Ground-breaking for a new building at IBM's Zurich Lab

Zurich, Switzerland, 16 April 1999—The planned new extension to IBM Research - Zurich will create a center for customer contacts and provide the additional space needed to accommodate those employees currently working in leased premises in Adliswil. Thus, 150 additional work places are being created on the IBM site in Rüschlikon near Zurich. This also requires an extension to the existing personnel restaurant.

On April 16, 1999, the ground-breaking for the planned extensions took place. The primary construction is a new four-story building, approx. 50 m in length and 30 m in breadth. Situated in the northern corner of the site, this building will connect with the existing complex and have a matching facade. Thus, the number of employees working on IBM's site here Rüschlikon will increase from about 220 today to 370.

The ground floor of the new building will house a considerable expansion of IBM's activities here in Rüschlikon: the European branch of the IBM Industry Solutions Lab, the headquarters of which are in the USA and which also has a branch in Japan. Active worldwide, this institutions has the task of bringing together experts from research and development with customers from various branches of business and industry to ensure their early involvement in the development process for information technology solutions. The new building enables this by providing a wide variety of conference and demonstration rooms as well as separate working areas and dining rooms.

The remaining space provided by the new building will be used for the researchers currently housed in rented space in Adliswil. "Bringing the entire Research team together on our main campus will help us strengthen collaboration across a wide range of technical disciplines. By co-locating the IBM European Industry Solution Lab on the Rüschlikon site, we will extend this collaboration to our customers, accelerating the impact of our research on the marketplace," says David McQueeney, Director of IBM Research - Zurich. "This growth of our campus reflects the commitment of the IBM Corporation to maintain and strengthen its research presence in Rüschlikon."

The increase in the number of employees also requires an extension to the existing personnel restaurant in the southern corner of the site. This will be achieved by increasing its area by approx. 220 square meters.

The extensions fit into the general construction plan for the IBM site, which was approved by the community of Rüschlikon ten years ago. The total investment will be close to 20 million Swiss francs. The construction work has been contracted to the Karl Steiner AG in Zurich, a construction firm that has acted as general contractor for previous building projects of the Laboratory. According to the construction schedule, the cafeteria will be finished by late Autumn of this year, and the new building in the northern corner of the site by Spring of the year 2000.