Kloten begins work on its most expensive Schluefweg renovation project

Work on the refurbishment of the indoor swimming pool, energy centre and ancillary buildings is set to begin in summer 2026 on Schluefweg in Kloten. The public-sector project, costing around 133 million Swiss francs, will be carried out in phases and will see the site undergoing a complex refurbishment whilst remaining in operation for several years.

On Schluefweg in Kloten, the town has given the go-ahead for its largest public construction project to date. The phased regeneration of the town centre – comprising an indoor swimming pool, conference facilities and new energy infrastructure – is estimated to cost around 133 million Swiss francs and is expected to take several years to complete.

Work will begin on the site of the former mini-golf course. The first phase will see the construction of a pavilion for the Freizeit Kloten association, a clubhouse for the beach volleyball club and the new energy centre for heating and ventilation. This marks not simply the start of a building refurbishment, but the technical reorganisation of a municipal leisure and sports facility dating from 1976 and 1977.

Construction whilst operations continue
The town is pursuing a phased implementation so that operations can be maintained for as long as possible. According to available information, the conference centre will remain in use until the end of March 2027. The indoor swimming pool will not be closed initially, as plans are in place to first add an additional 25-metre pool. Only then will the refurbishment of the existing pool area, including the wellness zones, take place.

For the property and construction sector, it is precisely this phased approach that is the crucial factor. The project combines new replacement buildings, building services, energy supply and the refurbishment of existing structures at a heavily used public site. Such projects increase the planning demands, as construction processes, user operations and technical interfaces must be managed in parallel over a period of years.

Energy sets the pace
The new energy centre is particularly significant. It is intended to supply the entire Schluefweg Centre, including the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and is therefore not merely an ancillary building but the infrastructural prerequisite for the subsequent stages of refurbishment. This case illustrates how, in municipal developments today, energy and building services systems are often overhauled first, before the actual user spaces are refurbished.

Added to this is the scale of the project. Kloten has already invested substantial sums in Schluefweg in recent years, including in the refurbishment of the outdoor pool and the new ice training rink. However, with the project now underway, the site is taking on a whole new dimension. Schluefweg will thus become a major municipal construction site for years to come, demonstrating just how challenging the modernisation of public sports and leisure facilities has become.