#zurich

#zurich

I hate beavers, a woman tells the beaver hotline. Forty years ago she planted an oak tree in a small town in southern Zurich now at the frontier of beaver expansion and it has just been felled: gnawed by the large, semi-aquatic rodents as they enter their seasonal home-improvement mode. The caller is one of 10 new people getting in touch each week at this time of year. Beavers, nature's great engineers, can unleash mayhem during winter as they renovate their lodges and build up their dams.

In Zurich, Santiago Calatrava marks the completion of Haus zum Falken, a mixed-use building that breathes new life into the Stadelhofen Station area. Located at the eastern edge of Stadelhofer Platz, the project closes an architectural gap beside the historic main building that accommodates the station while introducing a public square, a large underground bicycle station, and light-filled interior spaces.

Residents of Zurich decided Sunday to severely restrict the use of leaf blowers and leaf vacuums. More than 61% of voters supported the restrictive rules, which authorities said would limit noise and dust pollution. Gas-powered leaf blowers and leaf vacuums will be fully banned in Zurich, Switzerland's most populous city. Only electric devices will be used to blow away dirt and debris.