Sense of Place


Symbol of Switzerland

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Last week, Zürich Airport opened what it termed its “one-of-a-kind” lifestyle and business complex The Circle, with a strong sense of Switzerland at its heart.

The Circle at Zürich Airport opened on 5 November as a home for Swiss brands, services and expertise – all connected to the world via the country’s biggest airport.

The lifestyle and business district houses shops and restaurants, headquarters for Swiss and international companies, two hotels, a congress centre (yet to open) and premises for medical services for a “complete urban centre”.

The retail and dining offer carries a strong sense of the country. In the main square and adjacent lanes there is a Jelmoli Lifestyle House and Sports House, an immersive Omega brand boutique, as well as concepts from Anecdote by Dufry and Läderach Chocolatier Suisse, among others. Pop-up stores featuring the Zürich-based cosmetics label Soeder and the Swiss e-bike manufacturer Stromer are also prominent.

Inside The Circle: Zürich Airport aims to attract locals and visitors alike

The gastronomic offering at The Circle ranges from the cosmopolitan rooftop restaurant Sablier with a view of the park to Leon’s Loft at the main square.

For these and other partners, a core target is not only travellers but also local customers from the Greater Zürich Area, which is one of Europe’s economically strongest regions with around 3.8 million inhabitants.

The University Hospital has been welcoming patients in its new outpatient health centre, USZ Airport, since October. The Victoria pharmacy and Neuroth Hörcenter are other health-related services.

The broad retail offer in the complex runs from fashion to fragrance

More new offerings will be added in the next few weeks and months, and new tenants will move in. Avec and Bayard Co Ltd open their stores this month. The Hyatt Regency Hotel and the Convention Hall, which can accommodate 2,500 people, will open in December. In spring 2021, the Hyatt Place Hotel and natural cosmetics concept Cermony Suisse will follow.

Office tenants include Flughafen Zürich AG, Isolutions and Totemo, each already on site. By the end of the year, Raiffeisen, Abraxas, Lunge Zürich and Inventx will move into their spaces and the Globegarden childcare centre, a Kieser Training fitness centre and the staff restaurant Chreis 14 will open. Further office tenants, including Horváth & Partners, Microsoft, Edelweiss, MSD, Novo Nordisk, SAP and Oracle, will move in during 2021. Co-working spaces will also open next year.

Dufry takes its place with the Anecdote multi-category store

Beyond this, nature also plays its part in the development. The Park – a place to meet and relax for visitors, employees, local residents and passengers – becomes a new excursion destination.

Spanning 80,000sq m of green space, it is a new recreational area on the Butzenbüel hill. It focuses on nature-related experiences and aims to strike a balance between the landscape and park visitors’ needs.

The combination of urban centre and natural parkland strikes a neat balance, and should help ensure that The Circle, and the airport facilities more widely, become a memorable destination for locals and visitors alike.

Views of The Circle, with Swiss brands and services to the fore

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The Moodie Davitt eZine Issue 286 | 16 November 2020

The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 15 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail sinead@moodiedavittreport.com

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