Westside (Bern)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Westside shopping and adventure center
Westside shopping and adventure center
Basic data
Location: Bern
Riedbachstrasse 100, 3027 Bern Brünnen
Opening: October 8, 2008
Total area: 160,000 m²
Sales area : 23,500 m²
Shops: 72, including 57 shops (March 2020)
Visitors: 5.5 million (2017)
Turnover : 214 million (2015)
Owner : Migros Aare
Website: www.westside.ch
Transport links
Railway station: Bern Brünnen Westside
Bus stop: Bern Brünnen Westside train station
S-Bahn : S5 S51 S52
Tram : 8th
Omnibus : 570 22
Local transport : Night bus Moonliner M88 and M98 (weekend)
Motorways : A1 motorway A1
Other: Hauptstrasse 1 Hauptstrasse 10H1
H10
Parking spaces : 1275 (chargeable)
Bicycle parking spaces : Covered bicycle parking spaces at each entrance
Technical specifications
Construction time : 2005-2008
Architect : Daniel Libeskind
Architectural style : Deconstructivism
Building material : 11,000 tons of steel, 18,000 m² of glass, Robinia wood facade
Construction: ARGE TU WESTside
Building-costs: 500 million CHF
View from the west on Westside: on the left the bathroom with the red outdoor slides, in the middle the shopping area, then the hotel as a high-rise and on the right the cinema complex (2008).
View of the facade (2008).
The Inside of the Westside (2008)
Senevita Westside retirement home

The Westside is a leisure and shopping center in the Bern-Brünnen district, part of the VI Bümpliz-Oberbottigen district in the west of the Swiss federal city of Bern . It opened on October 8, 2008. In addition to the shopping mall, the property includes a multiplex cinema , restaurants, a hotel with a conference center, a senior citizens' residence , an adventure pool with a spa and fitness center , a petrol station and a large outdoor children's playground. The project was created under the direction of the architect Daniel Libeskind .

In the first year of operation, 4.2 million visitors were counted on the Westside. The total turnover achieved was CHF 180 million.

Construction and development

In 1972 a first project was planned, which fell victim to the oil crisis . In 1978 a second project (6,000 apartments, 4,000 jobs) was rejected by the Bernese electorate. After further projects, the current major project was accepted in 2000. The building permit was granted in 2003, some objections were taken up to the Federal Supreme Court, which the complaint rejected in 2005. The groundbreaking ceremony for the entire project took place in autumn 2005 and the foundation stone for the shopping center was laid on April 28, 2006.

The construction was carried out by the ARGE TU Westside as general contractor , which consisted of Strabag AG (Vienna) and Rhomberg Bau AG (Bregenz) . The client was Neue Brünnen AG as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Migros Aare cooperative with Anton Gäumann as CEO. The cost of the project was around 500 million Swiss francs .

The Westside was built on top of the newly built A1 motorway tunnel. It is also easy to reach by car thanks to the Bern-Brünnen motorway exit that was also built. A new S-Bahn station Bern Brünnen Westside was built to allow public transport to be used . As part of the “Tram Bern West” project, the bus connection from the center was replaced by a connection by tram (line 8) at the end of 2010. Postbus 570 to Mühleberg and bus 22 to Kleinwabern also run from the station forecourt .

facts and figures

The number and type of shops and restaurants have changed several times since they opened, and so far all areas have been rented.

  • Shops with 55 (as of September 2020) shops: 25 865 m², as a special feature also refrigerated lockers
  • Adventure gastronomy: 3,000 m², 14 restaurants, bars, cafes (as of September 2020)
  • Bernaqua adventure pool, fitness and spa, sauna, thermal bath and saltwater pool: 10,000 m²
  • Children's area: 300 m² indoor and a spacious outdoor adventure playground
  • Multiplex cinema from the Pathé group with 11 halls (the largest for 495 people) and 2348 seats. In addition to 3D , a room for 4DX has been set up where, in addition to 3D, wind, rain, thunderstorms, snow, smoke, smells or light effects can be simulated.
  • Hotel Holiday Inn Westside with 144 double rooms and a congress center
  • 1,275 parking spaces
  • Gas station with shop (Migrolino)
  • Connected senior citizens' residence Senevita Westside for assisted living and care (94 apartments, 21 nursing single rooms) as well as a medical center Medbase Bern Westside (general and sports medicine, performance diagnostics , physiotherapy and medical massage, cooperation with the fitness center)
  • built according to the Minergie standard

Bernaqua adventure pool

With a water surface of 2,000 square meters and 18 indoor and outdoor pools, the Bernaqua adventure pool is one of the largest pools in Switzerland. It has the longest covered slides in the country. In addition, Bernaqua has a Roman-Irish bath, a large sauna area, spa / beauty and a fitness center.

On April 12, 2011, there was an accident in the adventure pool when parts of the ceiling panel came off. A 110 square meter piece fell to the ground. There were three injured, including one seriously injured. An EMPA report has shown that the cause of this must be assumed to be assembly or planning errors. As a result, the pool was closed for over a year. The total damage, including operational downtime, for Neue Brünnen AG was estimated at around 50 million Swiss francs and led to a drop in visitors of 1,000 to 2,000 visitors a day.

The adventure pool has been open to bathers again since May 23, 2012. It was equipped with a completely new ceiling construction, which consists of lighter elements and is attached to more stable supports.

development

On its tenth birthday in 2018, Migros Aare was able to draw positive conclusions as the owner and operator of the shopping center. Around 5.5 million visitors would use the offers every year. The Westside is an employer for 800 people.

On the Westside, too, it is evident that the classic department stores are no longer in sufficient demand. At the end of 2020, the Globus department store will close its three-storey store. It was the biggest store in this mall. The first and second floors were given up in spring 2020. Sports retailer Decathlon will open a branch on the first floor in November 2020 . The new lettings of the ground floor and the second floor have not yet been announced.

From November 25, 2019, the Mexican restaurant Desperado and the associated sports bar were also closed as a result of the bankruptcy of the entire restaurant chain, which limited the gastronomic offer. Two successor institutions of the same type have been in operation again since summer 2020.

literature

Web links

Commons : Westside Shopping and Leisure Complex  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Shopping centers generate less turnover. Only in Bern and Zug is it all around Blick from September 11, 2018
  2. ↑ a b Shops and Gastro on westside.ch Retrieved on March 10, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b c d e press release migros.ch 2018
  4. ↑ ARGE TU WESTside website (web archive)
  5. ↑ Stadtquasrtier Bern-Brünnen on bruennen.ch
  6. ↑ Westside Shopping and Leisure Center on libeskind.com (English)
  7. ↑ Solothurner Zeitung: Westside attracted 4.2 million visitors , October 8, 2009
  8. ^ Green light for the Westside Center in Bern NZZ on June 8, 2005
  9. ↑ Facts & data on westside.ch
  10. ↑ Brünnen - the new urban district in the west of Bern Facts on all sub-projects Published: Overall coordination Brünnen Status: October 2007
  11. ↑ More passengers on the lines of Tram Bern West DerBund from August 20, 2012
  12. ↑ Shops that exist when they open and the restaurants that exist when they open
  13. ↑ Kinderland on westside.ch
  14. ↑ Multiplex cinema on the Westside
  15. ↑ Senevita Westside - Assisted living and care
  16. ↑ Medbase Bern Westside
  17. ↑ Mirjam Messerli / Wolf Röcken: Ceiling crashes were a matter of time. Berner Zeitung , September 22, 2011, accessed on March 13, 2012 .
  18. ↑ a b Wolf Röcken: Damage is around 50 million. Berner Zeitung , December 9, 2011, accessed on March 13, 2012 .
  19. ↑ Simona Benovici: Bernaqua: Question about guilt and atonement continues to concern. Der Bund, June 23, 2012, accessed on June 28, 2012 .
  20. ↑ Wolf Röcken: Compulsory break in the Bernaqua causes millions in losses. Berner Zeitung , September 22, 2011, accessed on March 13, 2012 .
  21. ↑ Simona Benovici: Bernaqua opens its doors again on Wednesday. Der Bund, May 22, 2012, accessed on June 28, 2012 .
  22. ↑ Mirja Gabathuler: Once upon a time there was the SRF Kultur online department store from October 3, 2019
  23. ↑ Mischa Stünzi: A dismantling with an announcement: Globus closes two Bern branches Der Bund on January 21, 2020
  24. ↑ Decathlon moves to Bern's Westside Nau.ch from May 14, 2020
  25. ↑ Restaurant chain Desperado is bankrupt Berner Zeitung from November 26, 2019

Coordinates: 46 ° 56 '42 "  N , 7 ° 22' 26.4"  E ; CH1903:  595079  /  199326