Town Hall Square Meilen

A village can afford a city square.

The much-discussed village square at the center of Meilen was realized in the course of an extension of the village hall and construction of an underground car park. Formerly a large, functional yet unattractive parking lot occupied the area between the buildings comprised of the village hall, building authority, and ZKB and UBS banks. Only a few benches and a fountain were located near the UBS building. Connections between the buildings involved different levels, requiring the use of stairs, ramps, and a crossing of the parking lot. The new design of the village square presents the large area on a single level extending to the rear of the ZKB building at street level. All the buildings now have direct access to the square. The lower schoolhouse area is joined by means of a generous stair sculpture with an integrated ramp. The broad design of the “ramp stairs” emphasizes the connection between the lower macadamized “soft” grounds and the upper “hard” village square.

A café at the side of the stairs functions as a link between the upper and lower areas. This gives the café an optimal central location on the square with plenty of space for seating. In the west, a straight edge was created to the south of the UBS building to allow for the addition of buildings in the future. The new village square offers enough space for the events of the community, such as market days and fairs. A row of trees between the village hall and the UBS building provides shade for resting and leads visitors from the street to the square.