COMPETITION RESULTS

In response to the Swiss minaret ban, FAS launched a competition for an Islamic Center in Zurich, on the Kronenwiese site along the Limmat River. Hoping to catalyze a much needed discussion within the architectural community about cultural differences, we were pleased to receive such a plethora of thoughtful entries. Many entries, looking at ‘integration’ as a mutual exchange of information, found ways to bring Zurich into the Mosque, as well as bring the Mosque into Zurich. They challenged stylistic norms, some going so far as to suggest that religion, as well as architectural style, is bound to evolve in a changing cultural climate.
It is no surprise that our entries came from all over the world, as Switzerland has recently become internationally notorious for this human rights issue. Since local architecture platforms have been apathetic to their own problems, we at FAS recognize it as our responsibility to make voices heard, to open up to other cultures and mentalities. The success of our call reaffirms this need for discussion as well as a real desire for architects to interact politically.
Our next step is a move towards wider debate, deeper confrontation, and more real interactions. Therefore, we would like to take the discussion outside of the architecture realm to the public forum:

We ask the city of Zurich, why shouldn’t an Islamic Center be built here?
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1st Prize
(De) + (Re) thinking Islam in Switzerland
Swapna Parab and Nubras Samayeen

Directing energy towards a network of landforms, rather than built objects, this project succeeds in creating inviting spaces, somehow a peace offering between disparate factions. In lacing the site with an encyclopedic collection of Islamic metaphors, we were particularly interested that the “Paradise Garden” was somehow pious and secular at the same time. A Trojan Horse, it does not present its power outright; one could imagine being in the middle of this Islamic Center without even realizing it.The park avoids an unnecessary discussion about architectural style and minaret by focusing on urban strategies rather than architectural clarity. One could imagine it very well as the next 'Place to be' in Zürich.

2nd Prize
[…]Veil! Void!
Matthew Hall

This project proposes that the Swiss minaret ban necessitates a reconceptualization of the minaret, and Islamic practice, in Switzerland: the “minaret” becomes an observation deck and prayer space on the top floor. However, its fortress-like appearance depicts an image of solidarity and singularity, introspective towards its site. Although menacing and undiplomatic, we found it to be symptomatic of a situation, that Islam is at odds with its surroundings in Europe.

3rd Prize
Ceci n’est pas un minaret
Frei + Saarinen Architektur

In rewriting the program, this ‘Brave Swiss’ mixes routine commercial space with the functions of the Islamic Center. In Zurich, where real estate is always in demand, it is particularly exciting to imagine that members of the conservative SVP (Schweizerische Volkspartei) might find their new headquarters looking out into a minaret-void. Ironically, the office tower and minaret are both symbols of power; their combination suggests that Switzerland’s love of commerce outweighs its fear of Islam.