The neighbourhood today and in 2070, building by building.
An address is enough, and the AI assistant builds the surrounding neighbourhood as a rotatable 3D model. A time slider shows what the current rules allow by 2070: which buildings could be replaced, how tall they could be, and how heating, roofs and streets change.
The tool quartier_3d is part of the SPEKTRUM MCP (bauzone service). It combines the official cadastral survey, the building register, the zoning plan and recorded building regulations into a scenario under current law. It shows what the rules allow, not what the market builds.
What the model contains
All data come from public sources and are fetched fresh for every query.
Buildings
Footprints from the official cadastral survey; for each building the storeys, year of construction, dwellings and heating from the Federal Register of Buildings and Dwellings (GWR). Where a canton does not release the survey, OpenStreetMap footprints are used instead.
Place and law
Terrain from elevation data, the municipal zoning plan, the ARE public transport quality classes and the permitted storeys from the building regulations SPEKTRUM has recorded for more than 900 municipalities.
View
Radius of 150 to 800 m. Clickable buildings, colouring by change, year of construction or storeys, timeline from today to the target year (default 2070, up to 2100).
What the scenario assumes
Every rule is fixed and disclosed. The right-hand column states what it deliberately leaves out.
| Rule | Assumption | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Either the legally binding zoning plan or the draft of an ongoing revision: in zones the draft changes, its full storeys apply (currently Canton of Zurich, from the canton’s exhibited zones). | The draft is not legally binding and may change; changed building and roof rules are not included. |
| Which buildings | Residential buildings (GWR residential categories, including mixed use) built before 1985 in residential, mixed and centre zones. | Commercial, industrial and public buildings stay. |
| How many | By 2070, 62 % (before 1950), 72 % (1950–1969) or 50 % (1970–1984) are replaced, depending on the construction period. Buildings under 80 m² footprint only at 40 % of that rate. | Set values, not calibrated to observed replacement rates. |
| Which ones | For each building a fixed random value derived from its building number decides. Same query, same result. | The pattern is reproducible, but it is no judgement on the individual house. |
| When | Older buildings first: replacement from 2028, spread by about ±12 years. | The order follows age, not condition. |
| How tall | Permitted full storeys from the recorded building regulations plus one attic or penthouse storey; if no storey count is set, derived from the permitted height (3 m per storey). | Footprint stays the same; no large-site development, no bonuses. |
| Upzoning | As a variant, one or two storeys more than the building regulations allow. | An assumption for discussion, not a planning intention. |
| What stays | Core, conservation and protection zones, open-space and non-building zones, and buildings that already exceed the zone limits. | Existing buildings above the zone limit are not reduced. |
| Heating | Oil and gas heating switch to heat pumps or district heating between 2027 and 2040. | Follows the net-zero target, not an observed switching rate. |
| Photovoltaics | By 2056 on 60 % of roofs, on 85 % for roofs over 120 m². | Orientation, shading and heritage protection are not checked. |
| Street trees | New trees about every 16 m along the pavements, where no tree or building stands, with gaps. | Utilities, sight lines and species are not considered. |
Scenario, not forecast
A forecast states what is likely to happen and relies on observed trends, such as the population scenarios of the Federal Statistical Office. The neighbourhood model asks a different question: what follows if the current rules are applied? The replacement rate is set, net zero by 2040 is a political target, and the market and ownership are left out. The result is close to a capacity assessment under Art. 15 of the Spatial Planning Act, only building by building and on a timeline.
Not included
These questions are needed on top before the picture becomes a statement about an area.
- Housing market, demand, construction costs and returns
- Ownership, condominium ownership and inheritance
- Municipal heritage inventories and townscape protection beyond the core zone
- Ongoing revisions of the land-use plan
- Large-site developments, design plans and new footprints
- Roof shapes and exact terrain (model with elevation tiles, flat roofs)
- Population in detail: residents grow with floor area in the model, at the same living space per person
Example Albisrieden
800 m around Albisriederstrasse 360 in Zurich: 1,645 buildings, 7,034 dwellings, 4.3 storeys on average, 853 oil and gas heating systems. The draft zoning revision (public exhibition 2026) changes the zone of 676 buildings. Real queries of 24 Oct 2026.
| By 2070 | Current zoning | Draft zoning | Draft +1 | Draft +2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Replacement buildings by 2070 | 335 | 356 | 429 | 459 |
| of which taller than today | 44 | 187 | 356 | 429 |
| Existing above zone limit, stays | 245 | 206 | 64 | 15 |
| Floor area | +0.4 % | +2.4 % | +6.3 % | +10.9 % |
| Residents (same living space per person) | ±0 % | +2 % | +6 % | +11 % |
In all variants: no oil or gas heating from 2040, photovoltaics on 1,101 roofs, 776 new street trees. The Albisrieden core zone (72 residential buildings) stays unchanged. Reading: under current law the neighbourhood is largely built out; the post-war housing already reaches the permitted number of storeys. The draft multiplies the gain by six but stays at a few per cent; only additional storeys bring clearly more space.
What it is good for
- Public participation and information events: showing rules instead of explaining percentages
- Zoning revisions: showing the effect of upzoning in the neighbourhood in advance
- Energy and heat planning: where oil and gas are today
- Talks with the council or developers: a shared picture of the place
What it is not for
- Statements about a single building or owner
- Population forecasts or school planning
- Building law assessments; use the permit pre-check and the site analysis for that
How to ask your assistant
In Claude and ChatGPT the 3D model appears directly in the chat (MCP Apps). Other assistants receive key figures and assumptions as text.
- «Show me the neighbourhood around Albisriederstrasse 360 in Zurich in 3D, today and in 2070.»
- «What does the draft zoning revision change in this neighbourhood?»
- «What would upzoning by one storey bring in this neighbourhood?»
- «How many oil and gas heating systems are there within 800 m?»
Coverage: zones and building regulations complete in the Canton of Zurich; other cantons via the harmonised land-use data where the canton releases it and the municipality’s building regulations are recorded. Without recorded building regulations the tool calculates no replacement buildings. The tool can currently read the draft of an ongoing revision only in the Canton of Zurich.