©Ruedi Walti

Planned in the late 1960s as a pedestrian underpass beneath Bahnhofplatz and opened on October 1, 1970, ShopVille has undergone continuous transformation. Its complete refurbishment in 2003 gave the underground shopping concourse its present identity.
 
ShopVille connects in a network-like manner at several points to the underground SBB passages of Zurich Main Station. The westward extension, with its new stairway into the city, links the Gessnerallee passage to ShopVille and creates a seamless retail and passage system without dead ends. Seven new retail units complement and enrich the existing offer.
 
To create a generous and coherent identity with the existing ShopVille, the design concept developed by Arnold Amsler in 2003 was continued. A contrasting materiality emphasizes the boundary to the Gessnerallee passage. Realized in parallel with the Löwenstrasse transit station, the project required meticulous coordination due to its immediate spatial and temporal dependencies.
 
All works were carried out under full operation of Zurich Main Station, ShopVille and the Gessnerallee delivery zone, the latter only suspended for about a year. Road traffic, tram services and rail operations on track 3 of the main station also remained uninterrupted throughout the construction period. This demanded exceptionally precise scheduling and logistics.

Architecture / Design Firm:
Dürig AG, Zurich; Irene Breckner, Andreas Coquelin, Jean-Pierre Dürig,
 
Project coordination, civil engineering:
ig zalo, Basler & Hofmann AG, Esslingen und Pöyry Infra AG, Zurich
 
 
Planning Team:
 
General contractor:
uas unternehmen für architektur und städtebau ag, Zurich
 
Quantity surveillance and site supervision:
Caretta + Weidmann Baumanagement AG, Zuerich
 
HVAC engineers and building physics:
Amstein + Walthert AG, Zurich
 
Acoustics:
BAKUS GmbH, Zurich