Zollhaus

The Zollhaus project is a mixed-use development located in the heart of Zurich, Switzerland. Initiated by the Kalkbreite Cooperative, it combines living, working, education, leisure, and retail spaces to form a nearly self-sufficient community. The project, which began construction in May 2018 and was completed in the winter of 2020/2021, offers a wide range of spaces for living, working, culture, and community activities. The Zollhaus is designed to promote sustainability and community interaction. It features a broad mix of uses, including offices, restaurants, retail spaces, and cultural facilities, alongside residential apartments. The project's design emphasizes flexibility and adaptability, with a basic structure that allows for changes in occupation over time. This is achieved through a powerful but natural shell of shelves, creating a raw and direct aesthetic open to appropriation by users. The project also includes innovative housing concepts such as Hallenwohnen, a collaborative living arrangement that offers affordable, self-managed, and collaborative living and coworking spaces. This model, part of the Zollhaus settlement, is the first legal hall cohousing arrangement in Switzerland and is characterized by a large open hall with collective basic structures and mobile residential towers.