Gustav Ammann Park

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View from the welfare building to the pond. The stepping stones are clearly visible.
View of the pergola at the top of the park.

The Gustav-Ammann-Park is a 3,000-square-meter park in Oerlikon . It is hidden on the former company site of Oerlikon-Bührle AG . In 1996 the privately owned park was placed under protection and since 1997 the previously nameless park has been open to the public as Gustav-Ammann-Park . In 2004/2005, the complex was gently renovated with respect to the preservation of the garden. The park is named after Gustav Ammann (1886–1955), one of the most important Swiss garden architects . With his work he made a significant contribution to the reputation of Swiss gardening and landscaping.

Emergence

Based on the " Arbeiterwohlfahrt " created at that time and as an expression of his patronage benevolence towards his workforce, the then head of the company, Emil Georg Bührle, planned in 1939 a facility for catering and a relaxing stay for his employees during work breaks. The dining rooms were oriented towards the sun and should give the employees a feeling of security. The garden was planned by the landscape architect Gustav Ammann in 1942 and implemented by the horticultural companies Mertens and Richard. So between 1939 and 1943 the so-called welfare building for staff catering and the adjoining garden were built. Gustav Ammann planned a southern holiday atmosphere so that the workers could be offered a change from everyday work. He managed to convey a feeling of spaciousness despite the little space available.

At the foot of the slope on the south side of the house there is a water basin with Japanese stepping stones . The numerous seats can be reached via a large number of paved paths bordered by polygonal natural stone slabs. The many resting places fit into the topography and, depending on the location, allow a view of the pond or the individual garden areas. Quarry stone walls and rustic Ticino pergolas extend over the network of paths and serve as a closure to the outside. For the planting, Ammann divided the park into three areas. Around the pond he chose trees and bushes of the meadow landscape , a forest community for the shady areas. In the protected and hidden places, he planted southern vegetation with hardy plants from Ticino or those whose external appearance was similar to them.

Instead acacia came locust to train and instead of cypress was juniper selected. Trees with gray foliage , such as sea ​​buckthorn, served to increase the splendor of colors. Others were placed in such a way that they contrasted in color and structure. Ammann wanted to create a garden landscape that aroused familiar associations in the viewer and should at least offer the illusion of a better world in the war days . "This interplay of free plant communities , enhanced by strange but similar treasures together with the walls, arcades and seats result in a dreamland, a little paradise on earth", wrote Gustav Ammann in 1943 in an unpublished manuscript "The garden by the welfare building".

Redevelopment

In the complex, which has largely been preserved in its original state, many areas were in poor condition, perennial plants disappeared, the wood of the arcades became rotten and the paths were in need of renovation. This made a renovation necessary. The landscape architects Ryffel & Ryffel from Uster, who had already drawn up the garden monument preservation report in 1994, developed a renovation project in 2003. Part of this project was the tree care concept by Gerold Brun, Baumpflege, Ottikon.

The desired gentle renovation turned out to be complex. All paving areas were renewed. The mosaic coverings made of granite slabs were removed, amended and re-laid. The sandstone dry walls were also renovated. A lot of rotten wood in the large pergola had to be replaced. Subsequently planted shrubs were cleared and some trees felled. The renovation brought better light conditions for the originally planted flowering perennials and the lawns. The massive entrance gate was also replaced by a lighter construction.

The Rheinmetall AG staff restaurant is now located in the welfare building .

Further publications

  • Suzanne Kappeler: Two other parks in Oerlikon: one to play and one to dream. The Gustav-Ammann-Park: a cozy gem. Grünzeit, 2005 (13), p. 6.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gustav Ammann Park. Green City of Zurich, 2005.
  2. ↑ a b c Ticino in front of the factory gates: The Bührle company welfare garden in 1941/42. Johannes Stoffler in: Gustav Ammann - Landscapes of Modernity in Switzerland. Zurich: gta Verlag, ETH Zurich, 2008. pp. 121–123. ISBN 978-3-85676-194-3
  3. ^ Project information: Renovation of Gustav-Ammann-Park. Green City of Zurich, 2004.

Web links

Commons : Gustav-Ammann-Park  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 24 '40.6 "  N , 8 ° 32' 4.4"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred eighty-two thousand seven hundred twelve  /  251740