Last weekend I walked to the industrial Zurich-West district (Kreis 5) to explore the Viadukt, a unique feat in architecture and urban design. The architects used the archways of a 1890s-era stone railroad bridge to create a shopping district within the existing structure – each of the 30+ shops is 1 archway “wide” and spans the width of the viaduct “deep”, with 2 floors of retail space. The interior walls of the shops are all exposed stone, providing contrast to the modern fashion and clothing – a perfect match for the edgy Zurich-West clientele. At the end of the Viadukt sits a market with individual food and shopping stalls for locally-sourced products. The Viadukt shows the ingenuity of design in an otherwise “contained’ area.
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