Show houses (“Rotach” houses)

You are standing by the Limmat, a few meters downstream from its confluence with the Sihl. We tell you more about this at the next stop.
On the other side of the river, below the gently sloping covered road, you see a beige housing block. It has a direct connection with the Museum für Gestaltung. In 1928 what was then the Gewerbemuseum – still housed in the National Museum – held an exhibition under the title “The New Home”. As part of its programme, the Museum had these houses built. During the exhibition they were used as show houses to test new kinds of construction and design. The houses were not demolished after the exhibition; until the 1980s they were rented out. The body in charge was the Rotach cooperative, which is why the houses are known not only as show houses but also as “Rotach” houses.
In the 1970s, when the motorway approach road was built behind the houses, they were threatened with demolition. But there was a successful campaign to save them. The houses were allowed to stay. They were sold to individual owners and are now classified as historical monuments.