BINZ

Occupied since May 2006

Since three years, the factory site at the Uetlibergstrasse 111/111a in Zurich, Switzerland, has been squatted. Today, about 40 people live here. Many more people use the site regularly. Every day people work in the garages and workshops, theater groups and several bands practice, film projects are being realized and the trainings room is used daily. People come to do things and to share ideas with others. That is Binz today, in full bloom, offering many people shelter, inspiration and room to realize their ideas.

In 1983, the canton of Zurich acquired the factory buildings after the Color Metal AG went out of business. The buildings date from 1894. The first plans of the canton were to make the buildings into a multi-purpose site including the cantonal Information Technology Department («EDV»), a «Kantonale Drucksachen- und Materialzentrale» (KDMZ, cantonal printed media and material storage) and a «Bezirksgefängnis» (BGZ, cantonal prison). Because these plans were not in accordance with legal building regulations, the area has been rented out for several temporary uses and eventually given «in Gebrausleihe» (as users loan) to the city of Zurich. The city planned a provisional Free Style park in the buildings, and gave notice to all tenants for this. After the buildings were left empty, they were squatted in May 2006. The Free Style park project was cancelled in early summer 2007, due to delays resulting from objections from neighboring house owners.

Development rights

After three years of good cooperation with the city of Zurich, the «Gebrausleihvertrag» (users loan) has ended with the month of June and the canton has again become responsible for the site. Obviously determined to act as quickly as possible, the canton published in the «Amtsblatt» (official city paper) a «Submissionsverfahren» (an invitation to open the bidding) of the demolition of the buildings. According to the announcement the demolition was to start at the 1st of July. This announcement came as a complete surprise to us. To clarify the facts, we contacted the responsible authorities of the canton. The result of the following meeting was the oral assurance that nothing will be done until the end of September. It is in the intention of the cantonal Building Commission to hand over the land «im Baurecht» (sell over the building rights in exclusivity for max. 99 years). For that, only market-economy criteria will matter. If the future owner prefers to have the area cleared and decontaminated before taking possession, than at the 1st of October the demolition will start.

Contaminations

During the month of July, the planning of the cantonal real estate office has changed. Now the area shall be sold, after a cone penetration test is done and has been determined to which extent and what kind of clearings of contaminations are necessary. According to the geologist engaged by the cantonal real estate office, for this a demolition of the buildings is indispensable. The preliminary timetable looks like follows:

November 1st, 2009: start of demolition
November 2009 Ð February 2010: cone penetration test
March Ð August 2010: invitation to tenders and giving the area in develpŸment rights
August 2010 Ð X 2012: clearing of contaminations and project development
X 2012: start of new build

After we have expressed doubts about this and that a demolition for the planned tests is unacceptable, the cantonal authorities have agreed to examine the situation. The geologist engaged by the canton has declared under which circumstances the tests with existing buildings can be done. A geologist engaged by us, has done an independent assessment of the situation. Both experts have come to conclusions the survey on contaminations can be done without demolition of the buildings. Based on these conclusions, the responsible persons of the real estate office are willing to tolerate the occupation for the present under certain conditions. The conditions are:
- no hindrance to the cone penetration tests
- evacuation of the area per August 1st, 2010
- deposition of caution money of 20.000 CHF for the possible waste disposal of bulky refuse left of the period of occupation

We have confirmed these demands to a great extend except for the fixed date to leave the area, to which we do not want to commit ourselves yet. We have proposed the authorities to discuss the state of the project development in spring 2010, when the results of the surveys are clear and the progress of the project planning are more concrete. So no unreasonable demolition still will be doneÉ About the 20.000 CHF, as we suggested, that would be provided up to the end of this year.

Money or eviction

The answer to this, to our opinion, very cooperative confirmation, turned out grumpy: «If the money not before the end of September is deposited on our bank account, then we will order by return the eviction and demolition of the buildings.» All the more stunning this answer was, for in the original demand no specific payment deadline was mentioned.

That came somewhat suddenly for us, because we were of opinion to be on the right track towards a mutual accepted situation. When in the past six months many practical constraints regarding the immediate demolition have proved to be unfounded, we read the answer of the real estate office as building up pressure. Demanded are concessions and one-sided caution money. We observe an incoherent communication and no concrete building plan from the side of the canton, but instead we view threats to evict and demands for money.

The demands for money we consider in several aspects to be questionable. The deposit of financial sureties without binding agreement, or the fact that the halls at the time of the occupation where far from empty, are two aspects. A preliminary demolition is for us, for whatever reason, unacceptable. Besides that, we occupy, use and bring life to vacant buildings, among other things, precisely because we want to concentrate on other matters than money. If really our contribution is the only possibility to save the real estate office from their nightmare about rubbish, and to convince them that we are serious in first to establish a working relationship, and second to stay here, in that case we make this once only exception: «You get the coins, we keep the bread».

And after all

As before, we see no good reasons to leave the place where we are living to remain un-used. We are not here by chance: We have occupied these empty buildings because we want a self-determined and communally oriented life. To realize this we need space and the Binz offers an ideal place. It has the space. The buildings have no pre-defined functions. They can be arranged and rearranged according to needs and intentions. In this way, there have formed a variety of spaces and niches, projects and creations that are as diverse as the people that have made them. At the same time, the communal use of the buildings demands and promotes cooperation. We share not only the infrastructure but also knowledge and ideas. All this we accomplish with great commitment and with little money. We invest our time and energy, and thus can live our lives with respect and autonomy. At the same time, individual skills and social abilities are developed. The potentials that arise in this way are innovative and lasting. These effects reach beyond the Binz and are found again in innumerable forms. Be it in politics, research, art and culture, crafts, family, etc.

In brief: because the Binz is threatened by unnecessary and premature demolition, and because we are convinced that a place like the Binz is highly needed, we have launched two petitions: BINZBLEIBTBINZ and BINZBLEIBTBINZBIS. We would be pleased if you signed today, at best both.