Client: Halter AG / Credit Suisse
Project team: Noa Zoller / Sebi Liebhold
Services: Pollutant investigation, remediation planning, specialist construction management
Year: 2021 – 2023
In the 1970s, the 85-metre-high “Hotel International” at Oerlikon railway station was known far beyond the country’s borders. It truly was the place to be. People met here for a drink or a trip to the swimming pool with sauna above the roofs of Zurich. Later it was renamed “Swissôtel” and Covid followed. The hotel tower filed for bankruptcy.
However, the young architectural monument is to continue to be used: as micro-apartments, as a “city balcony” and partly as a hotel. In the run-up to the planned renovation, the pollutant experts from Carbotech AG carried out pollutant investigations in the entire building. They then planned the remediation of the pollutants and, together with the site management, ensured that the remediation work proceeded smoothly.
After about 50 years without fundamental renovation, the listed hotel tower requires comprehensive renovation before it can be revived as an urban meeting zone. The pollutant investigation by Carbotech AG revealed extensive pollutant deposits. In particular, many building materials containing asbestos and PCBs were detected, as is characteristic of a 1970s
building.
The challenge of the subsequent pollutant remediation lay in particular in the tight schedule. Thus, the remediation work took place simultaneously on different floors. At the same time, other construction work was also being carried out on the other floors. This placed additional high demands on safety, logistics and material transport, which are already complex in a high-rise building with 25 floors.
The renovation of the “Swissôtel” hotel tower was a particularly exciting project. Together with the general contractor Halter AG and thanks to the energetic commitment of the renovation company, the renovation work was completed successfully and on time. The prestigious listed building has shaped the townscape of Zurich’s north for more than 50 years and the old walls have probably witnessed many a moment of history.
