Architectural Design V-IX: Suburban Architecture. Ilanz, the first City on the Rhine (G.A.Caminada)

Abstract

Der weit verbreiteten Haltung die Stadtkerne zu schützen, wohingegen am Rand vieles erlaubt ist, wollen wir mit unseren Entwürfen entgegenwirken. Wir planen Architekturen an strategisch wichtigen Situationen mit dem Ziel, starke Wirkungen in sich und nach aussen zu schaffen. Wir wollen damit ein Interesse für eine sorgfältige Stadtentwicklung erreichen und den politischen Diskurs fördern.

Objective

Architektur erfordert eine feine Wahrnehmung des Bestehenden und einen mutigen Entwurf für das Kommende. Als grundlegende Voraussetzung für beide Momente erachten wir eine, aus dem lebensweltlichen Kollektiv zu entwickelnde, tragfähige Haltung. Ziel des Kurses ist es, die Sensibilität für eine solche Haltung zu stärken. Gleichzeitig sollen die Fähigkeiten erlernt werden, um diese Haltung wirksam werden zu lassen. Die Auseinandersetzung mit der unmittelbaren Wirklichkeit von Konstruktion und Material spielt dabei eine tragende Rolle.

Content

Ilanz is the first city on the Rhine and lies in a trough-shaped landscape, at the intersection of various valleys. From an urban planning perspective, Ilanz underwent a major change at the beginning of the 20th century. The Rhaetian Railway favored immigration and the establishment of public institutions. Ilanz became the regional center of the Surselva. The city experienced the greatest political change when it gave up its independence as a community a few years ago. Ilanz is now the administrative center of the large municipality of Ilanz / Glion, which was newly formed together with twelve municipalities in the area. Ilanz has a neat and compact old town. Around this core, from the planning point of view, a belt of educational institutions, service companies, shops and industrial buildings was created. Other communities also wanted to grow and attract as many residents as possible; land was continuously zoned. Above all, second homes and single-family houses were created. There was no view of the common good. Due to the constant zoning of building land, building was not carried out where it would make most sense, but rather in places where building land was available and attractive for individual purposes. A lack of planning and a commercial force were the decisive causes. With our designs, we want to counter the widespread attitude of protecting the city centers, whereas a lot is permitted on the outskirts. We plan architectures in strategically important situations with the aim of creating strong effects both internally and externally. We want to achieve an interest in careful urban development and promote political discourse - a federalism that has spatial planning and architectural goals and requirements in the merged community of town and surrounding villages. Ensembles and strong buildings belong to every place. In their relationship, the chaotic in between is usually relativized. A place is never a whole or in other words: there are contradictions, exclusions, thresholds in every place. We design a housing estate, an ensemble of workshops, a valley station to the Bündner Rigi and an industrial building for the production of alternative energy. The buildings are at different distances from the historic old town. We find ideas and examine which means support the design. Specialists contribute to transdisciplinarity that enables different paths to the same or a common goal. It's not so much about filling gaps in knowledge as it is about promoting the discipline of architecture. In his book The Value of the Surface, Philip Ursprung writes about the collaboration between the architect Peter Zumthor and the photographer Hans Danuser; and about the terrain vague in the work of Lara Almarcegui. Photographers have focused on abandoned places that evoke emptiness, absence, but the space of the possible and the expectation. These promises support in advance of the architecture. The collaboration of architecture with other disciplines can open up possibilities in the process of designing. Photography can also be used to discover pictures of industrial grandeur in the periphery of Ilanz. Seduce you. But what are the qualities of these places as living spaces? First of all, we want to use different approaches to explore and sense the terrain of Ilanz. Strong locations in the belt around the core of Ilanz are then the goal of the design. The quality of built spaces lies in the relationship to different entities in the perceivable context. Turning to things creates values ​​that are more than function and form in a multi-layered fabric. Architecture arises from the diverse autonomy of the place - an autonomy that is supported by the local context and its conditions, but also by external influences.

Resources