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Construction & Landscape

Tasmania Glenorc h y A rts a nd Sculp t ure Pa rk · Northern Ireland Gi a nt’s Cause way Visitor Cent re · Bangladesh A rc hitec t ure­ for the Floodpl a in · Norway Høse Bridge · Austria Conc re te bridge T rilogy · Italy Virgil’s Mincio River · Mexico Rou te of t he Pilgrim · Switzerland Flem Riverside T r a il · Norway Ek ebergpa rk in Oslo · Portugal A rriba s c liffs a nd dunes in Foz do A relho · Greece K leon a i Qua rry · Norway T he at er Pavilion at Por sgrunn River a nd En vironmen ta l T he at er in Hemne s · Denmark Ha sle Ha rbor Bath · Essay Designing with the help of drones

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Cover: The Void Temple, Route of the Pilgrim, Mexico Photo: Iwan Baan

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Along the River Derwent in

A aro n Ro berts

Glenorchy, Tasmania, a walkway

16 Discovering a River Landscape

with pavilions makes the foreshore

The Glenorchy Arts and Sculpture Park, GASP!, Tasmania

N á dia Schilling

82 The Ecological Opening of a Sensitive

Natural Landscape Wooden stairways for the Arribas cliffs and dunes in Foz

Marc Lins / Marte.Marte Architekten

accessible. It is part of the Glenorchy Arts and Sculpture Park.

J o hn M c L a u ghlin

do Arelho, Portugal

24 A Simple and Quiet Monumentality The new visitor centre at the Giant’s Causeway,

Northern Ireland

86 Sculpted Architectural Landscape

N ella G o landa, A spassia Ko uzo upi

The Kleonai Quarry next to the new Corinth-Sparta ­

K a zi K . A shraf

national motorway, Greece

30 Architecture for the Floodplain The Friendship Centre in Gaibandha, Bangladesh

te Architects spans the narrow valley of the Ebniterach

90 Gjennomsikten – the Beginning of

an Archipelago

River in Austria.

36 An Acoustic Chamber for the River

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The concrete Schanerloch Bridge by Marte.MarA lma Oftedal

Sindre Wam

A wooden theater pavilion at Porsgrunn River, Norway

Visiting the Høse Bridge across the Suldalslågen River in southwestern Norway

H ans-Petter Bjø rn å dal

94 Mystified by Tales and Mountains peter zö ch

An environmental theatre in Hemnes, Norway

41 Concrete Bridge Trilogy Ben Hosking

Three bridges in the Austrian mountainscape

Fredrik Petterss o n

98 Viewing the Sunsets of Bornholm

F lavia Past ò

Hasle Harbour Bath, Denmark

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Martina Mambrin

46 Virgil’s Mincio River

Basalt columns frame the new visitor centre of the Giant’s Causeway in Nothern Ireland. The building

merges with the impressive coastal landscape.

A sculptural pathway through the fluvial landscape near Mantua, Italy

Christo phe G irot, James Mels o m 102 The Return of the Aviators Precise geographic information from views from the sky

C lau dia S uare z

52 Hiking Step by Step to the Virgin of Talpa 46

The Travata Door at the path along Mincio River

Route of the Pilgrim, Guadalajara, Mexico

provides seating next to a pumping station built at the beginning of the 20th century.

W ilfried D echa u

Currents 6 News, Projects, Competitions 108 Reviews

62 Landscape Planning on a Scale of 1:1 through a wild landscape in Switzerland

110 Authors

ken Wo rpo le ( Te x t ) / Jaso n Orto n ( ph oto s)

111 Credits/Imprint

Trutg dil Flem (Flem Riverside Trail): Seven footbridges

70 The New English Landscape Anup Basak

Exploring urban and coastal margins

To ne L indheim

76 Working with the Cultural Layers of Ekeberg 30

The Friendship Centre in Gaibandha in northern Bangladesh is moulded in the

Ekebergpark in Oslo, Norway Ketil Born

landscape of the flood area of Brahmaputra-Jamuna. It is an example how topographical

Marie-Louise Halpenny

architecture could change building strategies.

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An environmental theater with stage towers built

as a venue for a play about a shaman is located near a mountain range in northern Norway.

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currents

projects

projects

currents

The new city centre is separated into three different spaces: south of the convention center, the central space of the town centre and the countryside, the park in the north.

A Park as New Focal Point for Anaheim, USA

A Centre for the City of Science and Technology in Wuxi, China

The aim of the new park in Anaheim

by Ken Smith is to revitalise the city center and to carefully accentuate

Ken Smith Landscape Architect

the historical structures.

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In the city of Wuxi, located about 200 kilometres northwest of Shanghai on the shores of the Lake Tai, a national high-tech development, covering an area of over 100 square kilometres, was established in 1995. Part of this zone between the Channel of the Emperor and the Lake Tai, forms the new City of Science and Technology, with approximately 100,000 residents and 250,000 new jobs in an area of 16.88 square kilometres.

The focus of this part of the development is characterised by aquatic nature. Many Channels run through the countryside. An important main channel runs at a tangent to the site on the outskirts, in a North South axis towards the Tai Lake. A Central Business District will be developed in the middle of this new City of ­Science and Technology. This new sizable open space, spanning between two towers containing the city hall and a hotel

as well as a large convention and culture centre, is considered to be the new nucleus.

Based on the fundaments of urban structure of the master plan, the new city centre is separated into three different urban spaces: The cultural space south of the convention and culture centre, the central space of the town centre and the countryside, the park to the north with its adjacent residential building development.

The two skyscrapers, which each have 28 stories, together with the convention and culture centre opposite, ensure that this central area is accentuated. The building areas to the east and west of the site ­include conference and office buildings that are 5 to 14 stories tall. The challenge for ­Valentien + Valentien Landscape Architects and Town Planner together with Molenaar Architects and Town Planner and Yiju Ding was to create an ­attractive urban space out of the 6 hectar, centrally located open area. Critical was the ­integration of the spaces surrounding the two skyscrapers and the convention and culture centre, as was the design of the entrances and exits. A classic park didn’t seem to be a suitable ­solution between these important public buildings. The space’s large scale was considered to be too large for use as a plaza. The space would heat up too much and also feel ­uncomfortable. The concept was to encompass numerous

streams and channels and in doing so, to create an urban landscape characterised by ­water, offering both diverse, small-scale spaces to rest as well as possibilities for large scale events. The image of the plaza is created through an overlay of several geometric patterns and structures. Paving materials, an expanse of water, green chambers, the groves, the hedges, and the meadows create a vivid and varied layout. The water plaza reflects the connection to the historic structure of water cities. A central viewing axis connects the convention and culture centre with the two towers. Surrounding channels mark the central, lower-lying water plaza, which spans approximately 3 hectares. They are connected to the main channel, the socalled Jade Channel that runs along the eastern side. The channel, with its wide esplanade, forms a spine which connects it with Lake Tai. The streets in front of the hotel, the city hall and the convention centre have been transformed into traffic-free zones.

Wide stairs and pedestrian bridges connect the immediate surroundings of the public buildings with the sunken garden of the water plaza. The water plaza is built approximately two metres lower than it’s surroundings, creating ­direct contact to the channel’s water flow. North of the culture centre is an amphitheatre, orientated towards the conference centre with its lakeside

stage. On the opposite side of the water plaza, in front of the towers, leading to the channel is a water/stair area offering seating options. ­ A pergola structure spans the so-called water feature, east of the water plaza, as a part of the big esplanade. Below the pergola, one can find small elements that can be used to rest on, but which also func-

bour. Green chambers invite you to enjoy reading or meditation within them. A tower at the south-eastern corner provides a 360° view of the water plaza and the adjacent areas.

On the ground floor, one can rent a boat, and use the kitchenette and rest rooms. A city museum was built under the café building, connected to an underground parking. The

tion as mobile vending stations, ­kiosks and sanitary modules. The water plaza ­itself contains a wide range of infrastructure for recreation and leisure a­ ctivities. A café, including a visitor information point and a terrace is located close by the small boat har-

largest building hosts various events, with a lakeside stage and a restaurant for more than 150 guests. It is integrated in a large and shady grove, which frames the plaza. A collection of unique gardens and a green house enhance the existing activities and attraction on offer.

The water plaza reflects the connection to the historic structure of water cities. A central viewing axis connects the convention and culture centre with the two towers.

Klaus Molenaar

Planungsgruppe Valentien

Anaheim, the oldest city in Orange County, California, has a new focal point: Farmers Park, landscape architect Ken Smith’s latest work in the area. Smith is also designer of the still-developing ­Orange County Great Park in Irvine. The Anaheim Packing District is a three-parcel site with two significant historic buildings, part of the Colony Historic District in Anaheim. The Packing House, built in 1911 was originally home to the Sunkist Company.

Built at the edge of downtown Anaheim and alongside the Southern Pacific rail line, the Packing House is listed on the National Historic Register. The 1925 mission revival Packard Building is ­considered a locally significant historic structure originally designed as a car showroom. Both buildings are reminders of Southern California’s agricultural and transportation heritage as well as prime ­examples of the mission revival architectural style.

The empty lot between the two buildings was redeveloped along with the two historic structures to create a unified three-block park, retail, restaurant and market-oriented district that is part of the City of Anaheim’s master plan for revitalizing the downtown area of the city. Ken Smith Landscape Architect collaborated with a multidisciplinary design team, retail developers and city officials to create an urban district that preserves the historic structures while making adaptive reuse improvements and creating a landscape-oriented setting linking indoor and outdoor use areas ­together. The team worked closely with historic preservation ­consultants and State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) officials to sensitively integrate new uses into the historic area.

The design and material vocabulary of new improvements ­emphasizes durable historic materials such as wood, steel and ­concrete. A historic rail spur was recreated and two flat bed cars were installed in a historically correct location to be used as outdoor dining terraces for the building’s restaurants. Shade structures were incorporated into the design to provide comfort as part of the sustainability program for the project. Porous joint paving for storm water infiltration and dark sky lighting were other ­components of the sustainability features.

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Aaron Roberts

Discovering a River Landscape Punctuating the walkway along the River Derwent, Tasmania, are pavilions designed by 足 Room11 such as the Grove Pavilion, a large barbecue place. A lovely quirk is a large pane of orange glass in the rear wall. Seen from the road, it shifts the view of the river into sepia.

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Basalt columns frame the visitor centre of Giant’s Causeway which is partly buried under

John McLaughlin

grass. The building seems to merge with the green Irish landscape at the coast of County ­Antrim in Northern Ireland.

A Simple and Quiet Monumentality The new visitor centre at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland is part of the impressive coastal landscape that was once formed by volcanic and glacial forces.

T

he Giant’s Causeway is a dramatic landscape of columnar volcanic basalt on the north coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It was formed around 60 million years ago during the tertiary period by great flows of basalt lava that welled up through cracks in the earth’s crust and spread out, creating layer upon layer of rock. These basalt layers cooled rapidly in a river valley, which caused them to contract into polygons that then cracked vertically, producing stacked vertical columns of organ pipe-like structures buried in the earth. The rock was subsequently exposed by glacial erosion, which created the unique landscape we see today. In 1986 the Giant’s Causeway was entered into the register of Unesco World Heritage Sites – one of only three on the islands of Ireland and Britain. The listing was awarded for three different reasons: The site is significant as a geological formation, as a unique landscape, and for the role that it played in the emergence of the science of geology in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

In the Victorian era the causeway became a major tourist attraction, and today it is owned and managed by the National Trust. The entire coastline is named after it and is protected as an area of outstanding natural beauty. The causeway itself is the most visited attraction on the ­island of Ireland. In 2000 the visitor centre burnt down and in 2003 a site visit by Unesco made a number of recommendations about how the site should be developed and conserved into the future. The report led

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Claudia Suárez

Hiking Step by Step to the Virgin of Talpa Landmarks by several architects offer resting and meeting places along the Route of the Pilgrim in Mexico, which leads from Ameca to the Church of Talpa de Allende.

The Open Chapel of Gratitude near Almeca by Derek Dellekamp and Tatiana Bilbao is the first of the architectural interventions along the Route of the Pilgrims. They are part of a masterplan also curated by Dellekamp and Bilbao.

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The Route of the Pilgrim (La Ruta del Peregrino) in the State of Jalisco, dedicated to the cult of the Virgin of the Rosary, is a much-frequented cultural route that has existed for over 300 years and continues to evolve.

Every year, especially during Easter, more than 3 million pilgrims embark on a religious trip of 117 kilometres, from the town of Ameca to a destination consecrated to the Virgin of the Rosary: the Church of Talpa de ­Allende. The Virgin of Talpa is the third most popular destination of faith in Mexico, ­according to the number of pilgrims it receives per year, ­together with the Virgin of Zapopan in Jalisco (3 million visitors) and ­after the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City (15 million) and the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos, also in Jalisco (6 million).

The pilgrimage is an act of construction and modification of the landscape, both at the individual and the collective level, figuratively as well as literally. The impulse that guides the pilgrims on their way through the mountains for a period of three to four days lies not only in arriving at Talpa as the revered destination but also in every step of the way. In the process, pilgrims also embark on an inner journey of purification and ­redemption that gives meaning to the ground they walk on and physically and symbolically transforms the landscape they pass through.

Since the seventeenth century, when the first miracle of Our Virgin of the Rosary was recorded, this route has been traced by pilgrims across six municipalities in Jalisco: Ameca, Guachinango, Mixtlán, Atenguillo, Mascota, and Talpa de Allende. The journey takes place on foot, pilgrims walk

Each year more than three million visitors pilgrimage from Ameca to the Church of Talpa de Allende to worship the Virgin of the Rosary. During Easter the flow of pilgrims is especially large.

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