Construction began at Eschenberg with a powerful saw cut.
08.09.2025
Start of construction for the new Eschenberg forestry depot: Following intensive planning and project design with Timbatec's timber structural engineering, the depot is scheduled to be handed over to the forestry operation at the end of 2026 – marked by the symbolic saw cut by the city councilors.
Start of construction for the forestry center at Eschenberg
On Saturday, September 6, City Councilor Christa Meier and City Councilor Stefan Fritschi, Head of the Technical Services Department, marked the start of construction of the new Eschenberg forestry depot with a symbolic saw cut. After intensive development work and a construction period of just over a year, the new depot is scheduled to be handed over to the forestry department at the end of 2026. Timbatec Holzbauingenieure Schweiz AG was able to contribute its expertise in the field of timber structural engineering during the planning and project design phase. The starting signal for the construction work has been given.
Energy-efficient and environmentally friendly construction
The new forestry center comprises a two-story timber-framed operations building and a storage hall for machinery, equipment, and vehicles. Over 95% of the material comes from the city's own forests. Care was taken to minimize processing: the hall's supporting structure consists of round timber that was brought directly from the forest. The remaining spruce and fir wood was processed into boards, beams, and glued laminated timber at a nearby sawmill and by regional processors, and is gradually being returned to the construction site. Short transport routes make the new building particularly energy-efficient and CO₂-storing; it is heated with the city's own logs.
Business optimization
The replacement building is necessary because the existing bases on Reitplatzstrasse and Eschenbergstrasse, as well as the forest houses in Wülflingen and Lindberg, are over 50 years old and in need of renovation. The workshops and storage areas are too small for modern machinery, and the workplaces no longer meet today's standards in terms of organization, ergonomics, and health and safety. The new central building at Eschenberg will bring staff and machinery together in one location and make the organization of operations more efficient. The Töss maintenance depot (4,000 m², commercial zone), which will be vacated, is to be repurposed, and the Wolfbühl forest hut will be dismantled and renaturalized. Lindberg will remain as a reduced temporary base.