Link will once again stop under the Polyterrasse. This transit area will be upgraded for pedestrians – with a new direct connection between the canteen and main building.
Funding for this construction project is slated for approval by the Federal Parliament in 2022 as part of the ETH Domain’s construction programme. The loudest noise emissions are expected in 2023 and the first half of 2024. The MM is scheduled to reopen in 2027.
Renovation of the ETH main building from 2021
Starting in summer 2021, renovation works will begin on the forecourt of the main building and the parking garage underneath. They are scheduled to last around one year. A crane will be erected above the pavement in front of the forecourt and temporary access points to the main building will be established. Emissions are expected, particularly in the initial phase. The garage will be closed. The renovation will see the addition of accessible entrances and three new parking spaces for women. There will also be four parking spaces for people with reduced mobility. Two of these will have an electric charging station. The number of car parking spaces will be reduced in favour of parking spaces with charging stations and bicycle spaces. Twenty-two of Harald Nägeli’s spray figures will be preserved.
Based on a careful analysis of the historical building stock, 14 areas of construction activity have been set out for the main building for around the next two decades. For instance, the historic Semper Aula auditorium is set to be restored between 2022 and 2024.
Views of the future university district
ETH Zurich will not be the only institution implementing large-scale construction projects in the university district over the next few years: USZ and UZH will build the new “USZ Campus MITTE1” hospital building as well as the new “Forum UZH” education and research centre. The three institutions, the canton and the city of Zurich will coordinate the construction projects and the associated traffic and green space projects as part of a joint district management effort. Today they held a media conference to inform the public about the current status of the construction projects and the upgrading of the green and street spaces.
New USZ and UZH buildings by 2028
Since January 2019, the new construction projects at USZ and UZH have continued to progress. For instance, improvements have been made to the façade on USZ Campus MITTE1, designed by the architectural firm Christ & Gantenbein, both professors at ETH Zurich. Greenery will help regulate the urban climate in one building, while photovoltaic elements will be installed in the other. USZ is expected to submit the building application for the MITTE1 campus in autumn 2021. Construction is scheduled to start a few months later and commissioning is scheduled for summer 2028.
Further improvements were also made to the FORUM UZH project by ETH emeritus professors Herzog & de Meuron. This year, flexibility of research and teaching spaces was a major focus, while next year the main emphasis will be on the sustainability of the building services, the library learning centre and the design of the exterior. The Gloriaterrasse will be landscaped with new plants. The Rämiterrasse below it includes a canteen, cafés, meeting places and a sports arena. Thanks to new tram stops right on site and the expansion of bicycle parking spaces, plans largely dispense with car parking spaces; only parking spaces for people with reduced mobility will be created. FORUM UZH is also scheduled to open in 2028, with construction work slated to begin in 2023. Construction of the Gloriarank sports halls is currently scheduled to start in autumn 2021.
New green spaces, cycle paths and speed limit
The urban and green spaces in the HGZZ will be redesigned: the Gloriapark (today’s Spitalpark) and the Parkschale – a transition from the park to the street – as well as the entire area in front of it up to Rämistrasse and Gloriastrasse will be merged to form a single whole. The current car park will be eliminated. The trees to be felled in the process won’t just be replaced – the future stock of trees will be more environmentally valuable and have a bigger impact on the urban climate.
By 2030, Rämistrasse and Gloriastrasse will feature a series of central islands, some with trees, for pedestrians. Both streets will have a speed limit of 30 km/h and feature cycle paths on both sides. A separate cycle path is planned for the Gloriapark cycle crossing, which currently runs across the car park. These measures are designed to cope with future traffic volumes.
A jointly developed custom concept for construction site logistics is also intended to minimise the burden on the local area and university staff as much as possible. The access roads to the university district are controlled via an online platform, and construction site traffic will be distributed as evenly as possible outside the existing peak hours. A well-organised journey schedule has already proved successful during the construction of the GLC teaching and research building.
The GLC building for the Health Sciences (HEST, ITET) department is one of two major construction projects that ETH will complete in 2021. The other is the new Student Project House in the FHK.
