Prime Tower in Zurich by Gigon/Guyer

In the west of Zurich, near the Hardbrücke railway station, the Prime Tower office tower has arisen, which has become the tallest building in Switzerland. The thirty-six-story tower stands at 126 meters high and is intended to be the first of an ambitious 'small Manhattan' project. The building was designed by local architects Annette Gigon and Mike Guyer, whose joint office won an international competition in 2004. Construction began in January 2008, and the building was opened to the public on December 12 of last year. The final form consists of a combination of several cubic volumes. Two diagonally connected rectangles have additional volumes attached at different heights, creating recesses or projections. The 300 million euro project offers nearly 70,000 m² of rentable office space, which is already hopelessly booked, giving the investor enough courage to begin the construction of more towers around the Prime Tower. To the west, a residential complex named 'Maaghof' with 200 housing units is set to rise. By 2015, the population in this area in the west of Zurich is expected to increase from the current 3,000 to 7,000, with the number of jobs rising from 20,000 to 30,000.
The authors of the tower state in one of their latest interviews: “The greenery of the Prime Tower benefits from a slightly reflective glass facade that outlines the sharp edges of a sculptural shape. The use of color had nothing to do with the tower's presence in the urban space. On the contrary, the tower should be as open and multifaceted as possible to withstand the daily visual contact with the surrounding population for as long as possible. This sometimes dark, sometimes watery green-blue color not only caters to the city but also to surrounding natural elements like the sky, lakes, and wooded hills.”

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