Editor Axel Simon believes it's worth knowing the difference between elephant gray and mouse gray as he examines a troubling trend in Swiss urban development. Zurich's new residential high-rises are becoming increasingly uniform, dreary, and uninspiring, raising questions about the source of this new architectural bleakness dominated by various shades of gray.
The debate began when a journalist contacted Simon via email seeking expert opinion on a widespread building trend: "I'm researching the very common building form - flat roof, square, in muted colors, often grayish. How is this standardization being discussed in professional circles?" Simon's initial response was blunt: not at all. He argued that these uninspired buildings had neither demanding clients nor required real architects, as they were driven exclusively by profit motives.
However, walking past Escher-Wyss-Platz, Simon began to have doubts about his harsh assessment. The two high-rises shooting into the sky behind the tram depot are indeed rectangular and feature gray tones, but they come from prestigious sources. The client is the City of Zurich itself, and the architectural firm is the highly regarded Morger Partner. The jury report speaks of "convincing integration into the urban context," while the firm's website describes their "contextual approach" and "suggestively poetic moment."
What Simon actually sees, however, is a towering stack of over 20 stories featuring rows of identical concrete frames housing 193 apartments arranged in a grid pattern. Reddit commentators have associated these "gray, cold slabs" with either the Soviet Union of the 1960s or Yugoslavia of the 1970s. As one user noted, "Zurich architects would love this," probably because it reminds them of their own 1990s beginnings as architects during the Swiss-Box era.
The prevalence of gray extends far beyond architecture into contemporary culture. Gray has become the color of our time - Meghan Markle drinks lavender-gray lattes on Netflix, and even the most aggressive SUVs now sport warm gray paint jobs. This non-color once had a worse reputation, one might think. Yet when it comes to the built environment, gray still represents the worst evil outside professional architectural circles.
Just ten minutes north of Escher-Wyss-Platz by bike, the Letzibach D residential development is nearing completion, also commissioned by the City of Zurich. This project contains 265 apartments, continuing the pattern of gray uniformity that has come to characterize modern urban housing development in Switzerland's largest city.
The architectural establishment's embrace of this gray aesthetic reflects broader questions about contemporary urban planning priorities. While professionals may celebrate the contextual sensitivity and poetic qualities they claim to see in these developments, public reaction suggests a disconnect between architectural theory and lived experience. The phenomenon raises fundamental questions about whether efficiency and profit margins have superseded creativity and human-centered design in modern residential construction.
This trend toward gray uniformity in Zurich's skyline represents more than just aesthetic concerns - it reflects deeper issues about urban identity, architectural ambition, and the balance between practical housing needs and inspirational city-building. As more of these developments reshape Switzerland's urban landscape, the debate over their merit continues to divide professional architects and the general public who must live with the results.
