Images from recent events
Stadtluft Evening Event in Winterthur, September 2025
Berlin writer and flâneur David Wagner took part in selected
events, strolled through Winterthur, and in the evening offered
his impressions ‘à chaud’ as a prelude.
The evening’s panel (from left to right): Katrin Bindner, Head of
Urbanism Germany at Henning Larsen; Kees Christiaanse, founder of
KCAP; Laura Weißmüller, editor at the Süddeutsche Zeitung; Clemens
Horak, Head of Urban Development for Vienna; and Wolfgang Sonne,
Professor at TU Dortmund.
Open-minded and attentive — the Winterthur audience in the Blauer
Saal.
Katrin Bindner has the full attention of the panel.
Full house in the industrial hall of the ZHAW School of
Architecture.
Laura Weißmüller, the leading architecture and urban planning
expert at the Süddeutsche Zeitung, leads into the topic ‘The
Densified City.’
The emeritus professor of ETH Zurich and TU Berlin highlighted how
relatively low the density of Swiss cities is compared with, for
example, the Netherlands.
Jakob Walter, a member of ZAS*, argued in favor of repurposing the
vacant children’s hospital in Zurich, saying that abandoning it
contradicts the principles of a densified city.
Christa Meier, Winterthur’s city councilor in charge of
construction and mobility, welcomed both domestic and
international guests, along with the audience.
Stadtluft “The Densified City” Workshops in Winterthur, November
2025
The ‘Manhattan Principle’ of Stadtluft. Two guest cities, arriving
with teams of three, and an expert panel with concentrated
professional knowledge work together to improve the presented
project. The collective intelligence that characterizes dense,
diverse megacities is curated and staged here in a very confined
space.
Team Berlin consisted of Elke Plate from the Berlin Senate
Department for Urban Development; Klaus Riske, head of the Urban
Development Office at Berlin’s Pankow District Office; and Felix
Weisbricht, a senior official at the Berlin Forestry Department
and the Streets and Green Spaces Office in the
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district.
Rupert Wimmer, Head of Transport and Public Space at Zurich’s
Civil Engineering Office, actively participates in the discussion.
Andrea Roman Sorg, head of Stadtluft, leads the proceedings
throughout the day.
Wolfgang Sonne – Professor of the History and Theory of
Architecture at the Technical University of Dortmund, Scientific
Director of the Baukunstarchiv NRW, and Deputy Director of the
German Institute for Urban Design.
Emilie Hergott, Director of Design and Realization at AREP, the
SNCF agency that plans all railway stations in France and
maintains offices in China, Vietnam, and Switzerland.
Expert knowledge, lined up (from left to right): Riet Bezzola,
Head of Planning at Pool Architekten and President of the Forum
Architektur Winterthur; Reiulf Ramstad, founder of Reiulf Ramstad
Arkitekter in Oslo and Copenhagen; Kristin Stokke Ramstad, CEO of
the firm; and Martin Sandtner, cantonal planner of Basel-Stadt.
French eloquence at work.
Benjamin Meyer, cantonal planner for the Canton of Zurich, speaks
as Jens Andersen, City Architect of Winterthur, listens.
Viennese charm: the agile Clemens Horak, Head of Urban Development
and Planning for the City of Vienna, speaks. Next to him are his
colleagues Christina Kirchmair of the Urban Development
Department’s Division for Transdisciplinary Urban Topics, and
Claudia Steinbacher of the Department of District Planning and
Land Use.
Jeannett Inderbitzin, Head of Product & Service Management for
Railway Technology at SBB, shares facts and figures about
Winterthur station, Switzerland’s third-largest station.
Three-quarters of its passengers are commuters, and the average
dwell time is brief.
Program and dossier: the day’s must-read.
A scene from Stadtluft. The moderator is digging for details.
Time and again: Jens Andersen.
Benjamin Meyer speaks as Stefan Zemp, holding a cantonal position
for traffic master planning and overall transport planning in
Winterthur and its surroundings, signals that he wishes to join
the conversation.
Stadtluft Conclusion “The Densified City” Workshops in Winterthur,
November 2025
What did we learn today? Even after an intense day, the Zurich
cantonal planner still brings a smile to the room. To his left is
Winterthur’s city architect, Jens Andersen. The teams “Vienna” and
“Berlin” are represented by Claudia Steinbacher and Klaus Risken.
On the far right, the cheerful moderator Andrea Roman Sorg.
Even after countless debates: sincere and good-natured. The
leading minds of the “Winterthur & Canton of Zurich” team.
What can big Berlin learn from small Winterthur? Quite a lot.
Stadtluft Connections at “The Densified City” Workshops in
Winterthur, November 2025
They make the landscapes of Switzerland flourish—and beyond.
Between Paris, Zurich, and Berlin, there are many train stations.
What is Vienna’s place in the history of urban planning?
Reading plans (and programs) is also fun for the Zurich planners.
Stadtluft even brings Zurich and Basel architects together at one
table.
A Spanish–Dutch–German exchange.
A Swiss–Norwegian exchange.
A Swiss Dane and a Norwegian with offices in Denmark get along
perfectly.
Train stations, landscapes, and cities.
Shared memories.
Trees also connect Berlin and Munich.
And at the center of it all is Winterthur.
Stadtluft Evening Event in Winterthur, September 2024
Munich-based author Jonas Lüscher, who achieved fame with his
first book “Spring of the Barbarians”, introduced the evening
event.
Star architect Max Dudler, Zurich Councillor of States Tiana
Moser, Zurich Government Councillor and Director of Construction
Martin Neukom and Austrian timber construction pioneer Hermann
Kaufmann. The event was moderated by Laura Weismüller from the
Süddeutsche Zeitung (from left to right).
Side-kick with Alexander Stumm, founder of the Berlin-based
“Demolition Moratorium”.
View of the fantastic “Blue Hall” at the ZHAW.
The evening was opened by Christa Meier, the Winterthur city
councillor responsible for construction.
Presenter Laura Weissmüller from the Munich-based Süddeutsche
Zeitung.
Stadtluft “The Recycled City” Workshops in Winterthur, September
2024
View into the “Forum“ of Winterthur's city administration. Anita
Eckhardt, a member of Implenia's Executive Board, presents the
world's tallest timber high-rise building to the expert tribune.
Stadtluft Swarm intelligence in the expert tribune. Wolfram
Kübler, Partner at WaltGalmarini, speaks. Matthias Eisele, Partner
at merz kley partner (top right), Markus Schäfer, Partner at
Hosoya Schaefer Architects (white shirt with blue polka dots), and
Bernhard Egert, Head of Timber Construction and Green Building at
UBM Development, listen.
Conversation in Danish. Jens Andersen, city architect of
Winterthur, talks to the Copenhagen architects of the timber
high-rise: Mads Kaltoft, Principal & Partner, and Vagn Borlund
Project Manager, at Schmidt Hammer Lassen.
Danish architecture for Winterthur: Mads Kaltoft presents the
high-rise plans.
Bernhard Egert takes the floor.
Team Vienna intervenes: Benjamin Kromoser, Head of the Institute
for Building Construction, Timber Construction and Construction at
the Vienna University of Bodenkultur.
Politics and administration get involved: Reto Diener, member of
the Winterthur City Parliament's Environment and Public Works
Committee, intervenes. Next to him, Philippe Weber, Chairman of
the Commission. Also in the picture: Katrin Gügler, Director of
the Office for Urban Development of the City of Zurich.
The financial view of sustainability: Sennen Kauz, Head Real
Estate Transaction / Development & Production at Swiss Life Asset
Management.
Andrea Sorg, Partner at Stadtluft, leads through the day.
Martin Joos, city engineer of Winterthur, presents the
sustainability plan for his city.
Team Vienna: In addition to Benjamin Kromoser, Bernhard Jarolim,
Director of Urban Development, and Bernadette Luger, Head of the
Resource Conservation and Sustainability in Construction Unit at
the Department of Urban Development, represented the Austrian
metropolis.
Matthias Eisele intervenes in the expert tribune. Opposite him,
Beda Weber, Head of Timber Construction a.i. Implenia, listens
intently.
Stadtluft Conclusion “The Recycled City” Workshops in Winterthur,
September 2024
What have we learnt? In addition to the representatives of the
cities of Winterthur, Vienna and Berlin, the representative of the
Canton of Zurich, Jasmin Mertens, Head of Circular Economy of the
building department.
Andreas Sonderegger, Co-Head of the Institute of Constructive
Design, ZHAW, was the host in the Blue Room.
A final round with momentum.
Stadtluft Evening Event in Winterthur, September 2023
The Swiss-French bestselling author Alex Capus will give his
keynote speech on the topic of "Trees in the City".
Schwammstadt expert Gerhard Hauber from Henning Larsen speaks
alongside Christine Binswanger, Senior Partner at Herzog & de
Meuron.
Zurich cantonal councillor and construction director Martin Neukom
in his element.
Zora del Buono, Swiss-Italian author of the bestseller "Das Leben
der Mächtigen. Reisen zu alten Bäumen" in a one-on-one interview
with the moderator with moderator Isabel Pfaff, correspondent of
the Süddeutsche Zeitung in Switzerland.
The audience is entertained. In the centre is Thomas Stoiber,
Co-Head of Climate & Mobility of the Canton of Zurich's Department
of Construction. To his left is Gregory Grämiger, Project Manager
for Spatial Planning in the Office for Spatial Development of the
same authority. On the right is project leader Nicolas Perrez from
the Winterthur Office of Urban Development.
Full house in the large hall of the city administration of
Winterthur.
Stadtluft Urban Trees Workshops in Winterthur, September 2023
Stefan Hug, Head of Mobility ad interim of the Civil Engineering
Office of the City of Winterthur introduces a sponge city project.
The Vienna team: Josef Scheichl, Competence Centre Green and
Environmental Infrastructure and Environment of the Baudirekion
Wien, Clemens Horak, Head of Urban Development and Urban Planning
of the City of Vienna, and Isabel Wieshofer, Head of the
Department for Landscape and Open Space Planning of the Vienna
Urban Development (from left to right). In the background, Nicolas
Perrez, Project Manager Spatial Development in the Department of
Urban Development of the City of Winterthur, takes notes.
Team Berlin: Anja Henke, Head of Tree Management in the
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district, and Heike Stock, scientific
officer and co-author of the Urban Development Plan Climate of the
Department of Open Space Planning and Urban Greening of the Berlin
Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and
the Environment (from left to right).
View into the hall where the third and last workshop is running.
The expert panel intervenes every minute and gives valuable
feedback on the projects presented. Here is a contribution by
Zurich landscape architect Lorenz Eugster.
Jens Andersen, the Danish-Swiss city architect of Winterthur,
takes a stand.
A Basel intermezzo during a break: architect Sara Ellenberger
Vaner, landscape architect and gardener Amanda Frantzen and
landscape architect and urbanist from the Basel initiative „Mein
Baum, Dein Baum". Rightmost in the picture Christine Binswanger,
Senior Partner at Herzog & de Meuron.
Andrea Sorg, Head of Stadtluft, and Winterthur's Master Builder
Jens Andersen listen intently.
Stadtluft programme in one picture.
Viennese sharpness of analysis.
Team Berlin in work mode. In the background in front of the memo
wall is Martin Jakl, Co-Head of Urban Space and Architecture at
the Winterthur Urban Planning Office.
In a quiet corner, exchanging ideas over an aperitif. Christine
Binswanger from Herzog & de Meuron and Christine Bräm, Director of
Grün Stadt Zürich.
Stadtluft Conclusion Urban Trees Workshops in Winterthur, September
2023
Conclusion of the day with representatives from Berlin, Vienna and
Winterthur.
After twelve hours on the topic of „Urban trees", Clemens Horak
from the City of Vienna summarised the learnings.
Winterthur's city architect Jens Anderson sums up the the day.
Heike Stock from the Berlin Senate sees urban planning in the
German capital challenged by climate change.
Christa Meier, Head of the Department of Construction and Mobility
of the City of Winterthur, opened both the day's and the evening's
programme.
Christine Bräm, Director Grün Stadt Zürich, takes the floor at the
evening programme.
Stadtluft Evening Event in Winterthur, May 2022
Simon Kuper from the Financial Times introduces the topic
"Bicycles in the City".
Swiss-French writer Alex Capus makes Dutch urban planner Anouk
Kuitenbrouwer laugh.
Moderator Simon Strauss of the F.A.Z. interviews Jacqueline Fehr,
member of the Zurich government.
FT columnist Simon Kuper interviews Danish urban planner Jan Gehl
about a video link in front of a live audience.
A legend and the star columnist united on one screen.
Urban planner Anouk Kuitenbrouwer, author Alex Capus, Cantonal
Councillor Jacquelin Fehr and moderator Simon Strauss (from left
to right).
Stadtluft Velo Workshops in Winterthur, May 2022
Wolfgang Feigl, Head of the Traffic Planning Department of the
City of Graz, sits next to Herbert Elsener, Head of the Traffic
Department of the Civil Engineering Office of the City of
Winterthur.
Helmut Spinka, Cycling Officer of the City of Graz, Markus
Kronheim, Coordination Cycling Offensive 2030 City of Graz and
Province of Styria, Felix Weisbrich, Head of Streets and Green
Spaces Office of the Berlin District Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg,
Merja Spott, Coordination Office Cycling and Walking, Senate
Department for Environment, Mobility, Consumer and Climate
Protection and Stefan Hug, Project Manager at the Civil
Engineering Office of the City of Winterhtur (from left to right).
Wolfgang Feigl, Head of the Traffic Planning Department of the
City of Graz, sits next to Herbert Elsener, Head of the Traffic
Department of the Civil Engineering Office of the City of
Winterthur.
The experts from the cities of Berlin, Graz and Winterthur sit
opposite the expert tribune.
Felix Weisbrich in action.
View into the workshop room. Andrea Sorg from Stadtuft is standing
in front of the screen.
Christine Ziegler, Head of the Climate Office of the City of
Winterthur, was also a member of the expert tribune. In the
background can be seen Steve Coucheman, Head of the Canton of
Zurich's Cycling Unit.
Many concrete solutions were developed during the workshops.
Markus Kronheim helps to attach plans.
Stadtluft Conclusion Velo Workshops in Winterthur, May 2022
Herbert Elsener, Head of Traffic of the Civil Engineering Office
of the City of Winterthur, listens to the Deputy Mayor of Graz,
Judith Schwentner.
Deputy Mayor of Graz Judith Schwentner listens to Andrea Sorg,
founder and director of Stadtluft.
Urban planner Anouk Kuitenbrouwer, government councillor
Jacqueline Fehr and FT columnist Simon Kuper sit in the audience.
Herbert Elsener, Head of the Traffic Department at the Civil
Engineering Office of the City of Winterthur, listens to Felix
Weisbrich, Head of the Roads and Green Spaces Department of the
Berlin district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.
Felix Weisbrich, Herbert Elsener and Judith Schwentner (from left
to right).
Felix Weisbrich, Herbert Elsener, Judith Schwentner and Andrea
Sorg (from left to right).
