New quarters on the Koch site
In the heart of Zurich, between the Albisrieden and Altstetten districts, around 330 affordable apartments, a commercial building and a district park will be built on the Koch site from 2025 at the earliest. The Zurich cooperatives ABZ and Kraftwerk1 as well as the real estate developer Senn and Grün Stadt Zürich are working closely together to implement the project.
In 2013, the city of Zurich bought the Koch site at the intersection of Albisrieden and Altstetten, which had been occupied since March of the same year. In 2017, the city, together with the Zurich section of the Swiss Association of Housing Cooperatives and the consulting firm Wüst Partner, launched a concept call for tenders for the planned district. The team application of the Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Zürich (ABZ) and Kraftwerk1 cooperatives together with the real estate developer SENN were awarded the contract.
From 2025 at the earliest, around 330 non-profit apartments for around 900 residents will be built here. In addition, generous commercial areas and a neighborhood park are planned. Grün Stadt Zürich is responsible for the park, while the two Zurich cooperatives ABZ and Kraftwerk1 and the real estate developer SENN take over the land in building rights. In the Koch district, new visions of living and working together are to be implemented and a significant contribution to the 2000-watt society is to be made.
The family company Senn is planning the commercial building called MACH, which is characterized by oversized rooms, high payloads and plenty of design freedom. The installation of gallery floors can be freely selected and ensures a high degree of flexibility. In the MACH, not only commercial and production companies are planned on 10,000 m2 of mostly double-height rental space, but also trading and service companies as well as educational and leisure facilities. Particular attention is paid to sustainability through the high adaptability, the wooden element facade, PV system, rainwater use and the vertical greening.
The Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Zurich is building a three-part building complex with 204 apartments. This consists of an approximately 85-meter-high high-rise on Flurstrasse and an eight-story row of buildings in the Quartierpark. A mix of 2 to 5.5 room apartments is being built here. A garden of 1830 m2 and a community pavilion are planned on the 1st floor. Photovoltaic systems are installed on the roofs. The ground floor is used for various commercial and community rooms as well as a supermarket.
Living, business and culture are combined in the compact building of the building and housing cooperative Kraftwerk1. In addition to apartments, gastronomy, kindergarten and after-school care as well as the circus district with the circus Chnopf should invite the neighborhood to linger. A staircase leads from the park to the 1650 m2 terrace on the first floor. 125 apartments are planned, one third of the living space will be rented in subsidized housing. The intensively green roof serves as a place of retreat for the residents. The settlement is planned car-free and will be particularly sustainable thanks to a wood-concrete hybrid construction, photovoltaic systems and rainwater retention.
The 12,000 m2 district park will be the green heart of the new Koch district. Grün Stadt Zürich is implementing the wishes of the population with the park: many trees, biodiverse, playful – and for everyone. Planned are an open, spacious meadow and a “jardin sauvage” designed to be close to nature. Thanks to the former 2700 m2 coal storage hall, there is also an area that allows people to stay even in bad weather. Wherever possible, the material already available on site is reused: old paving slabs, for example, are turned into a dry biotope for lizards or a place to sit for guests.
