Interviewer: Thank you very much for participating in this landtalk with me.
Participant: Sure!
I: I want to talk to you about the new apartment building which was built by the city and Karman AG behind the Savera-Areal in Zürich, Wollishofen, Switzerland. We both grew up here, we are siblings, and started going to this park frequently as children with our parents and as we grew up together or with friends to enjoy the sun, just like many others, it is a well known place to do so. The new building does and will greatly affect the atmosphere and dynamics in this popular recreational area. So, tell me, what did the place look like before the block was there?
P: I remember the area from my childhood on, it was a (park) meadow, in the front at the lake there was a gravel beach and a pathway in between. There were some bushes separating the grass from the street and built-up area on the other side. There used to be a garage and a gas station with a shop inside, but nothing too striking. Yeah, just a small park, there is also a “Gemeinschaftszentrum” and a playground a bit further to the side, this is how I remember this space.
I: Exactly, there was always a separation between the grass and the built-up area, but the small building of the gas station and the new six-story building are not really comparable. What changes do these new, way larger dimensions come with?
P: Of course there was a construction site first, for I would say three to four years, and during this time the gas station and the shop were closed down which was the first noticeable change, that one now has to walk about a kilometer to buy a drink or something. Now the block is there, but the gas station was a maximum of ten meters high whereas now there is a 25m high, 125m wide apartment building. The first thing to notice was the direct sunlight in the evening which has been reduced by over two hours on this very popular swimming spot, actually one of the places in Wollishofen where you can go swimming freely without charge or anything, so you suddenly have to fight for a spot in the sun because there is only a narrow part of the grass to the side where the building doesn’t block out the sun, so you’d have to squeeze in with everyone else.
Another thing, construction was completed last autumn and residents arrived over winter when there is not as much going on because, well, people don’t really go outside or swim. But now, in Summer, it is going to be a lot more busy. During the whole day and on weekends even until late at night a lot of people enjoy the place and play music over speakers, partying a little…
I: Also next to the Savera-areal there is the Rote Fabrik where a lot is going on during weekends as well, which also affects how the Savera-areal is being used. As I hear from you this might become the main conflict point in summer?
P: Yes, even in the very beginning when it was clear that the block was going to be built this was one of the first concerns that emerged: That this building, which doesn’t even sit on the park directly, will still greatly restrict how and when culture can be practiced, mainly through noise complaints. When every weekend there are people partying and being loud until 1:00 or 2:00 am, it is pretty likely that one of the residents of such a large building will quickly call the police.
I: I’m having the same thoughts. It is going to be interesting to see if it will turn out to be as bad as we feared. I think this is an interesting case where the block standing behind the park will – in terms of land use change – indirectly have a much bigger effect on the park area than on the one it is standing on because it was already urban before. I think this situation causes a bit of a weird feeling for everyone wanting to enjoy the park and a small part of nature within the city because now there is this huge concrete block in your back. It changes the atmosphere.
Now, are there maybe some things about the block that are better or positive in your view?
P: When only looking at the specific area of the building, where there was a garage before with some jobs and people going there…
I: The gas station or the garage?
P: There was the gas station with the garage behind. I don’t see this as a big loss. Residential area is extremely sought-after in Zürich, so regarding only this area, it was improved. A gas station was also built again with a small shop, and in addition there is now an Aldi. Therefore I also see improvements. For this specific part of land, it is actually quite an upgrade. But the consequences this has on the surrounding regions, and that other very important aspects of living together in Wollishofen are being compromised by all of it, this is problematic.
I: Does this have any large effects on your activities or otherwise on the atmosphere you perceive in the park as we briefly talked about? Are there things you used to do there, but now you maybe don’t go there anymore for these same things?
P: We will have to see how everything develops in the future, but of course, if police are going to be present every weekend and expel all the people from the park who are a bit loud or something like that, I will definitely go to the park a lot less. It would be a shame because it always was a place to meet up with friends, have a good time together and so on. All of this would be a big loss to me personally.
I: In Wollishofen, really every single person knows about the Savera-areal and it is regularly used by those who enjoy spending time at the lake, I think this will have a large impact on many of those people.
P: The people living in the new building are also an aspect. They live so close to the lake so they will probably also spend a lot of time in the park. Officially the apartments are in the middle of the price range, but in Zürich this means one needs to earn rather well to be able to afford one of the apartments. They are at a super location and some of them are also quite expensive. The residents being present in the park might also have an impact on the atmosphere because right now the space is predominantly defined by the younger generation who don’t usually have the salary to support such an apartment and also have totally different people around them who they might bring along.
I: Now regarding the future, politically there was quite a bit going on because people rightfully thought that such decisions should be planned and taken together with those that live there and are affected by these decisions. Now it is about the Kibag-areal which lies between the Savera-areal and the Rote Fabrik. Did you hear about the city’s future plans for this area?
P: Yes. I even got involved in a group of people from Wollishofen, called “Linkes seeufer für alle” (“left lake shore for everyone”), that have formed to fight against similar plans and ideas the city had for the Kibag-areal as they were already realized on the Franz-areal (where the new apartment building now stands). Because I was there and part of the discussions, I have a good insight into how everything was handled with the Kibag-areal. Kibag has a gravel and concrete plant there, but the contract for it expires in 2030. Afterwards, they wanted to build apartments as well. Again, good location, expensive apartments…
I: A very similar situation it seems.
P: Exactly. The city wanted to close all the deals behind closed curtains, similarly to the way they did it with the now standing block, and the public, who are the ones that will be most affected by it, will only learn about it when construction already started and it is too late to do anything. But this time, we realized before what was going on and, after over two years of being at work, were finally able to convince the city that further apartments don’t make sense there. Now plans are being worked out for what should be built instead. A first proposition by the city is another park, in essence an extension to the Savera-areal. I think this is a great achievement, also by the city to recognize that there really is no more room to be used for further apartments.
I: This sounds really promising. I think this example shows the importance of working together and clearly communicating these plans to the people who live there and will be directly affected by them, especially in these cases where space for constructing residential buildings is becoming very limited.
Thanks a lot, very interesting! It was a pleasure to do this with you.
P: Thank you!