The Park, recreational area Butzenbüel at Zurich Airport

The Park: a landscape story

In 2017 Studio Vulkan won the competition for The Park. A small hill called Butzenbüel in front of Zurich Airport’s door will be reopened as The Park in 2020, at the same time as the new Circle Bau – a 180,000m² multi complex designed by Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto. The Butzenbüel is intended to establish itself as a place of reflection and relaxation in the area of conflict between highways and motorways, airport buildings and the Circle complex.

The highly artificial location of the park is a pseudo-natural haven of peace surrounded by the dynamic infrastructure of the airport and the motorway. The modest hill consists of historical layers of natural and artificial landscapes. On the original glacier moraine in the 1960s, the excavation of the motorway was poured onto it in an unshapely manner. In the 1970s, forests, meadows and wetlands were artificially created and placed under nature conservation. The challenge and agreement is to transform the bizarre place into a park that can be used intensively, observing strict nature and forest laws. The aim must be to make a win-win story out of what at first glance appear to be contradictory requirements (nature conservation, recreation, forest).