Architectural Design V-IX: Landscape Scenarios for the Engadin (Guest Prof. Voser)

Abstract

The light, the panoramas, the scenographies of the seasons - the Upper Engadine always offers great cinema. A closer look, however, shows that this valley, which is characterized by contrasts, is determined by the most diverse, often divergent forces: natural processes directly meet economic and socio-cultural dynamics.

Objective

Basic knowledge of landscape architecture, designing landscape, independently working on a design based on one's own hypothesis, choosing the appropriate design elements, designing and representing complex dynamic systems, alternating between different scales.

Content

Due to its orography and the limited spatial conditions, this Alpine valley will consequently be much more exposed to the effects of climate change. Triggered by the disappearance of glaciers and permafrost and increasing heavy rain events, mudslides, rockslides and avalanches will increase. At the same time, this landscape construct, whose primary economic factor is based on a constructed identity, is increasingly coming under pressure from all the necessary urban infrastructure for tourism, transport and water management. The search for forward-looking strategies for dealing with these extremes in space requires a paradigm shift - we not only have to question how we deal with the natural processes in space - from fighting against them to working with them - it is also important to create new landscape structures that to accommodate forthcoming changes. As part of the design, we will therefore deal intensively with the design of systems, processes and strategies and draw new spatial qualities, atmospheres and consequently the future identity of the valley. At the same time, we will also discuss our understanding and our image of landscape and our relationship to nature - the place of longing, the Engadin, with all its visual worlds, seems to us to be particularly suitable for this. Introducing a new water system serves as a design engine. Due to the complexity of the territory and task, an iterative design method is pursued, oscillating back and forth between design and analysis and between large and small scales. Developing an attitude, crystallizing specific themes and choosing the appropriate design tools are just as much a part of the work process as designing the transformation processes.

Resources