Most residents know it by the name “Lange Erlen”, others refer to it as the former Landesgartenschau grounds. Yet this park, which connects Germany with Switzerland in Basel’s Rhine bend, has a much more beautiful name: Landschaftspark Wiese, after the river of the same name that flows through it. The special thing about the park is that it is located on both German and Swiss soil. And it is the site of the IBA Basel, which has been successfully involved in cross-border projects in the border triangle of Germany, France and Switzerland for more than ten years. We wanted to find out more about this landscape park, so we spoke to the main ranger Yannick Bucher.

Yannick Bucher, together with two German colleagues, you have been working as a ranger at the Wiese Landscape Park since February 2019. How can we imagine your job?
The main task of our ranger service is to inform, educate and raise awareness in the Wiese Landscape Park. The latter means, in particular, that we ensure that visitors generally abide by the rules. We ensure positive interaction between visitors and stakeholders, and the area is used to extract the region’s drinking water and for agriculture. Ranger services are typical for national parks and also somewhat typical for nature reserves. What is rather special about the Wiese Landscape Park is that we are active in an area that is not just a nature reserve. There are also other uses here, such as sports facilities, animal shelters and allotments.

Another special feature of the ranger service in the Wiese Landscape Park is that it is binational.
Absolutely right. The landscape park itself is binational. So it makes sense that the ranger service there is also binational, that it travels throughout the park and doesn’t have to stick to the boundaries. The Basel conurbation has grown considerably in recent years and leisure activities have changed quite a bit due to more flexible working hours. This has also increased the pressure on local recreational areas. The ranger service was introduced a good year ago to counteract the increasing pressure of use. That is why we are not only a supervisory body, but also have a mediation role. And these are also necessary.
The coronavirus pandemic has amplified the effect: we already had a lot of visitors to the park beforehand. Visitor numbers during the lockdown were far higher than normal. This shows how important the green recreational area close to the city is for the region.

I can imagine that. What does this mediation you mentioned look like in concrete terms?
We offer guided tours and also organize information tables. We try to raise awareness of what happens in the area, how drinking water is extracted and how agriculture works in the park. We bring topics to the table that city dwellers have little opportunity to experience and communicate them.

How is the ranger service organized?
We have three clients in total: the town of Weil am Rhein, the municipality of Riehen and the canton of Basel-Stadt. I am employed by the environmental consulting firm “Hintermann & Weber AG”, which received the contract from the city of Basel, and my two German partners are employed by the Trinational Environmental Center (TRUZ).

What measures have been implemented in recent years as part of the IBA Basel and which are still planned?
We ourselves, the ranger service, are one of the central measures of the IBA Landschaftspark Wiese project. As I said, we have been around for a year. There are also plans for uniform signage at the park entrances to provide information about the park, what recreational opportunities are available, but also what conditions are attached to them: that you can only light fires in the barbecue areas and that you take your garbage with you, etc. The basic rules. Just the basic rules. There will also be a themed trail in the park in future, which will highlight the topics of drinking water extraction, animals and plants, as well as the historical development.

But the biggest measure is “Wiese vital”, right?
Exactly, as part of a popular initiative in Switzerland, the Basel voters decided to revitalize and renaturalize the entire section of the River Wiese on Swiss soil. The lower section has already been revitalized, while a construction project is currently being drawn up for the other section. The aim is for the river to flow more naturally again and have more space.

You’ve been at it for almost 1.5 years now. What do you think, are the efforts on site sufficient to protect the Wiese Landscape Park from the pressure of use in the long term?
In my opinion, the most important step has been taken with the Landscape Master Plan. The area can now no longer be built over and I’m glad about that. Gentle means are now being used to protect the park’s recreational area. With signage, targeted information and also through us, the ranger service. I think we are on the right track. We are also receiving the same feedback from the public. Interest in the area is growing and what we are doing is appreciated. Many visitors say that the landscape park is the most beautiful place in the region. And there are always visitors who ask how they can help, who want to do something for the area. All of this together makes me very optimistic.

Why have we started an IBA Basel series? You can read about it here.

You can find all the articles on IBA Basel 2020 here.

“Avos”, the first work by young Austrian architect Oliver Steinbauer, is a family affair: he built the house for his brother in his grandfather’s vineyard. The name pays tribute to the ancestors.

Around 60 kilometers from Vienna, on the southern edge of the Lower Austrian thermal spa region, stands a detached house surrounded by vines. Completed in 2018, the building is the debut work of young architect Oliver Steinbauer. He designed the first concepts as a student for his brother, the client. After the death of his grandfather, he took over the family vineyard and his love of the winemaking trade. He dedicated his first red wine to his ancestors – avos in Latin. And it is precisely this name that Oliver Steinbauer’s architecture now bears: “Avos”.

The dark architecture blends almost tone-in-tone into the flat vineyard, taking a back seat – with a strong form and character. The façade emphasizes the grace of the cuboid building and visually divides it into two storeys: a large glass front surrounds the ground-floor living space on three sides, while the rest of the house is clad in charred larch. The windows are barely recognizable. Inside, the sculptural exterior of the architecture dissolves into a playful, open and bright spatial structure.

What is not visible from the outside are the split-level storeys, which divide the house into five half storeys both lengthways and crossways. The wine cellar is recessed into the ground to ensure optimum temperature control.

The architect developed the two key elements of the house – the open-plan living space and the split-level design – in close collaboration with his brother and sister-in-law. They discussed the concepts together Sunday after Sunday over family lunch. Different lines of sight and perspectives now play a key role in determining the spatial effect of the house. One of Oliver Steinbauer’s favorite perspectives unfolds as you enter from the four-meter-high entrance into the higher living area. Here, four pairs of black steel columns support the steel ceiling beams and structure the room together with the black window frames. With their even rhythm, these three structuring elements refer to the surrounding vines and integrate them into the living area.

In his search for a biological façade material, the architect came across the process of preserving wood through charring. “And so one thing actually led to another. It came out of the process,” reveals Steinbauer, who is often asked about this choice of material and color. At first, the family was skeptical. However, they now understand the reasons behind the decision and are very happy with the result. “A white plaster façade could never blend in harmoniously with the slope,” says Steinbauer. In contrast, the charred larch surrounds the architecture like a black velvety veil, while matt black portals inconspicuously frame the tall, narrow window openings and the entrance door.
In the evening hours, the house disappears almost completely into the veil, taking on the texture of the forest behind it and reducing itself to the illuminated living space like a pavilion architecture. It is a house with many perspectives.

Fresh out of university, his first project and a small budget: Oliver Steinbauer’s “Avos” came out of the starting blocks on the winners’ podium. The detached house was awarded gold in the “Excellent Architecture” category at the “German Design Award 2021”. “Avos” can also be found in the award publication “Houses of the Year 2020”. With the steadily increasing attention, the detached house has even reached the film industry: next summer, the house will be seen as a film location in a Tatort episode.

All photos: STEINBAUER architektur+design

Read here about the winning project of the “House of the Year 2020” award by Aretz Dürr Architektur.