DübendorfA Case for Communal Greenhouses: Protecting Agricultural Land with Communal Urban AgricultureClaudia da Silva Bütikofer, Martino Galli, and Jennifer Braghetti

Dübendorf has been an agricultural village since its first documentation around 1000. Despite its early housing culture, it remained small and poor for centuries, before transforming into an urban centre in the 20th century. The Beerstecher family is one of the farming families that witnessed the significant changes that accompanied the transformation from a village to a city.

Due to rapid urban expansion, agricultural land is under pressure. Today, the agricultural land in Dübendorf is farmed by only 13 farming families. The larger farms tend to expand at the expense of the smaller ones.

The Beerstecher and Imhof families have become highly competitive and influential agricultural businesses thanks to the introduction of greenhouses. Today, due to the urbanisation of Dübendorf, the greenhouses are located in very different spatial contexts: adjacent to fields and between high-rise buildings in the center of the city.

The origin of the greenhouse dates back to the first century AD. Since then, it has evolved both in terms of size and materials, as well as in terms of cultivation, management and working conditions. Today it is a sophisticated production structure that continues to evolve, producing not only material goods but also social values.

Greenhouses belong in the urban context and should be integrated into it. They have the potential of dual use and could benefit the smaller farms and add value to the urban population. Greenhouses could become places for the exchange of cultures, practices and knowledge.