At least temporarily: Major renovation work is beginning at the tradition-filled UBS headquarters on Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse. The concept follows in the footsteps of arch rival Credit Suisse.

At 45 Bahnhofstrasse overalls and pneumatic drills are replacing pin-stripe suits and discrete advice. As announced by the bank on Monday, its prestigious headquarters on Zurich’s most famous street is undergoing large-scale renovation.

The decision to upgrade has major consequences. The landmark building, opened in 1916 by the forerunner of UBS Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft (SBG) and extended in 1953, will remain closed during the entire three-year building period, UBS says.

As recently as May, the bank was estimating that the renovation would take two years, as reported by at the time by
finews.ch.

200 bankers moving

As part of the project, the marble counter hall (pictured above) will be renovated and brought up to state-of-the-art condition. The transformation already undergone by UBS’s 300 Swiss branches will now be seen at the heart of the large bank, which will be adapted to fit the groups’ current advice and design concept.

This will mean some changes for clients and employees. UBS is opening a new temporary branch in Pelikanstrasse 9a. The new branch «generally offers the same capacities as the old one,» the bank promises. According to media reports, the majority of some 200 employees based in headquarters will move to the «Grünenhof» on Nüschelerstrasse in Zurich.

This temporary location was apparently not the first choice of the HQ staff – they would have preferred to move to the UBS branch in Paradeplatz, as previously reported.

Acknowledgement of location

The concept for the large project comes from the Zurich offices of EM2N Architects, winners of a two-part competition. The architects convinced the jury through «their symbiotic combination of modern and traditional elements», according to UBS.

The architects are genuinely attempting something new in the century-old history of the bank headquarters. They plan to bring to life the so-called Münzhof with a café on the Bahnhofstrasse. As well as this new shopping units will be opened on the ground floor along the Bahnhofstrasse and Pelikanstrasse.

For Thomas Ulrich, UBS regional director for Zurich, this is a clear recognition of the Zurich location and the Swiss domestic market. «The new design of the ground floor will also make the building more accessible to visitors», he promises.

Lichthof lights the way

With the opening of its headquarters to the public, UBS is taking a leaf out of the book of its arch rival Credit Suisse, which carried out a large-scale renovation of its splendid «Lichthof» building in Zurich Paradenplatz at the turn of the millennium. At the time CS was the first to include shopping space and restaurants in the ground floor.

The ‘open’ concept was also adopted by Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) in its headquarters at Bahnhofstrasse 9, as reported recently by finews.ch (article in German).

Expectations are now high for the transformation of Switzerland’s largest bank.