Car sharing conveniently from your own underground car park

Passing through the Lucerne Himmelrich complex, it’s hard to escape its urban flair: In the “Kaffeekranz” the milk is frothed for the next macchiato, while the second-hand shop Üsé rearranges its shop window. And while the children’s bookshop Baumhuus invites you to browse, a colourful crowd of children swirls between the large playground and the inner courtyard of the estate – meanwhile the senior citizens’ group takes possession of the benches and enjoys the sun.

The Himmelrich 3 estate in Lucerne’s Neustadt quarter is a small town within the city and has always been the core element of the Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Luzern (ABL). Originally built in the 1930s, the estate was completely renovated between 2015 and 2023. The state-of-the-art complex with more than 250 apartments now also meets stringent requirements for sustainable mobility.

ABL and Mobility started discussions early on, remembers Benno Zgraggen, Head of Communications at the Baugenossenschaft: “In the new Himmelrich 3 complex, a public car park was planned due to the public and commercial use of the ground floor. During the implementation phase, Mobility approached us to explore the possibility of integrating a Mobility station in the parking garage.”

ABL did not need much convincing: “It was clear to us that we wanted to offer a sharing service,” says Zgraggen. “We were convinced that this type of offer would be used a lot in urban areas.” As this is a publicly accessible offer, the Mobility station now benefits not only the residents of the Himmelrich estate, but also the entire quarter.

Benno Zgraggen emphasises that many residents of the Himmelrich estate do not own a vehicle of their own or deliberately avoid owning one and instead use sharing services such as Mobility, Carvelo or the mobility station in nearby Weinbergli (clever unterwegs). In addition, making Mobility sustainable has always been a core concern of ABL, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. Strategically, the cooperative’s slogan is “as little as possible, as much as necessary,” explains Benno Zgraggen. “Different mobility needs exist, depending on the location of the estate. We want to promote sustainable mobility using focused measures, including the Mobility station in Himmelrich.”  

As far as the Himmelrich 3 estate is concerned, the partnership with Mobility also opened up new possibilities in terms of interior design: As the vehicles are located in the underground car park, the outdoor space remains free for places to meet and green areas. This is particularly evident in the spacious inner courtyard. While on other estates cars are usually located here, this courtyard is a lively meeting place for young and old alike with seating, communal areas, green spaces, raised vegetable beds or a popular guinea pig cage.

“It was clear from the outset that the housing estate would be car-free, with the exception of the four visitor spaces and the space for deliveries,” explains Benno Zgraggen. “When you implement a construction project, more sharing and fewer vehicles also means fewer parking spaces, smaller underground car parks, less concrete – and correspondingly lower costs.”
 

The Mobility station in the parking garage is a convenient solution for the 250 or so tenants of the Himmelich 3 complex. “Tenants enter the underground car park directly via their stairwell,” explains Benno Zgraggen. These short distances and the large selection of vehicles for different needs are a major advantage for the residents. One resident summed it up aptly when he answered Benno Zgraggen’s question about whether he owns a car: “I have several cars, from small cars to vans.” 

Images: Philipp Schmidli