Police and Justice Center Canton Zurich PJZ: Structural engineering

With a length of 280 meters and a width of 115 meters, the solid construction houses 2030 workplaces, a prison wing with 280 places, an operations center, laboratory rooms for forensics, storage rooms for explosive goods, a gym, a shooting range, training rooms for the police school, a petrol station, an underground car park for emergency vehicles and a helipad.

The structural system of the building was particularly challenging due to the different uses and room sizes. On the first basement floor, which is designed for maneuvering articulated lorries, coaches and emergency vehicles, a few supports had to be sufficient to bear the load of the ceiling and the floors above. To make this possible, a steel mushroom measuring 3x3 meters and weighing 12 tons was lifted onto a support in a spectacular operation - one of the largest of its kind in the whole of Switzerland.