Interim use of the Shedhalle on the LG site in Zug

Photo: View into the currently-empty Shedhalle, where food stalls and trampolines will soon stand.
 
Siemens opened its new campus in Zug in early December, which means that production is no longer taking place in the Shedhalle on the LG site. Like the adjacent Garden City 2a, this building will be put to various interim uses up to 2022 – until the owners have decided on its future.
 
Two projects for this purpose were presented at the beginning of September. Markus Kragler is the manager of the “Freiruum” project, which is to be realised in the Shedhalle. The total area of 7,600 square metres will become a permanent food market with national and international delicacies, an event hall and a “Playground”, a kind of play world for children with trampolines and so on. “Everything is going according to plan,” says Kragler with satisfaction. “Many people are interested in our project, and we have also received a lot of support from local companies.” Negotiations on a wide range of partnerships are now ongoing. “For example, the integration of kitchen appliances into the planned show kitchen”. But more contacts would, of course, be welcome. “It's a project for Zug by Zug. We’re interested in anyone who would like to contribute.”
 
Between 15 and 20 applications for the stalls have already been received from restaurateurs, he says. “We plan to complete this selection process during January.” The aim is to find twelve or ten stand operators for the start, whereby the concepts for the individual stands could then changed again later. The interested parties include some young entrepreneurs. “They see the shorter period of a few years, i.e. with manageable risk, as a good opportunity to establish themselves.”
 
While the fact that it is an interim use is seen as an opportunity in the Freiruum project, this is more of an obstacle for the Modi project – the ‘Museum of Diversity and Inclusion’. The German social entrepreneur Andreas Heinecke, who is known for his ‘Dialogue in the dark’ and ‘Dialogue in silence’ exhibitions all over the world, wants to open this museum in the adjacent Gartenstadt 2a, with a completely new museum concept: to raise awareness of the issues of exclusion and discrimination in all their facets in the most personalised way possible.
 
Although he has received a lot of positive feedback from foundations, too few financial commitments have been made so far. “The expectations are for something longer term, as well as the presence of public funding”, says Heinecke. He cannot offer either. But he still doesn't want to give up. “We also want to start smaller first, in order to let possible investors experience what we are planning.” A so-called ‘pop-up museum’ is to be opened for the time being – with a total outlay of 850,000 Swiss francs, instead of the originally planned 2.8 million. “We will focus on individual aspects of the project and make them tangible in a compact form.” The Marc Rich Foundation continues to support the project, and another foundation, which wishes to remain anonymous, has recently promised funding. This means that a good third of the pop-up museum is financed. “We now have a good chance of raising the remaining funds in the next three to four months.”
 
Heinecke plans to open in the summer. But the question of location still seems open. “We would like to check out the LG area option for our pop-up museum, but, of course, we need to see if this can be financed,” says Heinecke.
 
A part of the ‘Freiruum’ project will already open in the first months of the year, in a partial hall of the Shedhalle, which will be converted into an event hall with space for 1,700 people. “We have already received five to ten requests for general meetings and corporate events,” says Markus Kragler. The size of the partial hall, which is otherwise difficult to find in Zug, makes it attractive, as well as its factory character. “We have already even received a request for a wedding.” From January onwards, the hall will be fitted with event technology and will then be open for events from February onwards. The play area will open in the following months, and the food market probably after the summer holidays.