The Circle
Micro-city for inspiring moments, lively encounters and unimagined possibilities.
Daniel Scheifele, Chief Real Estate Officer, Flughafen Zurich AG
«In dormakaba we have a competent and reliable partner at our side. They have worked closely with us to create tailor-made, cutting-edge security solutions that impress us each and every day.»
General building data
Building description: Building complex
Building type: Offices, Shopping & Retail, Hotels & Restaurants
Address: 8058 Zurich Airport
Completion: 11/2020
Constructor/Owner: Flughafen Zurich AG, Swiss Life AG
Architect: Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop, Japan
Architecture prizes/Awards: LEED® PLATINUM, German Architecture Annual 2021
Partners involved: KOCH Group AG, SecuSuisse AG
The Circle
Located in close proximity to Zurich Airport, the complex called “The Circle” with its six buildings is one of the largest service centres in Switzerland. The Circle is a highly developed micro-city addressing the needs of modern travellers, sophisticated visitors and expectant tenants.
Based on the requirements of “Swissness”, surprise and connectedness with the world, the architect Riken Yamamoto created the concept of the airport city, inspired by medieval trade and cultural centres, to connect visitors and interests of all kinds and descriptions.
Divers(c)ity is a tangible presence on the roughly 180,000 m2 of floor space , providing ample room for health, beauty, education, knowledge, culture, events, brands, dialogue, consulting, services, hotels, offices and storage facilities.
The customer’s requirement for dormakaba
- An access management system with a high degree of flexibility and scalability, to satisfy the needs of a very diverse group of tenants
- An access management system that supports existing organisations and processes
- Convenient and secure access solutions
- Connectivity of door and access components
- Door solutions for emergency exits and escape routes in different versions, e.g. automatic sliding doors, single and double-leaf swing doors
- Options for integrating the access solutions into future technologies
dormakaba’s solution
Flughafen Zurich AG and dormakaba have been working together successfully for over 20 years. Automatic door systems, sensor barriers and the exos access management system not only direct foot traffic to and inside the buildings of Zurich Airport, but also regulate access to sensitive areas. Flughafen Zurich AG is in charge of operations at The Circle as well, and has been involved in this unparalleled project from day one. Regarding access, it was clear from the start that the access management system would need to be suitable for a diverse range of tenants, be they hotels, boutiques, restaurants or service providers. Thanks to its high degree of scalability and flexibility, dormakaba exos satisfies those criteria and makes for a secure investment.
Safety is essential anyplace where lots of people congregate, especially when in close proximity to Zurich Airport. The emergency exit and escape route system SafeRoute ensures at more than 200 access points at The Circle that people can leave the buildings quickly in case of emergency, and that under standard operation, access can be denied where necessary to protect property.
The Circle is unique not only as a lifestyle and business complex, but is also an architectural masterpiece, drawing attention with its boomerang structure. The distinct, curved facade represented special challenges for some of the emergency exit and escape routes. Due to the bend, the swing door operators have to perform at a higher level than is usual, which is guaranteed by a firmware developed especially for The Circle.
Automatic sliding doors provide convenient and barrier-free access at The Circle. Depending on the door type, the automatic doors are equipped with RC2-grade intrusion protection with escape route, or fire protection with escape route. In addition, most of the automatic sliding doors have a specially designed cylinder in the main closing edge for mechanical emergency intervention.
The interplay of door and access components is essential for smooth operation and to ensure the access system is future-proof. Zurich Airport and dormakaba will continue to work together in the future to implement and use new solutions and technologies at The Circle.