"Half of Winterthur took part in the site search"

President Bettina Stefanini explains why the Foundation for Art, Culture and History did not move to Aargau, why there will still be no Stefanini Museum in Winterthur, what is important to her when renovating houses in the old town and what she experiences when she rummages for trouvailles at the flea market.

Bettina Stefanini

"Our foundation has a home town - and that is Winterthur."

They say you also looked at options outside the city. Where?
Well, my father had Brestenberg Castle on Lake Hallwil in mind. He also had a shell built into the hill there, with over 10,000 square meters of building space - a huge thing. The building was constructed at the height of the Cold War and resembles a bunker. This place could certainly have been expanded. But then the Foundation for Art, Culture and History would have become an Aargau foundation. And we also wanted the collection and the real estate to remain connected here in Winterthur.

Why Neuhegi and not another location in the city?
After we made it public that we were looking for a location, we received a few official suggestions. However, we received many more ideas from the people of Winterthur: we received two dozen possible and impossible suggestions from citizens, from the arsenal to the Rosenberg church to the Liebestrasse parish hall. It was wonderfully sympathetic, we had the feeling that half the city was looking with us. However, we then decided to take a closer look at properties that we already owned. In the end, we chose the site in Neuhegi between Eulachpark and Hegifeldstrasse, where the former Hexis building stands. This land is located in the city center zone, which gives us plenty of scope for development.

Is there an architectural competition? And when should the building be finished by?
The target is 2026, but this is not set in stone. And yes, we want to organize a competition. We plan to start the process in 2021. But we also attach great importance to careful preparation.

What is still open?
It's a large site, so there's plenty of space next to our collection and the offices of our real estate company Terresta. To achieve a better mix, we are considering enriching the program with meaningful additional uses that could also bring life to the site...

Bring life to the site? Are there no exhibitions of the Stefanini works for the public?
We see ourselves as a cultural service provider, not as a cultural producer.

So no exhibition warehouse for the public?
At best there will be a "Kafi Bruno" on the site as a meeting place, we will certainly also be active in cultural mediation, with lectures or guided tours and presentations that are more of a laboratory format, but there will be no museum or exhibition warehouse, no. That would involve a lot of effort and expense. That would require a lot of effort and eat up a lot of our flexibility without us being able to make a big impact. There are over 1600 museums in Switzerland, so we don't want to create more of the same. In my view, it is much smarter to support existing museums so that they can be excellent.

"This participatory project is unique in Switzerland."

The second piece of news from the Stefanini Foundation: as part of the "Participation" project, the SKKG provides a sum of CHF 500,000 per year, which is awarded by lay people to cultural projects in Winterthur as funding. How did you come up with this unusual idea?
It was very important to my father that the foundation should bring culture closer to the general public. My father also approached art through self-study. The project with the lay committee reflects this. It should trigger discussions: What is culture worth promoting in the first place? What constitutes culture? As far as we can tell, the project is unique in Switzerland or even further afield.

The city has to make savings. How do you ensure that the public sector does not cut its cultural funding as soon as a museum receives money from the SKKG?
We see our project in Winterthur as a supplement to existing cultural funding. The city's support is far-sighted and strategic. The lay committee will be free in its decisions and may find completely different criteria. We will see whether a museum is considered at all. For us, participation means sharing power. Whoever decides on budgets also decides what can take place.
This is how we are committed to Winterthur and Winterthur's culture with this project. Because we were also strongly encouraged to do something for Winterthur with the foundation!

"Collecting in itself is not sexy, but it serves the common good."

Former headquarters under renovation

Old town houses that are still in their original condition, such as the buildings at Steinberggasse 4, 6 and 10, are also to be gradually renovated. When will construction start there?
The building permit has now been granted and we have spoken to the tenants. It is very important to us that we renovate these properties as gently as possible. The biggest interventions are the connection to the district heating system, the replacement of kitchens, sanitary and electrical installations and the installation of wet rooms.

So far, they are still heated with wood-burning stoves?
Yes, the houses also have shower cubicles in the kitchens and toilets in the pergola in the inner courtyard. That's why many tenants are happy that we are now renovating. But, as I said, we are doing it as gently as possible. All tenants have been offered a new tenancy agreement. The rent will increase by 50 percent in some cases. But you have to bear in mind that some prices are so low at the moment that they will still be far below the level of comparable apartments in the old town. The majority of tenants have signed the new rental agreement on offer.

Doesthe principle of "as gently as possible" also apply to other old town properties?
Yes. If we as a foundation want to make cultural heritage accessible to the population, then the old town properties are ideally suited for this. They are already in the middle of the city, so there is no need to bring the public to the museum first.

"In Winterthur, you can still feel the working-class city with sand in its gears."

You grew up in Winterthur, then spent around 30 years abroad and have lived here again since 2018. How do you like it in Winterthur now?
Winterthur has a self-image that I like. You can still feel the working-class city with sand in its gears, and the city doesn't see itself as the main protagonist in the room. Then there are the surroundings, I like going into the forest and cycling. The connection with nature, the permeability to the surrounding villages: That's quality of life. During the coronavirus pandemic, we often went out on our bikes from Wülflingen and took a ride through the woods on the Irchel.

"I like my normal, small apartment in Wülflingen."

From Wülflingen? Do you still live in the "ordinary" rented house in Wülflingen that you moved into in 2018?
Yes, in a small apartment.

You are the president of one of the largest real estate foundations in Switzerland with magnificent houses and castles in its portfolio...
All of my father's property belongs to the foundation, not to me. My position as President of the Board of Trustees is an honorary position for which I receive an expense allowance.
I'm also happy in Wülflingen. And the last two years have been so busy that I haven't had time to plan a move anyway. But yes, I could move at some point...

Where to?
Hmmm... There might be apartments on Steinberggasse that I would like.

Can you ever walk around Winterthur in peace?
I get approached a lot. At the market, in Migros... I see that as part of my role. The encounters aren't usually unpleasant, they're often exciting and sometimes entertaining. I recently found two beautiful old glass measuring cylinders at a flea market. When I asked the seller how much one of these would cost, he said. "Only two francs. But you, Mrs. Stefanini, have to buy both right away, so I'll give them to you for half the price." I bought them laughing, of course.

Catherine Zimpfer and Jakob Bächtold