Sulzer high-rise

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Sulzer high-rise
Wintower
Sulzer high-rise
Recording from 2015
Basic data
Place: Winterthur , Switzerland
Construction time : 1962-1966
Status : Built
Architects : Suter & Suter
Use / legal
Usage : office
Owner : Wintower AG
Client : Sulzer AG
Technical specifications
Height : 99.7 m; until 2004 92.4 m
Floors : 27
Height comparison
Winterthur : 1. ( list )
Switzerland : 5. ( list )
address
City: Winterthur
Country: Switzerland

The Sulzer high-rise (now also Wintower ) is a high-rise in Winterthur built between 1962 and 1966 by Sulzer AG . For a few years it was the tallest building in Switzerland and has always been a symbol of the ups and downs of Winterthur as a business location.

location

The Sulzer high-rise is located in the Neuwiesen district of the city of Winterthur on an open area west of Neuwiesenstrasse. The building is bounded in the northeast by the park with a water basin belonging to the high-rise building and the Schützenstrasse behind it. The Schützenwiese stadium is in the north-west and the Eulach in the west .

The Winterthur train station and the old town are a few minutes walk east of the tower. Due to its architectural style, the building is undoubtedly the most striking building in the district and at the same time, as one of the tallest buildings in Switzerland, it is also a symbol of Winterthur.

history

The Sulzer high-rise was built between 1962 and 1966 for Sulzer AG according to plans by the Basel architects Suter & Suter. The building with 26 floors and 92.40 meters was the highest building in Switzerland until the Hardau development in Zurich was completed in 1978 (tallest building 93 m or 95.4 m depending on the source) . It was not until the exhibition tower in Basel was built in 2003 that a significantly taller building emerged in Switzerland.

“Now he stands there, as a fully grown giant, it is impossible to imagine life without it. Don't look up, you will dislocate your neck. [...] We Winterthur are the very best! "

- «Landbote» reader poem from July 28, 1964

The building aroused great interest throughout Switzerland and represented the dawn of Winterthur into modern times. Originally, the development was even intended as a twin high-rise, but the plot of land bought next door was never used for a second high-rise. The apartment buildings that still exist today were built on it later.

After its completion, the Sulzer high-rise served as the headquarters of the industrial group Sulzer AG for around 40 years . With the changes within the Sulzer Group, it became superfluous in the 1990s and from then on stood empty with the exception of floor-to-ceiling rentals. It subsequently became a symbol of the decline in industry in the city of Winterthur . Wintower Immobilien AG acquired the building on December 31, 1998. The private foundation for art, culture and history, whose president at the time was Bruno Stefanini , acts as the company's sole shareholder . The purchase price was only the price of the property minus any demolition costs.

In the following years the already poor structural condition of the high-rise became even worse. From 2002 the building was completely empty. In protest against the “luxury renovation of living space”, the building was occupied by around 200 people on the night of February 28, 2004. A large part of the interior was damaged. A forged leaflet announced in May 2005 that the Sulzer skyscraper was about to be blown up caused a stir.

From spring 2005, the building was finally completely renovated. Asbestos was removed, the building services were replaced, thermal insulation was improved and windows and elevators were replaced. The new routing of the elevators to the top floor required the construction of the roof. The skyscraper with 24 upper floors was increased by a full floor (25th floor) and new roof structures. Accordingly, the building was increased to 99.7 meters. The renovation costs amounted to 30 to 40 million francs.

The office space was then kept free for the Finnish company Wärtsilä , which never moved in. On October 17, 2012, it was announced that Sulzer AG is renting the top 14 floors as office space for the headquarters. Sulzer moved in with around 360 employees in October 2013. As of 2019, the lower floors are still empty, the upper floors are rented to various tenants, including Sulzer AG.

On April 1, 2019, the local newspaper Der Landbote announced as part of an April Fool's joke that the high-rise would be used as a fan hotel, as FC Winterthur had signed a partner contract with FC Barcelona . FC Barcelona actually has roots in Winterthur, the football club was founded by Winterthur businessman Joan Gamper .

gallery

  • Sulzer high-rise under construction (1964)

  • Frog View Before Renovation (2005)

  • Extension of the building (2007)

  • Buildings with Christmas decorations (2012)

  • Sulzer high-rise after renovation (2014)

Trivia

  • In the evening and morning hours of the Advent weekends as well as at the turn of the year, the skyscraper is thematically illuminated from inside (Christmas tree / champagne glasses). This tradition began shortly after the building was erected, although at that time it was still manual by closing the shutters. After an interruption due to the change of ownership and the renovation of the high-rise, the tradition has been continued since 2008.

literature

  • Anna Bálint: Sulzer is changing. Innovation out of tradition. Edited by Sulzer AG. Here and Now, Baden 2015, ISBN 978-3-03919-319-6 .
  • Hermann-Josef Krug: Shaping Spaces of Opportunity - An Urban Recartography of the Sulzer Area in Winterthur, 1989-2009 . transcript, Bielefeld 2012, ISBN 978-3-8376-1997-3 (= Urban Studies , also dissertation at the University of Konstanz 2011).
  • Sulzer Brothers office high-rise, Winterthur in: Bauen + Wohnen = Construction + habitation = Building + home: international magazine , 20/1966, issue 8, pp. 294–302. ( here online )

Web links

Commons : Sulzer high-rise  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kran-Info.ch: Construction of Housing development Hardau 2 in Zurich (CH). Retrieved April 2, 2019 .
  2. ↑ https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/hbd/de/index/hochbau/bauten/bauten-realisiert/archiv-bauten/realisiert-2007/wohnsiedlung-hardau.html
  3. ↑ https://www.landbote.ch/news/standard/Er-haben-noch-immer-/story/21238645
  4. ↑ a b c Sulzer high-rise, Wintower - Winterthur glossary. Retrieved April 1, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b c Martin Freuler, Felix Reich: The old man and his Sulzer high-rise. Retrieved April 1, 2019 .
  6. ↑ a b c He is still standing . In: The Landbote . October 18, 2012 ( landbote.ch [accessed April 1, 2019]).
  7. ^ Emch + Berger : renovation and extension of Wintower. Retrieved April 1, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Patrick Kühnis: The architect wants to transform the Sulzer high-rise into a residential tower . In: Tages-Anzeiger . February 16, 2012, ISSN  1422-9994 ( tagesanzeiger.ch [accessed April 1, 2019]).
  9. ↑ www 20minuten ch, 20 minutes, 20 min. Www.20min.ch: Finally life again in the Sulzer high-rise. Retrieved April 1, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Jakob Bächtold: Winterthur becomes a junior partner . In: The Landbote . ( landbote.ch [accessed April 1, 2019]).
  11. ↑ Mirjam Fonti: When the 888 shutters were still lowered by hand . In: The Landbote . December 17, 2016 ( landbote.ch [accessed April 1, 2019]).

Coordinates: 47 ° 29 '59.9 "  N , 8 ° 43' 5.4"  E ; CH1903:  696 406  /  261 808