Porr awarded Swiss project

Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has awarded Porr Suisse a project divided into four lots on the Europaallee near the main station in the centre of Zurich.

The first phase of the project involves the construction of offices and commercial facilities, an underground public bicycle garage with space for almost 1,800 bikes, and a passageway from underneath Zurich central station to the Europaplatz square. The second phase of construction will see another office building erected.

The tender is worth approximately €180 million.

The Europaallee passage and the bicycle garage are set for completion in 2017, with the office buildings following in 2019 and 2020.

Porr Suisse – the Swiss subsidiary of Austrian-based contractor Porr – will act as design-build contractor for the two office buildings, with plans from Stücheli Architekten and Wiel Arets Architects.

Porr said the properties would blend in with the new city quarter and “the impressive facade will define the start of the Europaallee”. Google has been confirmed as one of the future tenants and will set up its largest research centre outside the US in Zurich.