The 24th report of the Zurich Heritage Society

May 2024

The latest report from the Zurich Cantonal Monument Preservation Office presents comprehensive restorations and preserves the region's architectural heritage. The 24th volume covers a wide range of monuments from different eras and architectural styles that were successfully restored between 2017 and 2018.

With its 24th report, the Zurich Cantonal Monument Preservation Office has published a detailed documentation of its work in recent years, providing important insights into the restoration of architectural monuments throughout the canton. This volume contains 34 detailed texts on individual buildings and ensembles spanning a period of more than 700 years of building culture. The selected projects illustrate the typological diversity and regional distribution of monuments in Zurich.

Particularly noteworthy in this report is the increase in projects from the 20th century, including striking buildings such as the Tibet Institute in Zell, the landscaping of the Wintower in Winterthur and the Pavillon Le Corbusier in Zurich. The report also presents a number of educational and catering buildings as well as agricultural structures that are characteristic of regional architecture.

Outstanding examples include the castle ruins of Alt-Wülflingen near Winterthur, the guild house “Zur Meisen” and the “Schildner zum Schneggen” society house in Zurich as well as the historicist Wart Castle in Neftenbach. Two villas with extensive parks in Horgen and Männedorf are also included in the report.

The documentation of each property in the report includes a timeline of the construction history, detailed descriptions of the measures carried out and extensive illustrations. The report is supplemented by two introductory articles dealing with liturgical buildings in Dielsdorf and innovations in timber construction in the early 20th century in the canton of Zurich. These articles shed light on the influence of civil engineering on architecture and the importance of building with wood during a period of major technical and cultural change.

Finally, the report contains around 90 short reports on renovations accompanied by monument conservationists, which illustrate the breadth and depth of monument conservation activities in the Canton of Zurich. The 24th Report on the Preservation of Historical Monuments in Zurich thus offers a valuable resource for specialists in monument preservation, architecture and urban planning as well as for anyone interested in the preservation of cultural heritage.

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