One year of the Circle at Zurich Airport
Since the opening on 5 November 2020, new tenants have continued to move into the Circle, steadily expanding the diverse offering. In the coming weeks, the Hyatt Place Zurich Airport The Circle hotel will open its doors, and the first music and light festival – Zauberpark – will take place in the Park.
One year on from the opening, the co-ownership structure the Circle seems to be broadly satisfied. Despite the ongoing challenging environment, 85 percent of the space has been let – bringing an exciting mix of well-known names from the technology, pharmaceuticals, finance and consultancy sectors. New tenants have also continued to move into the lanes, the restaurants are well frequented, and the Hyatt Regency Zurich Airport The Circle hotel and The Circle Conference Center are solidly booked. The offshoot of University Hospital Zurich located in the Circle now treats around 1,000 patients a day.
A look back at twelve months of the Circle
Circle community – offices
Summer 2021 saw the opening of Spaces, Switzerland’s largest coworking space. The new office tenants that have taken up residence since this summer include Edelweiss Air, Unispace, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Hyatt International, SAP and Vebego. Due to the recommendation to work from home, only around a third of the employees working in the Circle are regularly on site. In the coming weeks and months, Microsoft, NTT Data, Singapore Airlines and Oracle will move into their office space, rounding out the IT cluster at Zurich Airport. The crèche in the Circle is also expected to open at the end of the year. The little space that has not yet been let continues to be marketed.
New offerings in the lanes
Various openings also took place in the lanes. For example, the full-line furniture store Bruno Wickart opened a showroom in the Circle over around 600 m2 of space, thereby extending the diverse offering at Zurich Airport to include the home and living segments. AMAG went live with its mobility hub “the square” for new sustainable mobility in July 2021 and the venerable Swiss fashion company Bayard has been welcoming customers to its showroom for several months now. In addition, in October fitness center Kieser opened a new flagship studio in the Circle together with VAMED. cermony enhances the offering in the Circle with its natural beauty, well-being and health services. And just a few days ago, Racing Unleashed opened its Racing Lounge right next to the main square.
The restaurants and cafés in the Circle attract a good number of visitors. The newly opened staff restaurant Chreis 14 is frequented daily by many of the employees who work in the Circle and the 150 square-metre terrace in the Sablier was a particular highlight in the summer.
It’s an enormous pleasure to see the Circle becoming increasingly bustling. We’re aware that everything is not yet perfect, but we’re on the right track and working on it every day.
In mid-September 2021, the first district festival in the Circle also enticed a number of visitors from the region with tenant promotions, food stands, a children’s programme and various concerts. The Park is very popular. Whether for an outdoor lunch, an outing with family or friends or a jog – thanks to the funicular, the seating and the sky platform with its view, this attraction has something to suit all tastes.
Hyatt Regency Hotel & Convention Center
Following the opening of the Hyatt Regency Zurich Airport The Circle and The Circle Convention Center connected to it, Zurich Airport now plays a stronger role as a location for meetings and dialogue. The hotel has over 255 rooms and is the first in Switzerland to operate under the Hyatt Regency brand. Since the end of May, there has been a promising rise in small to mid-sized events. The Circle Conference was held successfully on 1 July 2021, numbering 1,000 guests. There has since been a steady increase in bookings, comprising private events, small to mid-sized corporate events and conferences. This clear upturn in business gives the operators cause to feel upbeat about the future. The Circle Convention Center brings conferences and corporate meetings for up to 2,500 guests to the Circle. This has a positive impact on occupancy rates at the Hyatt Regency Zurich Airport The Circle hotel. At the same time as the hotel, the Babel restaurant also opened, bringing guests a taste of the Middle East.
New winter festival in the Airport Park
The new winter festival, Zauberpark, will get under way on 25 November. Every day for 18 days, there will be live open-air concerts and children’s shows taking place in the Airport Park. Guests will have the pleasure of discovering various light installations in the Park. All information can be found at zauberpark.ch.
Opening of the Hyatt Place Zurich Airport The Circle hotel on 15 December
The second Hyatt hotel, the Hyatt Place Zurich Airport The Circle, will open on 15 December, offering 300 hotel rooms and the ZOOM Restaurant & Bar catering concept. The opening of the new hotel will be a further milestone for the Circle and the perfect complement to the existing offering at the Hyatt Regency Zurich.
Video on the anniversary: https://youtu.be/6In5NKNbkhw
Current images for use: https://www.flughafen-zuerich.ch/newsroom/fotos/
You can find an overview of the Circle community at thecircle.ch.
About The Circle
The Circle is a commercial center jointly owned by Zurich Airport Ltd and Swiss Life AG. Since its opening in autumn 2020, the new district at Zurich Airport invites guests to discover the world of brands, and to relax and enjoy the ten restaurants and cafés. Two hotels belonging to the Hyatt group, a congress center accommodating up to 2500 guests, an outpatient health center of the University Hospital of Zurich, attractive office space as well as art, culture and education complete the wide range of services at Switzerland's largest national airport. The Circle, with its accompanying park, is a cultural and economic resource that extends beyond the airport region. The project was realized in joint ownership by Zurich Airport Ltd, holding 51 percent and Swiss Life AG, holding 49 percent.