When plans were announced to build a new construction on the 63,608 square metre former site of the goods yard in Zurich’s Aussersihl-Hard district, those in charge decided to think big: Zurich’s Cantonal Construction Department made plans for the Judiciary Centre Zurich (PJZ) as a crime-fighting competence centre on an area of 35,558 square metres. The new building contains the department of the Cantonal Police, the Public Prosecution Department and the Penal Institution as well as the Forensic Institute, the Zurich Police Academy and parts of the Compulsory Measures Court. Upon completion, the PJZ will have enough space for around 2030 desks. There will also be around 280 jail spaces for people taken into temporary custody and awaiting trial. The PJZ brings the Cantonal Police together into one place along with prosecuting authorities and the police and judiciary jail, all of which are currently spread out across over 30 different locations.

The facade made of glass and a green shimmering natural stone is a striking feature of the building complex, which was designed by Theo Hotz Partner Architekten from Zurich. The stone is called Verde Salvan (also known as Vert de Salvan) and is mined in Salvan in the Swiss canton of Valais. Attaching the stone panels to the concrete construction presented a major challenge to those involved in planning and implementing the project. The engineering firm IBT was among those involved in the project, while the company Marvit was responsible for the substructure and constructing the facade. Atelier P3 AG was in charge of planning. The 3D natural stone panels were up to 40 millimetres thick, which meant the anchors had to carry a particularly high load. “The diagonal joints on the PJZ facade proved to be a challenge“, says Uwe Kirchesch from the IBT engineering firm, who has worked on the structural design of a total facade area of over 1,000,000 m² throughout his life. “In order to comply with regulations, mandrel anchors may not be used in this case. The joint would have to be straightened first, which is why I like to opt for the FZP II undercut anchor by fischer. This allowed me to carry out the work in a compliant and visually appealing manner”. 

“Next we carried out multiple pull-out tests. The results showed that our undercut anchors FZP II 13x15 M8/23 Carbon are ideal for carrying these heavy loads”, confirms Steven-Henrik Maier, Market Manager fischer facade systems. “Our excellent cooperation with the IBT engineering firms and our fischer facade systems division proved to be successful with the technical support we provided on the project”. The Zykon panel anchors FZP II provide a form-fit fastening without expansion pressure in the conical undercut drill hole. Being installed on the reverse allows them to be positioned in the 1/5 point of the facade panel. This technology achieves significantly lower slab bending moments and higher load-bearing capacities. The FZP II also allows individual panels to be replaced, should the case occur.

“From an aesthetic point of view, it was an advantage that our anchors allow the panels to be installed with concealed fixings”, says Steven-Henrik Maier. “The undercut anchors are concealed when viewed from the facade’s exterior, which provides an overall harmonious look to the building”. The architect Stefan Adler from the Theo Hotz Partner Architekten firm emphasized the effect of the facade made of glass and a green and grey toned natural stone. “‘Verde Salvan’ is a so-called conglomerate stone which stands out as a true ‘natural’ stone due to its lively structure and various trapped stones and colour nuances”, the planner says. “At the same time, ‘Verde Salvan’ is tremendously solid, which was required in order to implement the three-dimensional, sharp-edged geometry of the PJZ facade. As a timeless and robust material, the stone also conveys the grandeur of an ‘administrative building’. The office holders are due to move into their new quarters in 2022.

The ingenious undercut technology behind the green shimmering facade will provide the administrative building with a dignified look for many years to come while combining safety and functionality with modern visuals.

Further information can be found under: www.pjz.ch