November 6, 2025

1108 Oerliker Park Zurich

Location:
Oerlikon Zurich, Switzerland

Project Phases:
Design competition 1997, 1st Prize; Realization: 1999–2001

Client:
Grün Stadt Zürich (Green City Zurich)

Landscape Architecture:
Studio Vulkan (formerly Schweingruber Zulauf Landscape Architects)

Architecture:
S. Hubacher, Zürich

Architect/Sculptor:
Ch. Haerle, Zurich

Photography:
René Rötheli, Giorgio von Arbils, Daniela Valentini

Details:

Oerliker Park is located in the transforming district of Zurich North, a former industrial zone that is gradually being redeveloped into an urban residential and working quarter.

The aim of the landscape architectural concept was to create a striking, minimal framework composed of a few characteristic elements – offering both spatial orientation and openness to future developments. The park is not to be understood as a finished composition, but rather as a spatial and atmospheric offering that can evolve in dialogue with the changing neighborhood.

The foundational structural principle is a robust orthogonal grid that enables both flexible usage and the potential for future interventions. Trees planted within this grid – varying subtly in density and species – span the entire park, forming a dynamic interplay between openness and enclosure. This vegetative framework serves as a “green roof,” offering both spatial containment and high amenity value.

A central path cuts through the tree grid and leads visitors to an open clearing, which functions as the heart of the park. The spatial and symbolic significance of this clearing is accentuated by a modular pavilion structure and a water feature—elements that invite rest, social interaction, and temporary appropriation.

Parts of the clearing are designed as ground-level wooden terraces which, in combination with gravel lawns and compacted pathways, create a barrier-free and continuously walkable landscape. Seating elements are loosely arranged throughout the area, supporting informal uses and spontaneous encounters.

A vertical observation tower rises through the tree canopy, offering expansive views across the future building landscape. As a sculptural element and new point of orientation, it establishes a landmark within the urban context, marking the park as a key spatial and symbolic anchor in the evolving fabric of the city.