Via the New Transalpine Railway (NEAT), Arth-Goldau will become the first train stop between southern and northern Switzerland. A master plan is required to prepare the area around the the railway station for this enhanced site quality. It is developed in a stakeholder process involving property owners, representatives of the local population, representatives of industry and commerce, and public authorities.

The site developer is kicking off the discussion and communicating the master plan with a Smart 3D City Model by SEILER & SEILER. The model is developed by the planner in a remarkably short time with a new digital tool. The tool visualizes potential densification and combines maximal building volume with parameters, like the building height or floor area. Design aids assist with the selection of relevant sites and with the efficient fine tuning of building volume.

The Capacity Wizard allows automated and rapid identification of potential areas for urban densification. The results are used as a basis for specific area developments or revision of land-use plans. The Wizard allows more time for the election of the decisive parameters and the detailed analysis of the results and also guarantees consistent results.

The Capacity Wizard detects the current situation and calculates the capacity of construction zones with respect to construction volume, floor space, population and employment. These figures are calculated automatically for a selected area, yet important parameters such as densification rate or potential volume requirement per inhabitant or employee remain varied. The basic data sets used in the calculation can be easily and quickly updated periodically.

The Wizard is an ArcGIS toolbox that has been programmed with Python. A complementary intelligent Excel based tool allows the assumptions to vary independently of ArcGIS and thus it is easy to create and compare different scenarios. The city of Winterthur is using the Wizard as part of the overall revision of the land-use plan.

The city of Basel and its neighboring municipalities have become an agglomeration and accordingly, already today the transition from city border to neighboring municipality cannot be precisely determined by visual means anymore. Therefore, an analysis of the character and the extent of the core city of Basel independently of institutional borders was conducted on behalf of seven municipalities and under the leadership of the regional planning authority of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft.

In a first step, the quantitative partial indicators that determine the urban character of a spatial entity were identified and calculated: population density, availability of public spaces, variety of uses, construction density and accessibility by public transport. From these indicators, the current extent of the core city of Basel was deduced by means of an overall model. In addition, potential spaces that could achieve core city character within the next 20 years were identified. To this end, higher-level planning instruments such as the high-rise concept were evaluated, with the densification potential included as an additional factor.

The results of the study will be used by the affected communities as a basis for discussion for future regional planning issues spanning several municipalities or cantons and indicate areas for cooperation in the core city region.

Khujand is located on the Silk Road in the North of Tajikistan. With a population of 170’000 the city is an important centre of economy and education of the country.

An analysis of Khujand city and its state of urban planning was performed on behalf of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO. This study serves SECO as a basis for formulating the subsequent project which intends to strengthen the urban planning processes in Khujand. During a field mission to Khujand the project team conducted interviews with the city administration, NGOs, international financing institutions and civic bodies, studied essential documents and inspected various city quarters and infrastructural elements.

The results are composed of an analysis of the structure, issues and challenges of the city as for example natural hazards. In addition the state of urban planning is outlined with a focus on planning fundamentals, instruments, process, stakeholders and financing. The study concludes with recommendations about how the integrated urban planning project can be realised, with sketches of the most promising ideas.

The area known as First District is situated on the outskirts to the north of the Agglomeration Zurich, in close proximity to the Zurich Airport. It follows a line of large employment-providing areas between the Zurich City Centre and the Airport.

The Urban Development Framework highlights various possibilities for optimally utilising the various key access points to the area. It also develops a concept for the recreational spaces that surround the built-up areas. These recreational spaces will serve to guide the visitor through the area and are designed in such a way that all three areas are connected. There is a good mix in the recreational areas between activity and tranquility zones, without necessarily disadvantaging any of the developments by their proximity to one or the other zones. The composition of the building parcels have also been analysed in terms of the type of structures to be erected and presented in the form of various options. The concept shows various possiblities for improving the traffic infrastructure and also considers various aboveground and subterranean options for connecting the two areas to the southern area. The regional railway (S-Bahn) stop can be progressively transformed into an iconic symbol for the whole area.

The insights from this concept will serve as the basis for discussions with various stakeholders, like the operators of the traffic and transport facilities, political representatives and superordinate specialist departments.

Gotzenwil is situated on a pastoral hillside on the outskirts of Winterthur. There are 2 smaller settlements close by.

The City and Canton have decided to pursue a modest urban development in the Gotzenwil area. The urban framework will consider different development scenarios, taking into account the environmental impact, and a possible staged approach to developing the area. The urban development framework shows the delimitations and possibilities for future development.

The attractive location, on a rise above the city, is particularly ideal for families. The trend towards an ever aging population in Gotzenwil will be negated by the influx of families taking up residence in the family-sized apartments that will be built there. At the same time, accommodation types more suitable for older people would also encourage the older generations to downsize, allowing families to move into existing houses that have been vacated this way. The study will also show the interrelationship between the expansion of the public transport offering and traffic-reduced or high density developments.

Schmerikon is located at the upper end of the Lake of Zurich. The town centre, with many small shops, extends along the main street. The area in question is situated within close proximity and within view of the shoreline. A 19‘500m2 parcel of land will form the basis for a development concept for a new residential area. The concept addresses the questions related to the optimal building density of the area and the number of floors per building, various options concerning the foundations, the location and distribution of the building volume, assignment of parking spaces and the design of the exterior space in the form of a garden. To arrive at the optimal design, various typologies and densities have been considered. The findings of the development concept will flow into a master plan that will be binding for the property owners.

The area known as First District is situated on the outskirts to the north of the Agglomeration Zurich, in close proximity to the Zurich Airport. It is made up of three areas formed by the freeway and the regional railway (S-Bahn). It follows a line of large employment-providing areas between the Zurich City Centre and the Airport. The vision that has been created identifies a great potential for a Global Business Area. The usuage mix includes office space as well as retail space to cover the daily shopping needs. The biggest challenge later in the development process will be to unite the 3 areas. The vision supports the decision making of the contracting entity. It shows how the land should be envisioned and where investing in a brand would make sense. It also shows the challenges to be faced in the development.

Vinnitsa is a Ukrainian economic and education centre with about 370‘000 inhabitants. Gorky Park lies in the centre of the city and is characterised by its dense forest, diverse offerings and its close proximity to the city centre.

Gorky Park will be transformed into a sophisticated City Park. The use of parallel paths running north to south intersected by parallel paths running east to west will allow the park to communicate with the city centre and be an integral part of it. It will also make orientation easier and give an indication of its size. The character of the park will be defined by four areas: representation, sport, spectacle, and leisure forest.

The Vinnitsa City Park has the best qualities to provide for leisure and recreational activities. The infusion of city life in the park and the transformed view over the park from the fringes, will make this a sought after address for businesses, hotels and apartments. Not only will the park ensure quality of life for future generations, it will also be a driving force in the development of Vinnitsa.

Andermatt is located in a barren valley high in the Swiss Alps. The new centre will serve as a link between the old and the new village sectors. At the same time it will also serve as a transportation hub for the Glacier Express, local public transport and the regional PostBus service. The new centre is designed with funnel-shaped promenades linking the railway station, the ski plaza and the sports centre with each other. An alpine park, situated to the north west of the centre, will provide leisure and recreation activities within close proximity of the resort. The layout of the town centre is clearly arranged and makes for easy orientation, which was also a defining characteristic of the old village centre.

With the development of the area on the northern outskirts of the city, two different parts of the city are connected in a mixture of commercial and public facilities and housing. The area along the main artery encloses a smaller city district centre, consisting of structures for commercial use on the ground floor, a public open space and an individual building of high architectural quality. The individual building replaces a historical ensemble and, together with the basic urban structure, it creates a striking entrance to the city.

This project looks at developing an urban extension on the southern outskirts of Baden at the point of transition into the suburban area of the city. The area is presently used for agricultural purposes and does not benefit too much from its proximity to the city. By 2020 a new living quarter will provide housing for 1300 inhabitants. The development concept comprises two to four storey buildings with about 500 units. A large meadow has been set aside as a recreational and leisure space.

High rise buildings in Basel City are concentrated around the areas of the railway station and the pharmaceutical and life science companies to the north of the city. Basel is located in the north-western part of Switzerland and borders on France and Germany. With the concept ‘High Rise’, Basel City is actively looking into locations for the location of future high rise buildings. The concept not only considers buildings for commercial usage, like the Bank for International Settlements building, but includes buildings for residential usage, particularly along the banks of the Rhine River.

The Metalli area is located in a prominent position in the center of Zug city, east of the railway station. It covers a focal point of retail trade and is of great importance for the further development of Zug city. As part of a well-developed inner development area of the cantonal master plan and with the high-rise regulation, diverse possibilities open up.

With a competition procedure for the Metalli area, the objectives for a sustainable center were explored:

– Utilization of the inner development potentials, compatible structural densification.

– Implementation in stages. Each step must be urbanistically coherent and enable a functioning center operation.

– Securing and renewing publicly accessible spaces of high stay quality.

– Improved networking for pedestrians.

The process support included drafting a planning agreement and preparing and conducting a competition procedure with intermediate dialogues. The process carried out laid the foundation for a design plan and construction project planning.

In the coming years, the Dreirosenanlage in Basel Nord will be heavily utilized as part of the National Road Project 'Rheintunnel.' To strengthen the open space, early efforts are being made to enhance the adjacent Rhine riverbank. Possibilities were explored through a test planning process.

We accompanied the test planning with a digital model of the affected neighborhoods. The browser-based model was created from various data sources.

Teams had the opportunity to simulate complex situations above and below ground, across different cross-sections, and throughout various construction phases. They used model renderings for conceptual representations and cross-sections in their contributions. The evaluation panel was able to discuss the similarities and differences among the various contributions using the model.