1913

Zurich, Mythenquai

United Arab Emirates

Swiss Re had eight different addresses in its first 50 years. The continuous growth of the company brought a constant demand for more office space. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Board of Directors decided to build a new headquarters.

The reinsurer planned to construct the new premises on land it had acquired near the Lake of Zurich. Mythenquai, the planned building site, at that time was still on the outskirts of the town. Urban growth, however, brought the city centre closer and was turning Mythenquai into a coveted address, not least because of its lakeside position.

Mythenquai had been constructed at the end of the 19th century, the result of an area being filled in to reclaim land from the Lake of Zurich. This made it possible to have a metropolitan silhouette errected there.

In 1910, Swiss Re held a design competition for the new structure, with the main requirement being that it should be an18th century-style building. The design should emphasize clear lines and well-defined proportions, rather than rich decorations. The young architect Alexander von Senger won the competition. In close collaboration with the company's management, he designed a neo-baroque villa overlooking the lake with a series of symmetrical storeys on a massive base. The building was covered by a Swiss farmhouse-style mansard roof with overhanging eaves. The move into the completed office building took place on October 1913.

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