ESP Willisau

The ESP Willisau is located in a rural area and is a key economic factor for the entire Lucerne hinterland. The precise coordination between urban development and mobility, small-town densification through overlapping uses, and structuring through open space and green landscape are at the heart of qualitative, sustainable development. Instead of expensive, urban solutions, pragmatic, easily implementable approaches are pursued. The consistent combination of aesthetics and functionality is the central design theme. Synergies between businesses are strengthened by the formation of clusters based on the micro-location (right use in the right place: development, location, plot size, building structures, existing uses).

One example is the new access to the train station from the east, combined with a new station district in the center of the Willisau ESP. This idea enables a more stable and faster bus system, better connections between the ESP and the train station (especially for public transport, cyclists and pedestrians), traffic optimization of the existing bypass road, reduced traffic for Ettiswilerstrasse at the railroad crossing, and the creation of additional housing space. The project was developed jointly with stakeholders as part of a workshop process and approved by the city of Willisau, the canton of Lucerne, the Lucerne-West region, and Lucerne Economic Development.