Vetropack

Careful consideration has been taken to create a sustainable urban environment that provides a comprehensive pedestrian network and reduces energy requirements in order to transform a former industrial site into a vibrant neighborhood.

The Vetropack-areal today is surrounded by strong volumes and areas that offer little to no vivid outdoor spaces of high amenity value. By introducing an attractive outdoor space in close proximity to the neighboring residential buildings it helps close the centrality gap while creating an active plaza and offering visual connections between the proposed project along the train tracks and the adjacent buildings. The size of the new quarter and the increase in population will shift the existing center and become a place of new building typologies and programs that are not currently possible in the existing context.

The competition task is characterized by a variety of different activities, economic realities, and ownership requirements. In order to address these concerns, similar programs are stacked in diverse building heights and can therefore be formulated simply and economically. The different programs are organized so that they form individual clusters that harmonize with their surroundings such as locating the senior housing and the medical center adjacent to the train station, and the more active public programs closer to the highway. This approach and planning proposal helps mediate between the city, the forest and the traffic routes, giving Bülach North its own identity in the new urban fabric.