The most exciting competition results of the last two weeks and everything you need to know about them – from landscape architect Heike Vossen. January 2/2
Interested in the latest competition results in landscape architecture, but hardly have time to look at them properly? In the G+L competition overview, Heike Vossen provides monthly updates on the most exciting competition results.
The principles of “flowing space” and “square within a square” form the basis of the winning design by HAHN HERTLING VON HANTELMANN for the town hall forecourt in Bayreuth. The former reinforces the original idea of the town hall quarter as an open urban landscape with flowing transitions. Only a few green settlements break up the square and create a permeable space. The planners suggest the former edge of the space towards Luitpoldplatz with trees – tall trunks with a light crown that set the scene for the main entrance to the town hall with a well-defined gap. The plant cushions create a space within the square. This interior space takes up the walking and visual references to the outside and interlocks them with the surroundings. Despite the permeability of the cushions, they organize the square into different areas. However, the front and rear sides are not weighted. The square only opens up gradually, which the jury finds appealing. It also welcomes the fact that the planners have taken up the unifying theme of water and created another “water stepping stone” between the Red Main and the Mühlengraben.
Marktplatz and Bohl form the core of St Gallen’s old town and are important stops and transfer points for public transport. The winning design calls into question the previous traffic-related spatial separation of Marktgasse, Marktplatz and Bohl. It places the original, north-south oriented main axis, the Marktgasse, at the center. This axis is available as a large, flexibly usable space for festivals and markets; Marktplatz and Bohl form the adjacent “square niches” as places for lively everyday life, according to the authors’ intention. The interface forms an open, generous urban space that allows flexible scenarios for a variety of uses. The “Rondelle”, a market and snack pavilion from the 1950s located on the axis, has to make way for this. It will be replaced by a double pavilion structure in the north-western area of the market square. The jury praised the winning design as a “courageous stroke of liberation”. With the newly created emptiness, the design offers added value and thus the real “capital” for a revitalized center.
With a “Landscape Park Route”, the Stuttgart region is participating in the regional planning model project (MORO) as one of twelve model regions. To this end, it wants to upgrade the existing museum cycle path from Weil der Stadt to Nürtingen, convey scenic connections and strengthen the sense of home. The scenographers SPACE4 and Daniel Schönle Architektur und Stadtplanung are focusing on emotional and interactive theme staging, tactile elements and digital immersion with audio contributions. The focus is on the cyclist, with the information stations serving as experience-oriented entry points. The design is highly recognizable thanks to its use of colour. The elements in signal color indicate the “pick-up” at the start station, the “guidance” in the form of signposts and ground markings, as well as the “orientation” at stops with map and location information. So-called “outlooks” focus on the region’s culture, art and natural history as information elements along the way. A recognizable sign along the route is formed by the information stations in archetypal hut form, which also protect the presentation.
