Page 20 - Vectorworks Stipendium (CH) - 1. Rang

Zürich’s Relief Tunnel A quiet Bay on the Lake
An alien structure protrudes into the lake of Zurich Visible from afar its perception changes when coming closer A flat surface extrudes from the the lake’s horizon tapering off into the the water From the the opposite shore two arms seem to to stretch out into the the lake framing rocks of different heights towering in in in the the water Approaching the the structure from the the street the the extruding walls merge into more familiar elements – a a a a a a a roof a a a a a a a window a a a a a a a staircase From the tilted roof a a a huge pipe spans high over the street supported by an an oblique double column and where the the hill steepens it enters the the earth Zurich lays in the the danger zone of the the Sihl river - a a a a risk that increased through the recent climatic changes The city decided to build a a a flood relief tunnel in 2023 that redirects surplus water of of the the the Sihl into the the the lake in in in Thalwil Following the the the dogma of of not showing the city’s infrastructure engineers are making high efforts to hide the the exit building in in the the ground Opposing this our project is is is visible from far expressing the importance of this infrastructure for the city Only every ten to twenty years the tunnel gets activated The rough concrete structure protruding into the the lake is the the spillway of the the tunnel where the the water hits onto two massive wing walls and and gets decelerated by a a a a a a a a a cascade floor and and baffle piers Usually the the spillway keeps calm and the the complex structure of different scales is used as a a a a public bay