SWITZERLAND. Zürich Airport today opened its ambitious and eagerly anticipated lifestyle and business district, The Circle. The company described it as “one-of-a-kind at any airport in the world”.
The complex houses shops and restaurants, headquarters for international companies, two hotels, a congress centre (soon to open) and premises for medical services for a “complete urban centre” with global connections via the airport.
In the main square and lanes there is a Jelmoli Lifestyle House and Sports House, an immersive Omega brand boutique, as well as concepts from Anecdote by Dufry, Läderach Chocolatier Suisse, Sapori d’Italia and DLUX Hair. Pop-up stores featuring the Zürich-based cosmetics label Soeder and the Swiss e-bike manufacturer Stromer round out the offering.
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. Guests at the Circle can also enjoy the street food-inspired bowl concept at Rice Up! and the restaurant l’Oro di Napoli with Italian wood oven-baked pizza. Both Hyatt hotels offer a wide variety of restaurants and bars.
Zürich Airport Chairman of the Board of Directors Andreas Schmid said: “The prudent definition of the usage mix and the positioning – and, building on that, the architecture competition – took several years and have contributed to our success in keeping the construction costs under control while ensuring almost full occupancy at the time of the inauguration. I am unbelievably proud to be able to open The Circle today together with our co-owner, Swiss Life.”
Rolf Dörig, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Swiss Life, added: “The Circle is in every respect a future-oriented construction: concentrated, sustainable building at the right location, and a modern usage concept geared to the needs of today’s and future generations. Enormous thanks are due to the many building specialists and tradespeople involved: they have achieved something amazing – and, especially in the final stage, have had to work under very challenging conditions.”
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.
More new offerings will be added in the next few weeks and months, and new tenants will move in. During November, Avec and Bayard Co Ltd will open their stores. 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.
Head of The Circle Stefan Feldmann said: “We realise that we are opening The Circle in a challenging time. However, we are very pleased to receive guests from today – naturally with the necessary precautionary measures. Over the next few months, we will continue to optimise and develop The Circle’s content and appearance to make it a vibrant place for our guests, tenants, employees, visitors and passengers.”
An overview of all shops and restaurants is available here: www.flughafen-zuerich.ch/circle.
