The article wasn't that much about the value and importance of historical buildings, but rather about how engaging our environments are nowadays..

Most people I know (me included) have a preference toward spending their free time in the Altstadt, diverse neighborhoods like Oerlikon, or by the lake and Chinese garden. Only few prefer socializing at / around the Bahnhofstrasse. That kind of behavior is also reflected throughout the article, eg

In 2006, the Danish urbanist Jan Gehl observed that people walk more quickly in front of blank façades; compared with an open, active façade, people are less likely to pause or even turn their heads in such locations.

Not only are people more likely to walk around in cityscapes with open and lively façades, but the kinds of things that they do in such places actually change. They pause, look around and absorb their surroundings while in a pleasant state of positive affect and with a lively, attentive nervous system. Because of these kinds of influences, they actually want to be there.

The pupose drives the design. Location drives the purpose. And of course cost efficiency is (perhaps, should be) another main factor.

Some areas are for leisure (Altstadt), others for business (Bahnhofstrasse) and as main passageway(?). Trying to turn Bahnhofstrasse into a leisurly road would defeat the point of it being a main passage for pedestrians during rush hour. And the Trams with all their passengers would still make it a noisy and busy place.

There is a regularly recurring guided tour centered on "Roman Zürich". There is more stuff out there than meets the eye.

But its more in the style of a fragment here and a couple of stones there rather than anything that is still genuinely coherent.

If you sympathise with Prince Charles you will always live in cold damp buildings. The trick is to welcome modern buildings, but tear them down when they become unsuitable. Zurich's error is they have always been rich, in the 60s and 70s there was a lot of hideous building, but now is the time to keep the good bits, and pull
the rubbish down.

Twenty years ago the station end of the Bahnhofstrasse was a place to sit and watch life go by. We always enjoyed an hour or two watching the world. There were two outside cafes which were more than beleaguered by the citizens of Zurich. One has now been replaced by a nasty perfume palace and the other by (what else?) an equally nasty clothes shop.
The once proud lower Bahnhofstrasse has dropped to the level of Oxford Street. I wonder what sort of 'business' is going to take over the English Book Shop.... or do we know?

Thanks for posting this. I could not have said it better. I miss those days too sometimes. Paris is for me one of the most invigorating cities. Its combination of art, literature, live music, (urban) culture, diverse architectural styles combined with bustling modern life makes it very inspiring to me. The english book store is going to be replaced by a zara home..
http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/zuerich/...story/25680545

Interesting that you find Paris invigorating and yet you are complaining of Swiss cities being homogeneous.

You might be interested in reading about Haussman and the homogenization of Paris.

You forgot the dog Poo How com you always forget the most important stuff

zara

This shouldn't be any surprise, given that Zurich isn't a large city.


For a city of its size, though, it's remarkably diverse and well served with cultural events.


You'd be better comparing Zurich to somewhere like Leicester: it's the same size, yet nowhere near as cosmopolitan, and it's something of a cultural wasteland. I don't recall James Joyce, Lenin and the Dada artists spending much time in the Globe, do you?

Yes, and Oxford Street was a proud shopping street at one point, with real shops rather than chains.

The whole world is slowly going down the drain, or at least the things that are good and beautiful about it. But in Switzerland its happening more slowly, and that's one of the things I appreciate about being here.

I don't think it is. I saw a picture of my home town last night. What used to be a grotty street of discount stores, blocked by parked cars and rubbish, is now a delightful pedestrianised street with proper shops (chains, sure, but ones selling actual stuff worth buying) and hanging baskets.


I've seen the same in many other towns I used know. Have you been to Birmingham lately? It's amazing! Nothing like the shithole it used to be in the eighties.


I can't speak for Swiss towns as I haven't been here very long, but things are certainly looking up in quite a lot of English towns these days.

Avenches and Augusta Raurica (Augst BL)
(O.k. I think they are both 100 years younger)

This link doesn't go anywhere and wiki is not really an official source

It is compared to anywhere else I've ever lived.

Tom

But our schoolbooks were, but were in German and NOT YET in the internet

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turicum

i think the question was about actual structures still in use today, i.e. buildings, so it doesn't qualify

BTW: most school books that were in used in Switzerland about 20 odd years ago are horribly outdated. unfortunately some are still in use today

A) the Rennweg is still a Shopping place just as 2000 years ago


B) AND, below the Lindenhof is the URANIA PARKHAUS, still in use today

sorry i didn't realise you were poking fun. will stop now hijacking the thread but thanks for the giggle