Images of the Periphery: The Architecture of Flex Space in Switzerland

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Abstract
The peripheries of Swiss cities are currently being restructured at an unprecedented pace. Specifically, new commercial and office developments are mushrooming along the major traffic arteries. Peripheral centers without a center have sprung up. In this paper, urban forms are described in relation to the architectural form. The new urban form comes with a specific aesthetic programme: the architecture and the planning design of the industrial and office centers in the periphery defy the mass-produced built environment of earlier suburbanization. Rather, ‘individualized’ architectural designs lend themselves to custom-made commercialization of the new urban landscape. Buildings increasingly become billboards which are strategically placed along freeways and rail lines. Finally, in what seems a marked difference to automobile-based peripheral centralization in North America and other parts of Europe, the Swiss example depends heavily on a state-managed expansion of the railroads and light-rail systems.

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