Halle 550 takes trade fairs, congresses, general assemblies, galas, award shows and corporate meetings for anything from 10 to 3,500 guests, on 7,383 m² of indoor and outdoor space. The venue stands at Birchstrasse 150 in Zürich-Oerlikon, in the north of the city, and is run by Catering Services Migros.
Seminars and company events
For congresses, a 4,600 m² hall floor seats up to 1,300 participants, and partition walls and curtains split it into plenary, exhibition and catering zones. Numerous meeting, workshop and breakout rooms sit around the hall, and an outdoor area in the inner courtyard can be part of the layout. Smaller formats use the Community Space, sized for 10 to 360 people, and a set of workshop rooms that work alone or joined, each with direct access to the event floor, the entrance and the courtyard. Galas, award evenings, staff parties and customer events can reach 2,500 guests. The team offers event concept, event architecture and scenography on request, coordinates outside suppliers and leaves organizers free to choose their own.
Rooms and capacities
The building works as four hall sections, with section D rented by arrangement and subject to availability. The halls have a 20 m ceiling, and daylight or full blackout is set at the push of a button. A movable truss grid with media connections, variable rigging points, heavy-current outlets and power and network points across the whole floor make it a plug-and-play setup. A fully equipped sound control room, dressing rooms, a production office and sanitary areas sit backstage. Wi-Fi and LAN cover the whole venue, with capacity for 2,500 devices at once. Trucks up to 30 tonnes drive straight into the hall, and several loading zones serve the halls. Water, compressed air, climate control and ventilation are installed for exhibitions.
Catering
Food and drink come from Catering Services Migros, which runs the venue. The offer ranges from snacks and themed buffets to seated dinners, live cooking with a star chef, wine tastings, bar, lounge and cigar service. A multilingual team handles service, and the venue keeps its own vegetable and herb garden. Hospitality services add cloakroom and reception staff, butler service, VIP parking, security, cleaning and hotel bookings for delegates.
History and setting
Oerlikon was the home of Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon, which grew from a supplier company that engineer Peter Emil Huber founded in 1863 near the station. The works built machines, turbines and electrical parts for locomotives, including the Swiss railways' Krokodil, and employed about 4,500 people in 1967. The former industrial land is now a business district, with the MFO park, a 17 m high steel frame covered in climbing plants, as its landmark. Halle 550 is linked by a direct passage to the partner venue StageOne, and together they offer more than 10,000 m² of event space.
Getting there
Zürich Oerlikon station is a short walk away, with frequent trains to Zürich main station. Zürich Airport is close by, and parking is available. The venue publishes a directions map on its website.
