A striking new residential complex has transformed a former insurance company headquarters in Zurich's Wiedikon district into a contemporary housing development. The project, designed by Michael Meier and Marius Hug Architects, features three distinctive buildings containing 269 rental apartments that gracefully follow the natural topography of the hillside site.
The development emerged after Zurich Insurance Group relocated its main headquarters to Lake Zurich in 2021, leaving the former office complex on Austrasse obsolete. Michael Meier and Marius Hug Architects won a selective study commission in 2019, working alongside Balliana Schubert Landscape Architects and general contractor WSG. The Zurich Investment Foundation served as the project developer for the ambitious residential transformation.
The hillside location in the heart of a residential neighborhood carries a rich architectural history spanning more than a century. The Uetliberg Brewery originally occupied the site in the 19th century before closing operations in the 1920s. During the 1980s, the insurance company acquired the property and constructed office buildings that served the company until the recent redevelopment.
Since last year, three new buildings have crowned the hilltop, offering a total of 23,900 square meters of floor space across a 15,800-square-meter plot. The usable area encompasses approximately 19,900 square meters dedicated to residential units. The architects report construction costs of approximately 64 million euros for the building components.
Two elongated volumes, each featuring eight upper floors, create an accordion-like form that responds sensitively to the site's natural topography. A third, more compact five-story building integrates into the existing street fabric while serving as the development's entrance marker from the street level. This thoughtful arrangement generates generous open spaces throughout the complex.
The architects describe the landscape design as a "forest garden," incorporating the woodland theme into the architectural expression through delicate, bud-like balcony layers and a protective, reflective, bark-like ceramic facade system. This nature-inspired approach creates a harmonious relationship between the built environment and the surrounding residential context.
Despite the complex, folded geometry of the building exteriors, the internal organization follows a rational, orthogonal structure. The development offers diverse apartment typologies ranging from 1.5 to 5.5 rooms, designed to accommodate different living needs and foster a heterogeneous neighborhood community. This variety ensures the complex can serve residents across different life stages and household compositions.
The project represents the latest addition to Michael Meier and Marius Hug Architects' extensive portfolio of residential work in Zurich. The firm has recently completed several notable housing projects in the city, including conversions of former office buildings to residential use in Baden, a residential building at Klopstockwiese, the Bellariarein settlement, and the neighboring Belt Walk house. These projects demonstrate the architects' commitment to thoughtful urban densification and adaptive reuse strategies in Switzerland's largest city.
