SOMA
The SOMA (immediate measures) establishes the underground connection from the new building "The Circle" to the existing airport facilities as an anticipation of the overall project "ELP - Expansion of landside passenger zones", which is to be inaugurated in a second phase. The project is located between the existing AirportCenter and "The Circle". It passes under the bus station, the VBG tram line and the existing Butzenbüel highway ring.
The existing corridor and tunnel were upgraded, redesigned and given a common architectural language. The connecting space under the dam of the four-laned Butzenbüelring as well as the two-story "Lantern" were rebuilt in different phases. In order to prevent interruption of the traffic flow, bridge structures had to be built for its construction.
After completion of the overall ELP project, the "Lantern" will serve as centerpiece of the new link between the foyer of the "Circle" and the future passenger areas of Zurich Airport. The program of the airport 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". Through these facades, both natural and artificial light is brought into the basement creating a bright atrium. Additionally, the mirrored ceiling reflects the movement of the surroundings into the room below.
Handling the temporary solution
In contrast to the “Lantern”, which is to be integrated in the overall project, the hallway, the tunnel and the connection space inside the dam are a temporary solution. The project was realized as a functional and attractive solution to the specification of optimized investment costs.
The walls and floors are painted in silver, the visible installations in the ceiling are coated in black. Wall and ceiling lights generate a superordinate unit and a graphic interplay that characterizes the individual sections of the path as a sequence of rooms.
