The postwar expansion of Zurich unintentionally transformed Dübendorf from a small village into an urban overflow zone—an “accidental Gartenstadt.” Though never planned as such, it developed key garden city qualities: generous green spaces, low-density housing, and strong social ties. Today, this fabric is under pressure. Dübendorf’s new Raumentwicklungskonzept proposes large-scale modernist interventions that categorize neighborhoods for maintenance, development, or radical “restructuring,” involving demolition, densification, and identity-making architecture. This approach contradicts Henri Lefebvre’s notion that urban identity emerges from lived space rather than imposed form. Despite acknowledging displacement risks, political momentum favors market-driven redevelopment (“Einfacher, Schneller, Dichter”), often leading to profit-oriented Ersatzneubauten. The Birchlen Quartier exemplifies this tension.
In response, the project argues for a renewed, contemporary Gartenstadt inspired by a hermeneutic reading of Ebenezer Howard’s original, non-speculative vision—focused on social equity, local production, and ecological balance. Drawing on current post-growth debates, it proposes four strategies: inner densification of single-family homes; outer densification of aging settlements and residual green spaces; reserve activation through adaptive reuse of vacant offices for cooperative housing; and preservation of ecologically valuable landscapes. Together, these strategies show how densification, resilience, and ecology can be achieved without erasing Dübendorf’s accidental Gartenstadt.
