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Campus - 27.08.2018 - 00:00 

A second campus for the University of St.Gallen

The cantonal government has adopted the dispatch about the construction of the Platztor campus for the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and requests the cantonal parliament to grant a credit line of CHF 160m. The second location will provide the HSG with the urgently needed space for teaching and research. At the same time, a new part of the City of St.Gallen will be created.

27 August 2018. A new site for teaching and research of the University of St.Gallen is planned to be constructed in the Platztor area in Unterer Graben in the City of St.Gallen. The full-time MBA programme of Executive Education will also be housed in the new building, which in the future is intended to provide space for approx. 3,000 students, faculty and staff. The cantonal parliament will debate the construction project in a first reading in November 2018 and in a second reading in February 2019. If the parliament grants its approval, the voting public will decide whether to go ahead with the building project or not in June 2019.

Creating a new part of the city

The new building will upgrade the area on the edge of the old town in terms of urban development. At the same time, the HSG and the city will move closer together with the second location. The exterior space of the new building will be accessible to the general public. A square alongside Unterer Graben is intended to be an arrival point and a place to linger awhile, and link up the old town with the new part of the city. In order to link up the Platztor campus in an optimal way, additional foot- and cyclebridges will be built. An essential gap in the city’s step network will be closed by a direct footpath connection between the two campuses. An architectural competition will reveal what the buildings will look like in the future. This competition will take place after the public ballot. Construction is scheduled to start in 2024 and end in late 2027.

Confederation, HSG and city to bear the costs

The overall costs of the Platztor campus will amount to CHF 207m. This includes an expected federal contribution of CHF 25m. The University of St.Gallen will contribute CHF 20m to the overall costs. The City of St.Gallen made a contribution of CHF 2m through the sale of the Platztor property. The canton thus requires a credit line of CHF 160m.

Three projects for the HSG

In addition to the construction of the new campus on Platztor, the Library Building from 1989 will be renovated. Since the new campus will primarily be used for teaching and research, the University still lacks learning and working stations. The HSG Foundation will therefore set up a Learning Center on the Rosenberg. The 500-700 learning and working stations in the Learning Center will satisfy the HSG spatial requirements for a larger learning environment.

Need is undisputed

The University of St.Gallen urgently needs more space. Today’s premises on the Rosenberg were designed for 5,000 students, and the Library Building for 3,500 students. Today, about 8,500 students are enrolled at the HSG. Above and beyond this, planning permission for the provisional premises will expire in the coming years. The three projects will strengthen the HSG and Eastern Switzerland as a centre of education since other cantons will also be making high investments in their university infrastructures in the coming years.

Photo: Canton of St.Gallen

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