page_title: Westside Shopping and Leisure Centre
section_title: Reaction
hierarchical_section_title: Westside Shopping and Leisure Centre / Reaction
caption_attribution_description: English: A rendering of the Westside Shopping and Leisure Center in Bern, Switzerland. The building was designed by Studio Daniel Libeskind.
context_page_description: The Westside Shopping and Leisure Centre, on the outskirts of Bern, Switzerland, is a multi-use facility with shops, restaurants, a swimming pool, conference spaces, residences, a hotel, fitness centres, and a cinema. It was designed by international architect Daniel Libeskind and completed in October 2008.
context_section_description: Critics, such as David Rogers of the Los Angeles-based Jerde Partnership, have faulted Bern for neglecting to integrate such a shopping centre into the city's urban fabric. A shopping centre on the city's periphery contributes to the disintegration of the city centre and leads to a “loss of values,” he says.
  Defenders of Westside, such as Swiss architect Barbara Holzer, argue that Bern's urban centre is not under threat and that the shopping centre instead offers “new urban spaces.” Westside, with its blend of commercial, residential and recreational spaces, exemplifies populist architecture and emphasises public life. Peter Keller, of the Zürich newspaper, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, adds that the shopping centre suits its surrounding landscape and bears the striking signature of its architect.
caption: Artist's concept of swimming facility inside the Westside Shopping and Leisure Centre.
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