Building Permit Granted for Wankdorfcity 3

Zurich, October 8, 2024 – In the north of Bern, between the highway and railway tracks, lies the 34,000 square meter site of Wankdorfcity 3. In the coming years, a new, dense, mixed-use and vibrant neighborhood will be created on the current commercial site with space for living, working and leisure – a neighborhood building block that will set new standards in urban coexistence. The investor is the publicly traded IMMOFONDS. After several years of development and planning, the building permit for this major project is now available. The new service and commercial building is already under construction, into which the majority of existing tenants will move. As soon as this building is completed and occupied, construction work on the overall project will begin in summer 2025. At the same time, the historic shed hall will be renovated, which will house gastronomy, culture and small businesses as the future heart of Wankdorfcity 3.

Complex Planning, Partnership Cooperation and Building Permit in Record Time

With its unique architecture, high density and sustainability promise, Wankdorfcity 3 is breaking new ground. To implement the idea of the stacked city, new approaches were required. Both the planners – consisting of six architectural firms and countless specialist planners under the direction of S+B Baumanagement AG (Olten) – as well as the municipal and cantonal offices and authorities were challenged.

There are several reasons why the complexity of the planning and the challenging location of Wankdorfcity 3 could be successfully mastered, says Gabriela Theus, Managing Director of Immofonds Asset Management AG: "This was due to the collaborative cooperation with all partners necessary for planning and construction, the many years of support from an advisory committee consisting of external experts and representatives from the city and burgher community of Bern (landowner) as well as the neighborhood – and not least the consistently partnership-based and solution-oriented cooperation with the offices of the City of Bern, in particular the Urban Planning and Civil Engineering Department." Theus points out that the building application was only submitted at the end of March 2024 – "only through close cooperation and the efficient and competent processing by the Building Inspectorate of the City of Bern was it possible to successfully complete the approval procedure for such a major project without objections and in such a short time, which is a record in Switzerland."

Von Graffenried: "Future-Ready Mix!"

Bern's Mayor Alec von Graffenried emphasizes that Wankdorfcity 3 offers the City of Bern urgently needed living space. But he also stresses how unique this project is because it goes one step further: to the mix of living and working. "People have long been converting industrial wastelands into residential space or offices," says von Graffenried. "But Wankdorfcity 3 offers more and exactly the mix that cities are looking for: housing and services, but also commerce. The fact that it has been possible to keep businesses on the site is exemplary."

Encounters on Different Levels

In addition to ecological sustainability, social sustainability plays a central role in a functioning neighborhood. This aspect of sustainability thrives on people who meet, exchange ideas and do things together. Wankdorfcity 3 creates meeting places on different levels with diverse open and outdoor spaces, spacious roof terraces and common areas in the buildings and on the roofs. The city terrace creates a second ground floor and a connection between different residential buildings at a height of 30 meters. On the terrace there are meeting points for residents, for example a playground with swings or a small football field. And a play and community hall where all residents can celebrate and meet. Around the city terrace there are other communal spaces such as an orangery, laundry rooms or a communal living room.

Diversity Ensures Life and Well-being

The new neighborhood building block should be characterized by structural density and height while simultaneously being an expression of a diversity of uses, residential and living forms, of proximity, social exchange and neighborliness. In order to meet the different life phases and financial possibilities of potential residents, the developer is planning numerous housing forms in different price segments: Around 60 percent are small apartments including tiny houses with one to two rooms, 40 percent are large family apartments, townhouses and maisonette apartments and cluster apartments. On the lower floors of the buildings there are restaurants, cultural and health facilities, shopping opportunities, co-working spaces, a daycare center and other public uses.

Designed According to the Sponge City Principle

In Wankdorfcity 3, the sponge city principle is consistently implemented. "The sponge city principle is about keeping the water that occurs on the plot," explains Maurus Schifferli, the responsible landscape architect. Because infiltration into the ground is not possible for various reasons, the rainwater is collected in various systems and stored in different layers – from the roofs to the city level – and released again as needed. This happens in sponge-like cushions made of mineral material, from which plants absorb water and thus evaporate it again. In this way, the water remains in the cycle and helps to cool the area and regulate the local climate. Wankdorfcity 3 is a pioneering project, says Bern's urban planner Jeanette Beck: "It will be a flagship and show that the sponge city principles are also possible for a project of this size and this structural density." Wankdorfcity 3 also has exemplary character in terms of energy supply. The entire development will be supplied with renewable energy. For the heat supply of the approximately 500 apartments and office buildings, over 200 geothermal probes with a total length of about 50 kilometers are needed. In addition, photovoltaic systems on the roofs and on the facades are planned. The neighborhood can thus generate around 800 megawatts of electricity itself – a high share, even if not yet energy self-sufficiency, says Kim Riese, Head of Development at Immofonds Asset Management AG.

Further Procedure and Dates

With the now available building permit, the project enters the implementation phase. The approximately 500 apartments and more than 50,000 square meters of space for services, commerce, offices and public use will be realized in stages by HRS Real Estate AG (Gümligen) as a realization partner and will be ready for occupancy from 2027 to the end of 2029. As the last stage of the overall development, the new development will give the entire Wankdorf City more character and vitality and give the City of Bern a new face in the north.

Project website: www.wankdorfcity3.ch