©Peter Tillessen

Project.
The SOMA (immediate measures) establishes the underground connection from the new building “The Circle” to the existing airport facilities in anticipation of the overall project “ELP – Expansion of Landside Passenger Zones”, which is inaugurated in a second phase. The project is located between the existing Airport Center and “The Circle”. It passes beneath the bus station, the VBG tram line and the Butzenbüel highway ring.
 
The existing corridor and tunnel are retrofitted, redesigned and unified with a consistent architectural language. The connecting space under the dam of the four-lane Butzenbüelring as well as the two-story “Lantern” are rebuilt in several phases. To prevent interruption of traffic flow, bridge structures are constructed during the works.
 
After completion of the overall ELP project, the “Lantern” will serve as the centerpiece of the new link between the foyer of “The Circle” and the future passenger areas of Zurich Airport. The airport program and the services at “The Circle” will then be connected through the “Connex” and the “Lantern”.
 
Lantern.
With its glazed facades on three sides, the “Lantern” forms a front facing the bus station and the cycle path opposite the overhanging facade of “The Circle”. These facades bring both natural and artificial light into the underground connection, creating a bright atrium. A mirrored ceiling reflects the movements of the surroundings into the underground space.
 
Temporary solution.
In contrast to the “Lantern”, which is integrated into the overall project, the hallway, tunnel and connecting space inside the dam form a temporary solution. They are realized as a functional and appealing response to the requirement of optimized investment costs: walls and floors are painted silver, the visible installations in the ceiling are coated black. Wall and ceiling lights form a cohesive unit and create a graphic interplay that defines the individual sections of the path as a sequence of rooms. The SOMA connection was closed in 2024 due to the construction works of the main project.

Architecture / Design Firm:
DÜRIG AG, Zurich
Jean-Pierre Dürig, Linda Serra, Benjamin Pannatier,
Irene Schlömer, Gian-Paolo Ermolli, Verena Nelles Kempf, Tobias Noe
 
 
Planning Team:
 
General contractor:
uas unternehmen für architektur und städtebau ag, Zurich
Jean-Pierre Dürig, Tobias Noe
 
Baumanagement / Cost planner:
Caretta Weidmann Baumanagment AG, Zurich
Hervé Biele, Pavel Kalfus
 
Site management:
Caretta Weidmann Baumanagment AG, Zurich
Pavel Kalfus
 
Structural engineer:
MWV Bauingenieure AG, Baden
Ljupko Peric, Andreas Schweizer
 
HVACE engineer / Building automation/MCT:
Amstein + Walthert AG, Zurich
Marcel Thomann, Matthias Störchli, Bruno Lima, Anis Heco, Christoph Rüeger, Pascal Spicher, Reto Galbier
 
Physical engineer:
Amstein + Walthert AG, Zurich
Sven Hüttl
 
Façade planning:
PPEngineering GmbH, Basel
Philippe Petignat, Jasmin Schütz
  
Lighting specialist:
Reflexion AG, Zurich
Rico Grob
 
Pipeline construction:
IBG Engineering AG, Weinfelden
Bernd Debrunner
 
Fire engineering:
AFC Air Flow Consulting AG
Elisabeth Nigl
 
Geologist
Dr. Heinrich Jäckli AG, Zurich
Dr. Walter Labhardt
 
Transportation planning
tribus verkehrsplanung ag, Dübendorf
Ruedi Bütler