The transformation of a Zurich district
For over thirty years Weststrasse was the busiest north-south road link across Zurich. Then in 2009 the western ring road was opened, resulting in the renaissance of this inner-city area now free of transit traffic.
Between 2007-2013 Zurich photographer Corina Flühmann documented the transformation of this popular district into a trendy place to live and go out.
Her book shows the endless flow of cars and lorries that used to cross Weststrasse with its exhaust-tainted apartment blocks and building sites. She shows how the area has changed with newly painted houses, wide pedestrian areas, trees and public gardens springing up. Vivid portraits of the men and women who live and work there accompany street scenes. The local Jewish community is also very present with its synagogue.
Flühmann’s book “Weststrasse” is full of striking large-format street scenes, accompanied by smaller portraits of local residents. The images are published alongside texts by writers Melinda Nadj Abonji and Charles Lewinsky on life in Weststrasse.
(Photos: Corina Flühmann, Text: Gaby Ochsenbein, swissinfo.ch)
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