27.11.2024

Praise for Eastern modernism

Building design

This year's DAM Prize goes to gmp for the refurbishment and conversion of the Dresden Palace of Culture.

The 2019 DAM Prize goes to gmp for the renovation of the Dresden Palace of Culture

The souls of former GDR citizens were more than caressed when the renovated, modernized Dresden Palace of Culture opened its doors at the end of April 2017. It is more than just Ostalgie, it is a versatile urban building block. It has now been awarded the 2019 German Architecture Museum Architecture Prize.

The people of Dresden had wished for it, and so the city council had decided after heated debates in the citizenry: The Kulturpalast, built as a multifunctional building on the north side of the Altmarkt, which was built up in the 1950s and opened in 1969 in the evening glow of the Ulbricht era, was preserved.

Old on the outside, new on the inside – roughly speaking, that was the brief that the winners of the 2009 architectural competition, von Gerkan Marg und Partner (gmp) from Hamburg, adopted in a way that makes both sides, the traditionalists and the innovators, happy. Because until the visitor has entered the completely newly built concert hall, they are walking through, indeed living through, the GDR past – admittedly in a quality of material and execution that architects of the GDR could only have wished for. At the very least, it must have seemed the same to first-time visitors in 1969 as it does to today’s curious visitors – the square ceiling lights in the middle of the “Moki” ceiling tiles shine so flawlessly on the natural stone floor of the entrance foyer and the bright red carpeting of the upper foyers. Both are structured by the regular, continuous square pillars of the structural framework.

Strict symmetry prevails: on both sides, a double flight of stairs leads first to a mezzanine and then to the upper floor. In the break foyer, from where the view through the wall-high full glazing falls onto the Altmarkt and the lively Wilsdruffer Straße, a frieze-like mural above the hall doors and a small, recessed buffet tells of the achievements of socialism and communism, including “cosmonauts” – this is 1969! – included.

Just like before – only better

On the outside, the Palace of Culture remained as it was, of course, even with the mural mosaic “The Color Red” – strangely concealed on the side. However, there is one wonderful improvement: the bronze-brown vaporized heat-insulating glass of yesteryear has been replaced by heat-insulating clear glass. So now you can see in and out just as easily. From a distance from the building, you can see the metal-clad roof dome above the concert hall. It, too, is a carefully renovated original component – and the one that makes it clear from a distance that this is not a broad administrative building on the street, but a ballroom. Now, finally, it can be entered, used and simply enjoyed all day long.

Pictures: Christian Gahl, gmp Architekten, Deutsche Fotothek

You can find the entire article in Baumeister 10/2017, page 34

14.01.2025

Event

German Landscape Architecture Award 2021: Projects

Building design

Detail fountain field, detail lighting concept and luminaires © Nikolai Benner, Planorama Landschaftsarchitekturma, 2019

35 nominations in nine categories: We present a selection of the projects nominated for the Landscape Architecture Award 2021.

On Friday, April 23, 2021, the time has come: the renowned expert jury of the German Landscape Architecture Award will select its favorites from 35 nominated projects in a total of nine categories. Here we present a selection of the projects nominated for the Landscape Architecture Award 2021.

The Association of German Landscape Architects (bdla) has already awarded the German Landscape Architecture Prize 14 times. This year, the jury, consisting of nine top-class judges – including Prof. Dr. Karin Helms, President of IFLA Europe and Till Rehwaldt, President of the bdla – will decide on the best German projects in the field of landscape architecture for the 15th time.

“Hahnplatz” – Planorama landscape architecture

Planorama Landscape Architecture is represented with several projects. One of these is their redesign of Hahnplatz in Prüm in the Eifel region. This brings a new sense of calm to the area. The open space, which was previously fragmented and disjointed in front of the former Benedictine abbey, has been given a new quality of life thanks to Planorama’s design. The design of the square is characterized not only by its openness and accessibility, but also by its materiality: the basalt rock typical of the Eifel runs through the design, for example in the form of bands that structure the space and convey differences in height. In addition, a fountain field and specially crafted furniture made of wood and bronze ensure that visitors are happy to linger.

“Fort Asterstein Fortress Park” – Franz Reschke Landscape Architecture

Franz Reschke Landschaftsarchitektur is also among the nominees several times. The firm applied for the German Landscape Architecture Award 2021 with the “Fort Asterstein Fortress Park” project. The park is part of the Koblenz fortress and is therefore part of the UNESCO World Heritage Middle Rhine Valley. The design of the open spaces is intended to exploit the potential of the area as a public park. The planners attached great importance to barrier-free pathways in their design. They integrated the Asterstein cemetery into the park and created visual references to Fort Konstatin from the existing trees. The park is not only equipped with a new wayfinding and information system, but also with specially developed, large-format benches and meadow furniture made of cast concrete.

“Small Kiel Canal – Holstenfleet Kiel” – bgmr landscape architects

With the “Kleiner Kiel-Kanal – Holstenfleet Kiel”, bgmr landscape architects are also among the nominees. The planners implemented the city’s wish to turn the thoroughfare into a new open space for its residents. To this end, bgmr designed two water features that have become central components of the public water-square sequence: They are positioned between the inland lakes and the boat harbor. The water is cleaned by a band of reeds, which also functions as a cooling bed during hot summers through evaporation. The water basins can be used to cool off on hot days. There are walk-on islands and seating elements at the edge. The open space thus plays an important role in revitalizing the city centre. bgmr focused on intensive public involvement in the project and strengthened bicycle and pedestrian traffic with the design.

“Waller Sand” – A24 landscape architecture

The nominees also include the “Waller Sand” project in Bremen by A24 Landschaftsarchitektur. The park combines flood protection with high-quality open space and creates a multifunctional public space for the people of Bremen. The formerly neglected area in the west of Bremen’s city center is part of a peninsula and has been given new attention thanks to A24’s design: the park offers Bremen’s residents high-quality recreational opportunities while also protecting the city from flooding. The dyke facilities were not only modernized and thus made safer, but also designed as a city beach. Waller Sand is a best-practice example of urban dyke construction and mediates the conflict between “safety engineering vs. open space utilization” with a high level of landscape architectural expertise.

“Zechenpark / Quartiersplatz / Kloster Kamp” – bbzl böhm benfer zahiri landschaften städtebau

Also nominated is the “Zechenpark / Quartiersplatz / Kloster Kamp” project as part of the Kamp-Lintfort State Garden Show by bbzl böhm benfer zahiri landschaften städtebau (you can find out all about the Kamp-Lintfort State Garden Show here). The design makes strong reference to the course and topography of the Große Goorley river, which characterizes the urban structure of Kamp-Lintfort. The concept deepens the link between the Große Goorley and the adjoining urban quarters and accentuates the contrast between Kamp-Lintfort’s systems of order, which are landscape-oriented on the one hand and orthogonal on the other. The colliery park now connects the adjacent districts with the city center of Kamp-Lintfort and plays an important role in the urban fabric. The district square, on the other hand, has an identity-forming function and mediates between the park and the district – a special highlight: a water feature integrated at ground level. The monastery area retains its original form, but has been given a revised route and three new paradise gardens.

A total of 119 entries were accepted for the competition and were open to online voting by the five expert jurors. They made their decision and awarded 35 nominations. At the jury meeting on Friday, April 23, 2021, the judges will now each select a favorite in one of nine categories:

With the “Young Landscape Architecture” category, the current award specifically promotes and supports young professionals up to the age of 40 or up to ten years after chamber registration.

Every two years, the German Landscape Architecture Award honors exceptional landscape architecture and urban planning projects. The focus is on their conception and social and ecological settlement and landscape development.

All projects nominated for the German Landscape Architecture Award 2021 can be found here: www.deutscher-landschaftsarchitektur-preis.de.

14.01.2025

Pioneer of the profession in Mexico

Building design

The Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award goes to the Mexican landscape architect Mario Schjetnan.

Mario Schjetnan has received the 2015 Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award from the IFLA. Born in Mexico City, the architect and landscape architect has shaped Mexican landscape architecture like no other. He studied architecture at the National University of Mexico and then went to Berkley to study landscape architecture, where he was influenced by greats such as Garret Eckbo, Donald Appleyard and Robert Twis. As head of the urban planning department at the National Institute of Housing for Workers (INFONAVIT) in Mexico, he worked on the development of guidelines for social housing estates. In 1977, he founded his office Grupo de Diseño Urbano (GDU). His best-known works include Tezozomac Park (1982), Xochimilco Ecological Park (1993) and Chapultepec Parks. All of these parks are located in Mexico City. Some of his projects can also be found in the USA, including Union Point Park in Oakland, California (2005).

Schjetnan was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in 1984 and received an honorary doctorate from the Univsersidad Autónoma de Nuevo Léon in 1995. He teaches as a guest lecturer at various universities and, in addition to his academic and practical career, has worked to establish landscape architecture as a profession in Mexico. From 1985 to 1986, he was president of the Mexican Society of Landscape Architects, of which he has been a founding member since 1972.