Bridging building for the Zurich Opera House
The Zurich Opera House, Switzerland's largest cultural institution, is facing major structural changes. The 40-year-old extension is in need of renovation and long-term solutions to the current lack of space are required.
During the forthcoming planning of the complete renovation of the opera house, the canton writes, a bridging building is to cushion the most urgent need for space. The cantonal government has approved a loan of up to CHF 3.7 million for this temporary building. The opera house commissioned a study on space requirements back in 2019, followed a year later by an analysis of workplace conditions in the existing rooms. The results of both studies are clear: the opera house suffers from a considerable lack of space, which leads to barely acceptable working conditions for many employees. According to the study, waiting any longer is not justifiable.
The findings of the study paint a clear picture: of the total of 358 rooms, 42 have unacceptable working conditions and 90 others have partially unacceptable working conditions. These are rooms with double or triple occupancy, rooms without daylight and workstations in the corridors. The acute lack of space means that the current legal guidelines for occupational safety and workplace design standards cannot be complied with in many places. All in all, the study shows an additional space requirement of around 60 percent.
Original article:
https://www.zh.ch/de/news-uebersicht/medienmitteilungen/2023/07/ueberbrueckungsbau-fuer-das-opernhaus.html
