The project planning for the new theater costs 13.8 million – money is also needed for the old one
The Lucerne city council is applying to parliament for a project planning loan for the theater renovation. Meanwhile, the old one is doing worse than ever before – the executive therefore wants to invest 5 million in upgrading it.
This is how the revised design of the new Lucerne theater presents itself.
Visualization: Filippo Bolognese Images
The project planning of the new Lucerne theater costs 13.8 million francs. With this money, the architects Andreas Ilg and Marcel Santer would turn their design “everywhere” into a construction project ready for implementation. On the one hand, this project should “provide information about all planning and construction aspects”, but on the other hand it should also “allow financial statements on investment requirements, operating costs and maintenance costs”. The Lucerne City Council writes this in its report and proposal (B&A) for the Lucerne City Parliament.
This is expected to be decided on the project planning loan on November 28th. If the Grand City Council approves the loan, the city of Lucerne’s voters will have the final say on it – in a ballot vote that will probably take place in February 2025. This vote is likely to represent the highest political hurdle for the new Lucerne theater. A no would mean the end of the project, while a yes would be a decisive step towards its realization.
The old theater is doing badly
The project loan applied for is “several higher than originally assumed,” it says in the B&A. However, it makes sense to invest sufficient resources in project planning. This means that “later implementation can be carried out on the most secure calculation basis possible”.
The city of Lucerne will invest 5 million francs in maintaining the old theater building.
Image: Manuela Jans-Koch (Lucerne, May 24, 2024)
The B&A indicates that the operational viability of the old theater appears to be in significant jeopardy. That’s why the city council wants an extraordinary lump sum of 5 million francs speak. This special loan is intended to “maintain personal safety”, for example for electrical systems, building services and heating. The measures are intended to keep the building operational between 2025 and 2028.
This step does not correspond to the current building law agreement between the city and the foundation. However, according to the city council, “extraordinary co-financing” is advisable. Because the foundation cannot cover the necessary maintenance costs with its own resources. In the coming years, “a central part of the building will become unusable, which could endanger the entire operation.”
The entire project is expected to cost 130 million francs
The panoramic window is intended to open up the new theater building.
Visualization: Filippo Bolognese Images
The executive points out that since the building was privatized in 1996, the theater has never asked the city for a maintenance contribution. This is despite the fact that the operating contribution from the public sector would not have been enough to ensure the large amount of maintenance from the start. “The longer they spent, the more cautious they were with the corresponding expenditure because they hoped that the theater would be completely renovated soon.” This is now happening “a little later than originally hoped”.
In total, the project is expected to cost 130 million francs, with a cost uncertainty of 20 percent. The undertaking could therefore be 26 million francs cheaper or more expensive. In 2022 there was still talk of 120 million, but due to inflation and the more precise elaboration of the project, the costs were revised upwards by 10 million. All of these numbers are estimates.
If everything goes according to the city council’s plan, the new Lucerne theater would be built between 2028 and 2030. During this time, theater operations would need a temporary solution. The theater needs a solid base somewhere, but “increased productions outside the city, in unfamiliar spaces and also in the countryside” are also conceivable. A new temporary location near the South Pole is possible. The option of continuing operations at Theaterplatz on a reduced basis is still being examined – according to the construction steps first in the old building and then in the new building. However, the practical and financial implications still need to be examined. Either way: According to B&A, there is still enough time to find a solution for interim operations.
A rezoning process should also take place parallel to the detailed planning. The building probably needs a “tailor-made theater zone”. It is planned that the rezoning will go to the ballot box together with the implementation loan at the end of 2027 or beginning of 2028.
Federal commissions welcome project
In the run-up to the architectural competition, there was extensive discussion about whether the old theater should remain. At that time, those responsible in Lucerne still wanted to demolish the old building, which the Federal Commission for Monument Preservation (EKD) and for Nature and Heritage Protection (ENHK) clearly vetoed. As is well known, the main point of the winning project is that it preserves and repurposes the old theater.
The highlight of “everywhere”: The project continues to build on the old theater.
Image: Manuela Jans-Koch (Lucerne, May 23, 2024)
In a letter from mid-September, the two federal commissions commented on the “everywhere” project for the first time. According to B&A, EKD and ENHK recognize that “the revision of the project takes into account important points of the protection goals formulated in the 2019 report”. However, due to the volume of construction, a “slight impairment” of the cityscape is to be expected.
City council is optimistic
The first draft of the new Lucerne theater was met with controversy two years ago. The revision, which was presented in May 2025, has smoothed things over somewhat. “Overall, the city council notes a good general mood,” says the B&A. “Unlike the publication in December 2022, the feedback overall is significantly more positive, and negative voices are also less loud.” The executive is optimistic about the upcoming vote.
The large hall can be used multifunctionally. Here is the visualization of a classic stage situation.
Visualization: Nightnurse Images
“Ultimately it’s about whether Lucerne will continue to have the conditions to produce professional theater, especially musical theater,” the city council continues. The new building sends a “striking signal for the urban development of Lucerne”. Lucerne “does not remain stuck in the old and familiar – new buildings point forward and serve the people of today and tomorrow.”
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View outside from the middle hall of the New Lucerne Theater.
Visualization: zvg / Nightnurse Images
