Feasibility Studies in Küsnacht and Zollikon: The First Step Before Any New Build

Why Zollikon and Küsnacht need a different approach to feasibility

The municipalities along the Zurich Gold Coast — Zollikon, Küsnacht, and their neighbours — combine small, high-value plots with strict zoning and building-line regulations, lake-view protections, and often steep or irregular terrain. A feasibility study here isn't a formality; it's the difference between a project that clears permitting smoothly and one that stalls for months over a setback violation or an unrealistic massing concept. Unlike renovation planning, which works within an existing building envelope, a new-build feasibility study starts from an empty plot and has to answer a much broader question: what can legally, structurally and financially be built here at all?

Our studio is based in Zollikon, which means we work with these zoning frameworks daily — the local building codes, the cantonal Zurich planning ordinances, and the specific plot geometries that recur across the Gold Coast communities.

What a feasibility study actually covers

For a new build, a proper feasibility study combines several strands of analysis into one coherent picture before a single design line is drawn:

• Zoning and building law review — permitted use, maximum building height, floor area ratio, and setback requirements specific to the parcel's zone in Zollikon or Küsnacht.
• Plot and topography analysis — slope, soil conditions, access, sun orientation and neighbouring structures, all of which shape what a new building can realistically look like.
• Massing and volume studies — early conceptual sketches testing how much usable floor area is achievable within legal limits, and where the building should sit on the plot.
• Cost and timeline framing — a realistic order-of-magnitude budget and schedule, so the project's ambition matches its practical constraints from day one.
• Risk flagging — anything that could delay or block a permit application: protected trees, neighbour rights, groundwater, heritage considerations, or access limitations.

This is the groundwork that then feeds directly into the actual design phase, handled through our architecture services once the study confirms the project's direction.

New build vs. renovation: why the rules differ

It's worth being explicit about this distinction, because clients often assume the same planning logic applies to both. A renovation project works inside an existing footprint and structure — the questions are about what can be transformed, upgraded or extended within what's already standing. A new build starts from zero, which means the feasibility study has to establish the fundamentals: is the plot buildable as intended, what volume and use are legally permitted, and does the site support the client's vision at all.

This distinction matters for timing too. Switzerland's tax conditions for renovation projects are set to change from 2029, which is prompting many owners to plan renovations now to lock in current benefits. New-build feasibility studies operate on a different clock — driven by zoning stability and plot availability rather than tax deadlines — so the right time to start is simply as early as possible, before a plot purchase or design commitment is finalised.

How a feasibility study protects your investment

Buying or holding a plot on the Gold Coast is a significant capital commitment. A feasibility study is a relatively small, front-loaded investment that protects the much larger one that follows. It tells you, before you commission full architectural design, whether the project you have in mind is achievable within local regulations — and if not, what adjustments make it viable. This is the same logic that underpins good capital and risk management on larger developments: identify constraints early, when changing course is cheap, rather than after drawings, permits and contracts are already in motion.

For context on how zoning and building regulations are structured across Switzerland, the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) publishes the national framework that cantonal and municipal rules build on.

The plots that cause the fewest permitting headaches are the ones where feasibility was studied before the design was drawn — not after.

SwissTechNova practice notes

What to expect when you commission a feasibility study

A typical process starts with a site visit and a review of the plot's cadastral and zoning documents, followed by preliminary massing studies and a written summary of constraints, opportunities and rough cost ranges. Depending on complexity, this can be turned around in a few weeks rather than months — deliberately fast, because its purpose is to inform an early go/no-go decision, not to produce final drawings. Once the study confirms a viable direction, it becomes the reference document for the design team moving into detailed architecture.

Key takeaways

• A feasibility study checks zoning, plot constraints, massing potential and rough costs before any design work begins on a new build.
• Zollikon and Küsnacht plots involve specific building-line, height and area rules that make this step essential, not optional.
• New-build feasibility differs fundamentally from renovation planning, which works within an existing structure and follows different regulatory timelines.
• Studying feasibility early protects your capital investment by surfacing risks before permits, contracts or design fees are committed.
• The study's findings feed directly into the architectural design phase, keeping the whole project aligned from the start.