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presents the keys to the «Home Of Chocolate» to Lindt & Sprüngli, a major milestone in the history of Swiss chocolate

23.10.2019
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presents the keys to the «Home Of Chocolate» to Lindt & Sprüngli, a major milestone in the history of Swiss chocolate

On Friday 11 October, the Eiffage Suisse teams officially handed over the keys to the Lindt - Home of Chocolate after 4 years of work in the presence of Ernst Tanner, Chairman of the Board of Lindt & Sprüngli, Raffael Brogna, Managing Director of Eiffage Suisse, Roland Eberle, Managing Director of Eiffage Suisse in Zurich and architects Emanuel Christ & Christoph Gantenbein. Designed by the architectural firm Christ & Gantenbein, La Lindt - Home of Chocolate will be officially completed in May 2020 after the installation of furniture and decorations.

In May 2020 an exceptional project will be born at the Lindt & Sprüngli factory in Kilchberg : the Lindt - Home of Chocolate. Valued at almost CHF 92 million, this multifunctional complex is funded by the non-profit foundation Lindt Chocolate Competence Foundation.
Signed by the architectural firm Christ & Gantenbein, the Lindt - Home of Chocolate aims to strengthen Switzerland’s position as a key player in the chocolate industry. This innovative location marks the pioneering work of the company’s founders in a new era.

This beautiful new building is a flagship destination that will attract about 350,000 Swiss and foreign visitors per year. Every day, it will welcome about 1,000 tourists, families, chocolate lovers and fans of the Lindt brand, but also employees, specialists and students from specialized higher schools in the context of initial and continuing training.

An ingenious and interactive exhibition, the scenography of which has been entrusted to the Atelier Brückner, will allow to discover the history of chocolate as well as its ecological, social, nutritional aspects and its effects on health. The national and international importance of Swiss chocolate and its pleasure food qualities will be explored in a sensory way through several workshops.

Spread over 1,500 m², the exhibition will offer a journey through seven different worlds around chocolate, from cocoa cultivation to the origins of chocolate history, including Swiss pioneers and production, not to mention a presentation of Swiss chocolate in facts and figures and a chocolate tasting room. A Chocolaterie with modern design will also offer a stimulating setting for initiation workshops surrounded by giant chocolate fondues. A "lounge" space will be available for various occasions.

There will also be the first Café Lindt Chocolate in Switzerland, with 80 seats and 40 seats on the terrace, the largest Lindt chocolate shop in the world with an area of 500 m², an auditorium with a cinema for up to 100 people and, in the entrance hall, an 8 m high chocolate fountain unique in the world.
 
La Lindt - Home of Chocolate presents itself in particular as a specialized educational institution for the initial and continuing training of Swiss chocolate professionals and young talent in collaboration with universities and higher schools. It will include a training and research centre, the Pilot Plant, specially designed for experiments and practical work.

Located in a pleasant pedestrian public promenade area, this project will also include administrative offices, a technical central on the roof as well as a two-storey underground parking lot with 270 parking spaces and a tourist bus stop.
 
This multimedia and interactive project, built on a surface of 4,200 m², first required the clearing of approximately 70,000 m³ of land and 5,000 truck trips for its evacuation. With a height of 20 m, the new building is in harmony with existing buildings. The very choice of materials on the façade is a tribute to the pioneers of chocolate – inspired by the historic brick building of 1899, it offers a modern reinterpretation. In fact, the architectural language of the Lindt - Home of Chocolate, which stands on three floors, displays a resolutely contemporary image. The walls consist of approximately 170,000 red bricks and 50,000 white bricks. The curved, white façade opens dynamically on the welcoming, fully glazed entrance on the ground floor.
 
A major milestone in the history of Swiss chocolate, the Lindt - Home of Chocolate is both a voluntarily contrasted counterpart to the historic Lindt & Sprüngli factory and an enriching site for Kilchberg.