Swiss Review 5/2018

Swiss Review / September 2018 / No.5 7 creased density remains significant within Switzerland, notably in low-density towns. Housing? Yes, but not in my backyard Founded in 1943 to protect natural ar- eas, the EspaceSuisse Association re- ceived a mandate from the Confeder- ation to support municipalities and cantons in applying urban densifica- tion measures required by the SPA. And there is big demand, since if the idea of safeguarding agricultural and natural spaces is accepted by the Swiss, the concept of densification frightens them. A recent example is that of a plan for 268 residences in theGenevan municipality of Chêne-Bougeries. This was rejected in March in a ref- erendum against the opinion of the municipality and of the canton, de- spite itsmoderate density, i.e. a ground use index of 0.9 (see inset). Rejecting houses in order to protect a market gardening area, in a canton with an acute shortage of flats? The reaction may seemselfish. “We can’t blame the inhabitants of thismunicipality,” says Jérôme Chenal. “People considered that this planwould undermine their neighbourhood, where they feel at ease.” However, the reflex “Not in my backyard” attitude is not the rule, since at the same time, the Genevans approved two plans amounting to 600 residences in a municipal vote: one in the suburban municipality of Bernex, the other in the heart of the urban neighbourhood of Petit-Sacon- nex. This vote corresponds to another desire of the Swiss, that “of being close to their work and of having lo- cal services”, underlines the director of CEAT. “Switzerland remains an anti-urban country” This movement of opposition to cit- ies is a deep-rooted reflex among the Swiss, whose country “remains an- ti-urban, and in which the ideal of a small house and nature dominates”, notes Nicolas Bassand, lecturer in ar- chitecture at the School of Engineer- ing, Architecture and Landscape (HE- PIA). Demand for space isnevertheless increasing, as is noted by the deputy director of EspaceSuisse. “On the one Creating density in an area of small houses, by exploiting suburban housing culture In Geneva, zone 5, dedicated to single-family houses, represents almost half of the buildable area of the canton but only houses slightly more than one inhabitant in ten. The problem is that the building of denser residenc- es in these areas faces stiff opposition, with the very idea of densification carrying negative notions, linked, for example, to delinquency, or to the notion of standardised housing. However, times are changing, believes Nicolas Bassand. “Part of the population has moved away from the model of small houses with thuja hedges and lawnmowers. Furthermore, economic pressure will perhaps cause owners of small houses to accept housing projects in these zones, provided that they are designed carefully and in a way which involves both homeowners and project managers.” The architect cites the example of buildings erected on the edge of the zones of small houses which have succeeded in more than doubling density, from a land use index of 0.3 to 0.8, “by incorporating the cultural codes of the suburban area”. Bassand cites the Brüggliäcker complex, in Schwamendingen (ZH) and that of the Route Jean-Jacques Rigaud, in Chêne-Bougeries (GE). In Zurich, the gables of the building (in a staggered arrangement) are similar in size to the adjacent small houses. These are no rabbit hutches despite the building density. The architects have created a garden atmosphere. In Geneva, the project, with its gable roofs and wooden facades, echoes rural architecture. Bassand dedicated his doctorate to the question of the “depth” of buildings. This compact way of building, deriving from certain mediaeval structures, was abandoned in the 20 th century, resulting in thin and spaced housing blocks, which addressed the hygienist concerns of town planning. This depth returned at the turn of the century in Switzerland, with denser and wider buildings. The lecturer at the HEPIA cites the Schürliweg building, in Affoltern (ZH) as an example, with a thickness of 38 metres, and a block with a depth of 19 metres, erected in the Hardturm neighbourhood of Zurich-West, which includes collective flats with 13 rooms. hand, the population is increasing, on the other, the number of large house- holds is falling.” In 1930, half of them had five people or more, while today, two thirds of them have one to two people. Moreover, mobility is explod- ing, swallowing up land with infra- structure, notably on account of time devoted to leisure, which doubled be- tween 1984 and 2000, with 60% of travel time linked to these activities. The Brüggliäcker estate in Schwamendingen, created by a housing cooperative, is adjacent to a conventional district of detached houses.