Case Study: EM2N achieves efficient, large-scale BIM planning for Zurich's Toni-Areal with Vectorworks

EM2N - Customer Case Study

EM2N, a Zurich-based architecture firm, led the redesign of the Toni‑Areal — a former milk-processing complex transformed into a 108,500 m2 mixed-use campus for the new Zurich University of the Arts and departments of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, plus housing, culture and retail. The project was one of the largest construction undertakings in Switzerland (≈350 million CHF) and posed major challenges: enormous data and documentation volumes, complex acoustic and spatial requirements, and the need to reconcile two very different institutions while keeping the building open and integrated into the rapidly evolving Zurich West neighborhood.

EM2N met these challenges by using Vectorworks Architect for CAD/BIM, creating a rigorous set of standards, class structures and a project-wide symbol library to manage teamwork and huge plan sets efficiently (even treating whole residential units as symbols for bulk edits). Paired with a flexible space-allocation strategy and an “inner urbanism” design — including a vertical boulevard, large public hall and cascading circulation — the approach delivered consistent documentation, a flexible plan that accommodates current and future needs, and a civic, permeable building that acts as a catalyst for urban renewal.

EM2N

Christof Zollinger

Associate and General Project Manager