29.11.2024

Barcelona Biennial 2018

Building design

This year’s slogan of the International Landscape Biennale “Performative Landscapes” emphasizes the need to create landscapes that are exposed to the threats of today.

This year’s International Landscape Biennial slogan, “Performative Landscapes”, emphasizes the need to create landscapes that face today’s threats while playing environmental, social and political roles. The event, held for the tenth consecutive year, was organized by the Catalan Architects Association and the UPC University and took place in Barcelona from 25 to 29 September.

But what does “Performative Landscape” mean? The jury of the Rosa Barba Prize had selected nine landscape projects from around the world, either already built or only planned and designed between 2013 and 2018, to answer this question. In the end, the Rosa Barba Award went to Landslag from Iceland for the Saxhóll Krater Staircase. The company has participated in many winning projects in architectural competitions and has gained a lot of experience in large-scale landscaping in the harsh Icelandic conditions.

Saxhóll is a 45 meter high, oval volcanic crater. It rises from the moss-covered lava fields in Snæfellsjökull National Park on the Snæfellsnes peninsula in West Iceland. The route to the summit of Saxhóll follows a path that has been shaped by time, with visitors climbing the easiest route to the summit. With the rapidly growing number of visitors in recent years, debris and materials from the slope began to deform and the ascent already split into parallel and deformed paths. In 2014, it was decided to intervene to prevent further damage to the endangered landscape. A stepped path made of black steel was installed to stabilize the path. This consists of two bends that meet halfway uphill in a small rest area with a small bench. The total length of the path is 160 meters and the number of steps is 396. The path was completed in 2016. As the surface of the black steel rusted quickly, it blended in well with the red tones of the volcanic crater and the arctic vegetation. As a result, almost every visitor now stays on the path. On social media, the path is often referred to as “the stairway to heaven” or “the orange stairway”.

The final selection included:

Linear Park, Cuernavaca Railway
Ciudad de México (Mexico),
Gaeta-Springall Arquitectos

Saxhóll crater ladder
Reykjavík (Iceland),
Landslag ehf

Remodeling of the Tel Aviv seafront promenade
Tel Aviv (Israel),
Mayslits Kassif Architects

Open spaces and project of the historical park of Sacca Sessola
Venice (Italy),
CZ Studio associati

Performative and Transformative: Quzhou Luming Park
Beijing (China),
Turenscape

Cohabitation landscapes
Athens (Greece),
DOXIADIS+

Outdoor Museum of San Michele in Gorizia Karst
Camorino (Italy),
Studio Paolo Bürgi

Proposal by Jiahe River Country Park at the risk of urban flooding
Haidian District (China),
Beijin Foresty University

Halle Pajol, garden Rosa Luxemburg
Paris (France),
InSiTU

Members of the jury were:

Gary R. Hilderbrand – Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and FASLA.

Walter Hood – Professor and former Director of Landscape Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of Hood Design Studio in Oakland, CA.

Kathryn Moore – President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) and Full Professor of Landscape at the University of Birmingham City University, UK.

Teresa Moller – Landscape architect and founder of the firm Teresa Moller Asociados 27 years ago.

Michael Jakob – Professor at the HEPIA and at the HEAD in Geneva, Switzerland. Professor at the University of Grenoble, France. He is the founder and director of the journal COMPAR(A)ISON.

More information on the Rosa Barba Prize can be found in the November 2018 issue of Garten + Landschaft.

26.12.2024

Portfolio

Green belt on the roof

Building design

Green roofs are an effective measure in the fight against the effects of climate change. They mitigate temperature peaks, bind pollutants and store rainwater. Green roofs should be designed as so-called inverted roofs, i.e. roofs where the moisture seal is not above but below the thermal insulation. Water-resistant and pressure-resistant insulation materials, such as “Austrotherm XPS”, then protect the waterproofing and form a suitable basis for the structure. The solutions “Austrotherm-XPS Premium”, “Austrotherm-XPS PLUS” and “Austrotherm-XPS TOP” offer particularly high thermal insulation and compressive strength values.

A basic requirement for a functioning inverted roof is a vapor-permeable green roof structure: it is essential that there is a drainage layer above the thermal insulation that is sufficiently ventilated and allows water vapor diffusion to the surroundings. To finish off the roof insulation, Austrotherm’s parapet element is a practical prefabricated element for creating roof edge constructions that are free of thermal bridges and not subject to static loads, which is also suitable for low-energy and passive houses.

98% of the now recyclable Austrotherm XPS consists of air, so that the low material usage and long service life result in a positive ecological balance. Planners can obtain information from the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V. (IBU) about the technical and environmental performance characteristics of the insulation material and its environmental impact.

AUSTROTHERM INSULATION GMBH
Hirtenweg 15
D-19322 Wittenberge
www.austrotherm.de

04.12.2024

Sculptural building

Building design

Peter August Boeckstiegel Museum — External wall and roof surfaces merge

Peter August Böckstiegel was a German painter. H.S.D Architekten have now realized the extension of the Böckstiegel Museum in the vicinity of his birthplace.

Peter August Böckstiegel was a German painter and representative of Westphalian Expressionism. In the vicinity of his birthplace in Werther (Westphalia), H.S.D Architekten have now realized the extension of the Böckstiegel Museum.

The new museum building is to be embedded in the agricultural surroundings. The architects explain: “The museum emerges from the slope of the orchard like an erratic boulder, a single stone polished by the forces of nature”.

Peter August Böckstiegel (1889-1951) was a representative of Westphalian Expressionism. His works deal with the rural world of his homeland.

The additional construction of the Böckstiegel Museum is intended to convey this connection to the landscape and the rural working and living environment.

Shell limestone façade

The openings are cut into the building structure. This creates covered outdoor areas that are oriented towards the important places in the surrounding area.

H.S.D Architects wanted to give the house the character of a boulder protruding from the ground. They therefore used a façade made of shell limestone to support the flowing transition between the exterior walls and roof surfaces. In contrast, all the windows, furniture and fixtures are made of local oak.

A further contrast was to be created between the exterior appearance of the building and the interior: “While the building huddles into the landscape, the almost cathedral-like exhibition space surprises with its polygonal room edges.”

All pictures: Olaf Mahlstedt