“Science Cities” : Science Campuses and Clusters in 21st Century Metropolises > Science City in the Zurich ‘Wissenshub’ ETH Hönggerberg campus ove rlooking Zurich agglomeration : © ETH The national and regional ecosystem of Swiss innovation Switzerland, a country with The greater metropolitan virtually no natural area of Zurich covers five resources, has had to find cantons, with a total of 1.7 alternative ways to million residents. Situated in command an international the heart of the European market. It is one of the Union, Zurich is linked by countries that allocates the the major airport of the highesti percentage of its Swiss Confederation, as well GDP to research and as by high-speed trains. A development (R&D), and leading financial market, also boasts the largest Zurich is also iv a major proportionii of patents per science pole, with capita. In 2004, more than prestigious universities, 52,000 people were working teaching hospitals and many in R&D. Swiss firms high-tech firms, forming a contribute significantly to the national ‘metropolitan science park.’ Finance and research effort, and their innovation science are therefore the two pillars performance alone represents 70 % of the supporting the economy of this metropolis. country’s R&D expenditure. They are among the world’s most innovative companies, and Switzerland’s system of university education even during a period of economic crisis, they is fairly decentralized with a dozen of spend 8.7 % of their turnover on R&D. Two cantonal universities; a dozen specialized public schools (Universities of Applied Swiss firms are ranked among the world’siii top ten R&D budgets: Roche and Novartis. Science); the Federal Institutes of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and Zurich (ETH). Founded Zurich is located in German-speaking in 1855, ETH has become the model for Switzerland. Although small in size (92 square graduate science education in Switzerland kilometers), it is nonetheless the country’s and holdsv an enviable position in international largest city in terms of population, and is the rankings. The federal government funds 80 % capital of the canton of the same name. With of its budget (€830 million in 2008). It is a population of 380,500, it is a medium- extremely international in scope: 2/3 of the density city (4,070 people/km2), the center doctoral candidates and more than 50 % of of an urban agglomeration numbering 1.1 the professors are foreigners. It now has million residents and including 131 15,000 students (an increase of 20 % in five municipalities and three cantons (Zurich, years), and 6,700 employees, working on two Aargau and Schwyz), with a density four times separate campuses: Zentrum and lower than that of the city. Hönggerberg. IAU-île de France 1 March 2010 “Science Cities” : Science Campuses and Clusters in 21st Century Metropolises > Science City in the Zurich ‘Wissenshub’ Science City: the university and building projects for ETH Zurich Campus features and amenities improving working conditions for users and opening up to its urban territory. The initial ‘Science City’ is the generic name for ETH’s vision of Science City as a ‘sustainable’ scientific development and building project university district focusing on science and the on the Hönggerberg campus. Occupying 32 city was developed in the early 2000s by hectares (79 acres) in the Höngg district, 5 means of a participative process, using kilometers northwest of downtown Zurich, ‘design labs.’ this campus is situated on the top of a hill amid fields and a forest open to the public, These workshops proposed some sixty overlooking the Limmat Valley. It takes about programs, which were then consolidated into 30 minutes to reach the campus via public thirty projects, to strengthen ETH’s position transport from the main train station, located and breathe new life into this campus. Among merely 4.5 kilometers away. As there are no them, the addition of a new tramway line in dormitories, no one lives on the campus, and the canton’s development plan for 2020, to only 4 % of the students and 20 % of the staff link the regional train station of Oerlikon (a travel to the campus by car. This fast-growing sector) to Zurich’s main station, “performance” is the result of a dissuasive with stops in Hönggerberg and Zurich West parking policy, combined viwith an excellent (an industrial sector that is home to many public transportation offer. incubators and business parks). But under the pressure of neighborhood associations, which Founded in 1959 to allow for the expansion of are strongly attached to preserving the the physics and biology departments, popular and widely used forests and Hönggerberg now houses six department: farmlands nearby, Science City had to accept Architecture and City Planning; Environmental a sine qua non: not expand beyond the and Civil Engineering; Physics; Chemistry and current boundaries of the campus. Applied Biosciences; Material Sciences; Biology. The first construction phase, Construction program and project launched in 1961, called for a dozen buildings implementation (including a 15-floor tower), built around a roof garden above underground parking The urban master plan for Science City was garages. In 1973, the Architecture and Civil developed by the KCAP agency, after a Engineering departments also moved to competition launched in 2004 and made Hönggerberg, to a 200-meter-long building binding by the city of Zurich in 2006. It does with patios, located on the opposite side of not define the specific design of the new the campus’s main street. From 1999 to 2004, buildings, but rather stipulates a set of a large building complex housing the development guidelines that stress the Chemistry, Life Sciences and Material functional aspects and spatial relationships between the structures (including pedestrian Sciences departments,vii along with two laboratories, was constructed at the links, amount of sunshine received and southeast entrance to the campus, for a total shadows cast). net floor space of 61,500 m2. These elements were considered essential to Hönggerberg has nearly 6,000 students and the social and environmental quality of the campus. The various built and non-built areas 3,500 professors,viii researchers and employees. More than 4,000 people work in of the campus are woven together so as to research-related activity. Overall, the campus form a highly interconnected and dense buildings represent a net floor space of fabric, encouraging the transformation of 170,000 m2. Science City will expand to what is today above all a ‘scientific hub’ into accommodate 12,000 people by 2015 (a 20 % what should constitute the second university increase in ten years), while adapting the urban quarter of Zurich in the future, after campus to changing teaching methods, the downtown area. IAU-île de France 2 March 2010 “Science Cities” : Science Campuses and Clusters in 21st Century Metropolises > Science City in the Zurich ‘Wissenshub’ The Science City program calls for the – A life sciences institute occupying 21,500 m2 construction of 150,000 m2 of additional net of net floor space; the basement houses a floor space by 2015, representing a twofold vivarium for 40,000 mice living in natural increase in available surface area for the light, while the upper floors have offices and campus and an investment of around €165 laboratories for 400 researchers from ETH, million. Two buildings have already been the Zurich University and biotech firms. The constructed as part of this project, and others construction and equipment budget is €85 will soon follow: million. Scheduled for completion in 2012, – A sports center offering gym facilities to this research building should have one of the members of ETH and residents of neighboring smallest carbon footprints for buildings of its towns, and also a place where physical kind in all of Europe. education students can measure body – Student residences, the first phase of which movements. Open since early 2009, this includes 400 rooms, were begun in 2009. building also has office space for firms According to David Mueller, director of the conducting research into the disciplines Science City project: “Currently, we have got studied on campus (like IBM) or banks that a lot of science here, but no city! And what is could finance spin-off companies. most missing at the moment is student – The Branco Weiss Information Science housing. In two or three years, our new Laboratory (ISL), which will offer new university dormitories will be a real collaborative tools. Opened in late 2008, it milestone for Science City. We would rather has a floor space of 16,500 m2 over six floors, construct the housings in several phases, with a capacity for 480 employees, 750 because we want to improve campus access students and 500 work stations. The and life as we grow, by creating essential businesses and services: grocery stores, dry- construction, 40 % of which was financed by xi private donations, cost €43 million. In cleaner’s, child-care facilities and so on.” addition to the offices laid out around a – A learning and meeting center modeled central atrium and six seminar rooms after the Rolex Learning Center, recently “suspended” around the atrium, it includes a opened atxii the EPF in Lausanne. For Gerhard multimedia project room fostering the design Schmitt, “The Science City Learning Center of collaborative projects by multidisciplinaryix will be the largest of its ‘public’ projects. It teams from the various campus departments. should work like a motorway gas station The ISL is the first ETH building to have opened 24/7, like a ‘science tankstelle’. received thex ‘Minergie Eco Standard From this place, anybody should be able to certification’ : the roof has 20 kW look ‘visually’ at any piece of research done photovoltaic panels; air is circulated on this campus or on the other Zurich according to real-time demand by a campuses through virtual means.