ARCHITECTURE OF TERRITORY European Countryside COMMUNES
THE GLOBAL VILLAGE OF WATCHMAKING Commune of Le Chenit
fs 2017 ETH Zurich DARCH
Bess Laaring Daniel Kragskov Tulsi Vadalia
ARCHITECTURE OF TERRITORY European Countryside COMMUNES
THE GLOBAL VILLAGE OF WATCHMAKING Commune of Le Chenit
fs 2017 ETH Zurich DARCH
Bess Laaring Daniel Kragskov Tulsi Vadalia
Le Chenit
The Global Village of Watchmaking: Intertwining Locality with Commuter Ecology
The commune of Le Chenit is famous for its watchmaking heritage and is set in the picturesque Vallée du Joux. Today, however, the watchmaking industry is part of a global ecology of workers and customers. This has lead to a growing divide between the industry and the village itself, as companies build large, impermeable compounds suited to a car culture. Meanwhile, the residents of Le Chenit are largely commuters to the nearby cities of Lausanne and Geneva. This is creating a condition within the commune that is increasingly ‘suburban’ and devoid of local character. The result is a constant flow of two groups of barely interacting people, in and out of the commune. As such, Le Chenit is left as a ‘road-side town’ with infrastructure focused on accomodating the car. There is little area for public life or activities other than commuting. The project aims to address the condition of Le Chenit as ‘two towns’. By reinterpreting the boundaries of the currently hermetic watchmaking buildings and utlising ineffciently organised outdoor areas, the project will propose multifunction spaces. These spaces will accomodate both groups of people, changing function according to the commuter flows. The intervention is also intended to integrate the landscape into the village and develope a strong, local identity for the commune. These new public spaces with provide new a orientation around which the commune can grow.
p. 12 Setting: Landscape as a Foundation
p. 42 Conclusion: The Need for Integration
The picturesque landscape of Le Chenit is predominently coniferous forest, wetlands and pasture. The strong topography of the valley has historically determined its development yet today a strong connection with the landscape is lacking.
Though not in need of immediate intervention, the commune lacks coherence and connections between the landscape, watchmaking industry and village. Le Chenit requires a new vision that can enhance the existing condition and guide future growth.
p. 22 Watchmaking Valley: A Commuting Destination
p. 44 Project: Factory Spaces as a New Social Fabric
The watchmaking industry grew from small workshops in farmhouses to a global industry. Consequently, large areas are given over to industrial activity and its large crossborder workforce.
p. 34 Village: From Locality to a Commuting Suburb Low housing prices have lead to new generic housing developments, in contrast to the historical typologies. Occupied by workers commuting to Lausanne and Geneva, these new areas lack meaningful integration with village and landscape resulting in a suburban condition.
With a view to intertwining locality and the commuter ecology, three sites are chosen that are strategic for intervention. These sites are situated to benefit existing housing and guide new growth. The intention is to create facilities that will lead the closed off industry to act as social enterprises.
p. 46 Multiuse Spaces: Reinterpreting the Carpark as Public Space The project aims to create multiuse spaces that integrate carparking and public areas. The outcome will utilise the landscape as an asset in creating quality spaces and develop the distinct characters of the village areas.
Setting: Landscape as a Foundation Situated within the Vallée du Joux, the commune of Le Chenit has a strong landscape of wetlands and coniferous forests. The built footprint is small in comparison. Owing to the climate there is only a small amount of agriculture. The ‘one-fold’ landscape has historically determined the layout of the village, with houses clustering along the main linear roads that run through the valley. This contrasts to the farmhouses that are dispersed along the slopes. The landscape is important as an image to the watchmaking industry and provides a beautiful setting for the village. Yet the industry’s connection is now somewhat superficial and the village, especially the newer areas, lack an apparent relationship to the landscape.
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One Fold Landscape
Historically, the commune was comprised of farmhouses spread out over the valley slopes. As the village grew, houses and workshops were built along the two main roads, creating a ‘road town’ that was distincly linear thus following the fold of the landscape. Three villages, Le Sentier, La Brassus and L’Orient, were combined into one commune. As such, Le Chenit does not have one distinct ‘village centre’. During the mid nineteenth century, new housing developments deviated from the historical ‘road town’ model and urban expansion has created a ‘sprawl’ condition between the two roads.
Built area, pre 1900
Built area, current condition
Valley Topography Lake Current Ground Figure
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Three Types of Landscape
A section through the landscape shows the ‘onefold’ landscape. Within the section, three distinct environments can be observed. These areas are protected, taking up a vast majority of the commune.
Pastures
The south-east slope is a mix of pastures and forest. Only a small amount of extensive agricultural activity takes place due to the harsh climate and relatively infertile land.
Wetlands
The valley itself contains wetlands and intermediate patches of forest. These areas are protected and reserved for flora and fauna.
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Coniferous Forest
The slope to the north west is dense, coniferous forest. Protected by federal law, the forest is maintained by the commune’s foresters and timber is harvested for the commune’s heating plant.
Protected Zones Lake Protected Wetlands Flora Reserve Fauna Reserve
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1:60000
Accessibility
Access to these landscape areas is limited. Narrow roads, private tracks, and routes reserved only for forestry staff make connecting with the landscape, either as a resident or visitor, difficult.
Pastures
The pastures are mainly accessed by private driveways or narrow, local traffic roads.
Wetlands and the Built
The wetland area cannot be concretely defined as it fluctuates with the water level. Despite being in close proximity to the village there is not a great deal of formal access to the wetlands and riverside.
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Coniferous Forest
The extensive road network through the coniferous forest is largely reserved for forestry vehicles only. The narrowness of other public roads makes them harzardous to pedestrians and it is difficult for a car to pull over and stop.
Landscape Features Lake Wetlands Forest Pastures
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Watchmaking Valley: A Commuting Destination Watchmaking began in Le Chenit in the seventeenth century to supplement agricultural production, which was poor due to the harsh climate. Originally, Huguenots, fleeing France, settled in the region, bringing their fine metal working skills with them. As Geneva became crowded with craftsmen, many moved to the Vallée de Joux. Protestant beliefs regarding a puritan lifestyle caused many jewellers to turn to watchmaking. Combined, these events created a strong tradition of watchmaking in Geneva and more specifically the Vallée de Joux. Initially, a watchmaker was only qualified when he could manufacture a full watch and he was granted a warrant to allow him to be recognised as a master craftsman. After this, the warrant sytem was abolished in 1776 and later with industrialisation, new production methods changed the scale of the industry. From small workshops of one or two craftsmen, watchmaking now took place in large factories and industrialised workshops making use of subcontractors. The industry took a blow in the 1970’s with the introdution of cheap electronic quartz watches produced in Japan. Known as the Quartz Crisis, this changed the mentality of the Swiss watchmaking industry, which recovered from the crisis by rebranding their watches as a luxury product for the elite. The industry now relies on thousands of cross-border commuters from Fance, who benefit from the high Swiss wages and low French living costs. The physical manifestation of this industry in Le Chenit today does not resonate with its historical roots. Large industrial buildings and vast parking lots sit at odds in the historical fabric of the village.
Average Salary in CHF
> 82000 65000 - 82000 59000 - 65000 53000 - 59000 47000 - 53000 41000 - 47000 35000 - 41000 29000 - 35000
Le Chenit has an average salary of 53000 - 59000 CHF per annum.
Over 35% 20-35% 10-20% 5-10% 1-5% No Data Commuting Culture Red: Swiss Jobs Occupied by Foreigners as % of Jobs Grey: French Crossborder Workers as % of Population
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Over 35% 20-35% 10-20% No Data
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Vacheron Constantin
La Pierrette
Blancpain
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Meylan Frères
Bvlgari
Jaegar-LeCoultre
Patek Philippe
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Watchmaking Industry Present Condition Watch Companies
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Historical Evolution: From Local Craft to Distant Industry
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Advertisment from Audemars Piguet using the commune landscape.
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Construction of the Technical School of Watchmaking, Le Chenit, 1907.
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The development of the watchmaking industry, from small workshops to large factory like prodution, manifested in multiple ways. Watchmaking was so important to the commune that a technical school, specialising in watchmaking, was constructed in 1907 by an organisation of watchmakers. The construction of the school was a means to keep the knowledge of watchmaking in the valley and highlights the importance of maintaining the tradition in Le Chenit. The valley, and Le Chenit, as a watchmaking 5000 region, is still vital to the industry today. After the Quartz Crisis, the landscape of Le Chenit was 4000 in rebranding the industry, providing it instrumental with an identity and the products with providence, 3000 making them more desirable. Despite the importance of the valley, the industry’s 2000 to the landscape is largely superficial and connection only strongly represented through advertising campaigns. 1000 The way in which the industry is manifested today does not correlate with its historical origins or the landscape.
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Audemar Piguet Prodution The number of watches fluctuates according to historical events and developments.
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pre 1700 pre 1700 pre 1700 prepre 1700 pre 17001700
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pre 1700
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Le Chenit was occupied by a few farmers living in simple farmhouses, dispersed over the valley.
Watchmaking, and fine metalwork, arrived in Le Chenit.Farmhouses were modified with the addition of larger windows to provide light to watchmaking workshops. A watchmaker generally manufactured a whole watch.
After the abolishment of the warrant system, larger workshops were established. Companies were created and built special buildings to house their business and prodution.
pre 1700 pre 1700 pre pre 1700 1700 pre 1700pre 1700
1850’s 1850’s1850’s 1850’s 1850’s 1850’s
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future future future future future future
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Companies expanded into factory like buildings, in addition to their historical premises. Commuters are established as an important component of the growing industry.
QUARTZ CRISIS QUARTZ CRISIS QUARTZ CRISIS QUARTZ CRISIS QUARTZ CRISIS QUARTZ CRISIS QUARTZ CRISIS QUARTZ CRISIS LUXURY INDUSTRY UXURY INDUSTRY QUARTZ CRISIS LUXURY INDUSTRY LUXURY QUARTZ INDUSTRY CRISIS LUXURY INDUSTRY LUXURY INDUSTRY LUXURY INDUSTRY LUXURY INDUSTRY LUXURY INDUSTRY UXURY LUXURYINDUSTRY INDUSTRY LUXURY INDUSTRY
New prodution methods and increased demand requird specialised spaces for separate functions. Watch companies generally extended from their historcial building with the growth of their business.
2000’s
future future future future future future
QUARTZ CRISIS QUARTZ CRISIS
1950’s
2000’s 2000’s2000’s 2000’s 2000’s 2000’s
DEPRESSI ON DEPRESSI ON DEPRESSION DEPRESSION DEPRESSION DEPRESSION
1900’s 1900’s1900’s 1900’s 1900’s 1900’s
ESTABLISH MENT ESTABLISH MENT ESTABLISH MENT ABLISHMENT ESTABLISHMENT BLISHMENT ESTABLISH MENT LISHMENT BLISHMENT ESTABLISHMENT
40000 40000 40000 40000 40000 40000 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000
20000 20000 20000 20000 20000 20000 40000 40000 40000 40000 Seeking to increase their exclusivity and luxury image, 40000 10000 10000 10000 40000 companies are beginning to invest in specialised 10000 10000 10000 venues to entertain elite ‘VIP customers’ who No. visit Le of No. ofNo. of Chenit to experience the historical origins of the No. of of No. of 30000 No. Watches Watches Watches companies and the expensive watches they30000 purchase. 30000 30000 Watches 30000 Watches 30000 Watches Future
RESSION ESSION SSION SSION
ESSION SION
BLISHMENT LISHMENT
201620162016 184018401840 186018601860 188018801880 190019001900 192019201920 194019401940 196019601960 198019801980 200020002000 2016 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 201620000 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 1860 1880 1860 1880 1840 2016 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 1860 1880 20000 18401840 20000 20000 20000 20000 10000 10000 10000 10000 No.10000 of 10000
Two Towns: Commuters Crossing Paths
Le Chenit is a commuter town. People commute to work in the watchmaking industry, mostly from France, and residents commute out of the commune to work in either Lausanne or Geneva. The number of people moving back and forth everyday is proportionally large compared to the population of Le Chenit. Distinct use patterns are evident in the commune. French cross-border workers use the main roads and during the day occupy the watchmaking infrastructure. Not many make use of the village facilities. This is a further sign that the watch industry functions separately to the village. The watchmaking buildings are distinct islands in the otherwise dispersed village fabric. They directly mark their boundaries creating a spatial separation for reasons of security. The large parking lots further distinguish them from the residential areas.
Audemar Piguet The large building, built in 2002, is surrounded by a high fence and moat that encloses grassed areas and carparks and is out of proportion with the surrounding residential fabric.
Population Working Population Commuters
Working Population of French Bordering Communes
≈ 75%
Cross-border Workers
Le Chenit
9:00 17:00
Breguet 2,000 Lausanne Geneva
9:00 ≈ 40%
4,000
17:00
France Two Towns The amount of cross-border workers who arrive in the commune each day is more than the working population of Le Chenit.
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Again, the large building is surrounded by a high fence that encloses a large parking area. The compound has little relationship with the residential areas or near by school or public playing field.
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Commuter Flows and Dedicated Spaces Commuter Spaces Residential Spaces
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Tarmac Islands: The Vast Commuters’ Surface
Due to the globalisation of the watchmaking industry, and the influx of cross-border workers, the tarmac surfaces are significant within the commune. This dominant surface highlights the heavy reliance on vehicles, used by French cross-border workers and those residents commuting to Lausanne and Geneva. The use and required storage of vehicles has created this spread of tarmaced areas. Tarmac covers not only roads, but is used for sidewalks, carparks, left over spaces between buildings, around houses, on driveways and defines large industrial zones. This patched surface connects all the elements of the commune, landscape, industry and village, creating an unofficial, and largely unacknowledged, network between entities.
Carparks in Le Chenit are generally patches of tarmac, occupied during working hours and empty in the evening and on weekends.
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Commuters’ Tarmac Watchmaking Carparks and MainCommuter Roads Residential Use and Local Traffic 0
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Village: From Locality to a Commuting Suburb The population is slowly increasing due to affordable real estate and the commune’s relative proximity to Lausanne and Geneva. The population of Le Chenit is currently 4,608. It consists of a large percentage of retirees living in the commune. Le Chenit’s historic road-town quality is mostly unrecognised as a distinct character for the village. New developments generally do not follow this typology, instead often create a suburban condition. The term suburban is used here to express the use of, and reliance on, cars, the creation of repetitive private property plots, a consistent low density, the lack of public space, and a culture of commuting from the suburb to a larger centre.
0-19 20.5%
20-39 24.5%
40-64 32.4%
65-79 15.1%
Growth Population Growth per Commune 2010-2015 (%) Le Chenit: 5.0 - 9.9%
5.0 2.5 1.0 0.0 -1.0 -2.5 -5.0
>10.0 - 9.9 - 4.9 - 2.4 - 0.9 - -0.1 - -1.1 - -2.6
80+ 7.3%
Retirees Percentage of Population over 65 years Le Chenit: 22.4%
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20.0 18.0 16.0 14.0 12.0 10.0
>22.0 - 21.9 - 19.9 - 17.9 - 15.9 - 13.9 - 11.9 <10.0
Attractive Prices: Creeping Suburbia
Due to the watchmaking industry, the population of Le Chenit has been historically quite high and stable. Today Le Chenitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s steady growth is due to being more affordable than areas facing the Lac LĂŠman. These affordable prices are attractive to retirees and new families. It is possible to commute to Lausanne and Geneva by train and easily managable by car. It is drastically cheaper to reside on the French side of the border which explains why cross-border commuters choose not to move to Le Chenit.
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Le Chenit Population The population of Le Chenit , from 1600 until today, currently at 4,608.
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Chapelle-des-Bois
Le Chenit France Switzerland
Saint George
Gilly
Morges
Greater Lausanne
Lausanne
FRANCE SWITZERLAND Le Chenit
Chapelle-des-Bois
Gilly
Saint George
Greater Lausanne
Morges
Lausanne
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35
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37
27
35
58 23
46
68 43
54 17
77 50 81
23 45
LE CHENIT 46
17
39
11
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7
50 13 34
5
11
LAUSANNE 8
15
18 12 10
19
15
20 86
24
61 68 49
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Property Prices 30
7000-8000
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10000- 20000 9900 - 8000 7999 - 7000 6999 - 6000 5999 - 5500 5499 - 4000 3999 - 3000 2999 - 2000 chf/m2 Mins to Lausanne by Train2000-3000 chf/m2
Growth: ‘Fitting-in’ and ‘Creating a New’
The fabric and character of the commune has diverged from its roots. Traditionally a ‘road town’ with tighter village clusters, Le Chenit now also has newer areas that resemble a generic ‘suburb-like’ condition, which started to appear in the 1950’s. In the 1970’s, larger industrial buildings were introduced. Both suburban areas and large industrial buildings continued to appear over the decades and Le Chenit is now a mix of historic villages cores, suburban areas and industrial compounds. While industrial buildings and new housing are often placed outside the historic centre, recent constructions are also inserted into the existing fabric. New residents also restore historic structures, such as old farm houses or traditional row houses. The new building types vary greatly. More contemporary or modern examples can be found from the last half of the twentieth century. The Sports Centre (see page 36) is a bold example, and a variety of housing types can be found in the ‘suburb’ areas, such as the examples on the opposite page. Regulations now require new houses to conform to certain historical aesthetics in order to ‘fit in’ and many new houses exhibit a traditional pitched roof and proportions, making them difficult to distinguish from renovated historical buildings.
Growth 1849 1899 1945 1980 2017
1 Traditional Barn House
2 Historical Road Town
3 Old Watchmaking Houses
The large farm houses and barns, scattered over the valley, are historical archetypes in the area, creating distinct points in the landscape, set among the pastures and forests.
The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;road townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; character present in Le Chenit is illsutrated by the row house typology of the area, built for greater insulation and protection from the weather.
In Le Brassus and Le Sentier, buildings cluster closer together, demonstrating the historic village centres.
6 Suburban Houses
5 Modern Row Houses
4 Increasing Density
The new suburb areas frequently display a diverse variety of houses. As above, there are examples of houses in the newer areas that do not follow historical examples.
The roads in Le Chenit are still excentuated by new row house typologies inspired by the historical example that are an attempt at fitting in with the existing fabric.
Le Chenit now has multiple apartment buildings, of which the tallest, and most notable, is the tower shown above.
Public Facilities: The Remaining Commons
Le Chenit has many public amenities. Most notable is the Sports Centre, that incorporates a swimming pool, ice rink, gym hall, spa, tennis courts and running track. It is popular with residents. Other newer additions to the commune include the Coop and Migros supermarkets. There are also a number of smaller shops and food outlets, a pharmacy and hospital. While these facilities are valuable to the commune they have been inserted into the existing fabric in a rather haphazard manner. The Sports Centre for example is set in a patchwork of tarmac surfaces and provides no distinct pedestrian access. The large carpark set at the front entrance gives prominence to those arriving by car. Furthermore, the large complex of buildings is not meaningfully integrated with the nearby village centre of Le Sentier. No clear sightlines exist between these amenities, meaning they are largely hidden from the village centres and from each other. This detachment discourages pedestrian activity and creates left over, poorly utilised spaces. Le Chenit is also greatly lacking outdoor public space, a consequence of the suburban condition in which private plots dominate the surface, leaving no areas for public gathering or events. Land owned by the commune is not visibly used as public space despite itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proximity to built areas.
Sports Centre The Sports Centre is surrounded by a network of patched tarmac surfaces and the entrance dominated by a large carpark. It lacks relationship to its surroundings.
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Public Amenities
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1 - Post office 2 - Administrative Communale 3 - Pharmacy 4 - Bank 5 - Home Goods Store 6 - COOP 7 - Migros 8 - Fire Station 9 - Recreation Centre 10 - Sports Centre and Tourism office 11 - Hospital 12 - School 13 - Watchmaking School 14 - Train Station
Pedestrian only Shared pedestrian and vehicle Commune Land 0
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Village Fabric: The Periphery as a Character
Le Chenitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residential areas have now outgrown the historic centres, whose small high streets and village squares no longer suffice as a space around which the population can gather or orientate themselves. The historic centres still exhibit some of their historical importance, with shops and facilities clustering together, bringing activity and atmosphere. However the newer suburban areas have become extended periphery zones that do not benefit from the gravity points provided by the historic village centres. Consequently these periphery areas tend to lack orientation, community and public spaces or integration with their surroundings. 1
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Northern Historic Core: 1, 2 Northern Industrial Suburbia: 3, 4, 5
Historic Linear Village
The Strip: 8
Southern Industrial Suburbia: 7 :
Southern Historic Core: 6 Village Fabric Central Zones Fringe Activity Suburban Periphery Outliers 0
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Conclusions: The Need for Integration Le Chenit has numerous attractive elements such as plentiful public amenities, a strong industry and a picturesque landscape setting. Furthermore, the majority of Le Chenitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population are there to raise their families or live out their retirement and are thus commitmented to the wellbeing of the commune. These aspects, however, are somewhat at odds with each other. Recent constructions can seem insensitive to the landscape and village fabric. New houses and industry buildings being erected over time created a loss of locality and character. The watchmaking industries and their edifices have drastically diverged from their original connection to the commune, with their physical manifestation in the village seeming largely unplanned and taking up areas that could otherwise be integral to community life. Although it may appear that Le Chenit is not in dire need of intervention, this condition is not sustainable if an identity and quality are to be maintained for both inhabitants and watchmaking companies. There is need to integrate all aspects of the commune, village, indusrty and forest, to orientate growth and provide new gravity points within the expanding fabric. The map opposite highlights three areas that exemplify this condition: large carparks and high fence cut watchmakers off from residential areas, the villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s connection to the landscape is decreasing with newly built houses and outdoor public space is rarely evident. The large companies have an important role to play in improving their relationship with, and influence in, the residential areas. These three areas are sites which are in a strategic position and in which it would be beneficial to intervene. They have been chosen as sites for the resulting project.
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Thesis Map Watchmaking Compounds Residential Areas Landscape Features 0
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Project: Factory Spaces as a New Social Fabric
The intervention intends to intertwine local character and fabric with the ecology of the watchmaking industry. To enhance and create locality and lifestyle, the divide between the three entities discussed, landscape, watchmakers and village, needs to be addressed. The intervention will be carried out in the three areas previously described, the sites of Audemar Piguet, Blancpain and Breguet, where this divide is evident. It is proposed that the initiative and funding comes from the companies themselves, turning their industrial spaces to social enterprise. The intention is to address physical boundaries and inefficiently used carpark areas of the watchmaking industry so that the watchmaking ‘compounds’ do not interrupt the village fabric. Instead, these vast spaces will be able to support both cross-border workers and residents by performing multiple functions. The once divided areas of ‘residents’ and ‘watchmakers’ will flow together. The landscape will be enhanced in the chosen areas to provide further quailty to the spaces and stronger connection to the valley setting.
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Wetlands
FOREST
Forest
WETLANDS LAKE
Lake
BRAND DESIRABILITY
IMAGE
PASTURES
VIP VISITORS
GARDEN TOURISM
INDUSTRY
FAMILIES
Pastures
Brand Image
HEATING
EXPORTS COMMUNTERS
SPORTS CENTRE
Industry
VIP Visitors
Tourism
RETIREES
Families
TAXES
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
Cross-border Workers
Commuters
Taxes
Young Professionals Carparks
Retirees
Current
Wetlands Forest Lake Pastures Retirees FOREST Tourism Families VIP Visitors LAKE Pedestrian Access PUBLIC SPACE
Brand Image
Industry
WETLANDS Commuters Carparks Young Professionals Cross-border Workers SOCIAL ENTERPRISE Taxes
Proposed
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Multiuse Spaces: Reinterpreting the Carpark as a Public Space Hybrid spaces will be created by transforming the key areas previously highlighted: Audemar Piguet, Blancpain and Breguet. The proposal is for the companies to undertake the development and maintain and fund the spaces and their functions. The expansive carparks of the industry and surrounding unused space will be developed to serve the village and industry alike. A different approach is taken to each area, yet all interventions address the three catagories, seeking to transform their relationship, creating a mutually benefitial existence.
Carlsberg, Denmark
Zonnestraal, Netherlands
In 1857, Carlsberg Brewery created the ‘Carlsberg Laboratorie’ at their brewery in Copenhagen and funded scientific research into brewing. The laboratory is famous for their discoveries and research into yeast and pH. The company released all information, making the knowledge public and accessible. The brewery also sponsored artists and provided spaces in which they could work. The artists were also commissioned to beautify the brewery facilities. Carlsberg Brewery believed that the combination of science and art was important and could benefit each other, improving society, a philosophy perpetuated by the ‘Danish Golden Age.’
Built in 1931, Zonnestraal Saniturium, in Hilversum, was as a clinic for recovering tuberculosis patients. It was also a social experiement. The saniturium was not just a single, closed off building but a campus incorporating facilities, such as workshops, for training patients and providing them with an occupation as part of their rehabilitation. The sanitorium’s design focused on providing access to fresh air and the out doors for all patients, even those still bedridden.
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Familistère of Guise, France
In 1859, industrialist Jean-Baptiste André Godin combined both residential and industrial facilities to create a community of workers for his iron stove factory in Guise, France . An advocate for social reform, Godin’s intention was to create a better lifestyle for his workers by combining industrial production, education and recreation. In addition to the factory, Godin’s facilities included a school, theatre, bath house, communal activity areas, individual apartments, grocery stores, and childcare facilities.
Breguet Site
Blancpain Site
Audemar Piguet Site
Audemar Piguet Site: Dead Centre to Meeting Point
Issue: Large tarmac surface and high fence cutting off areas of public interes as the site has become a new point of gravity for the village. Intervention: Innovation - Create a public space as new centre to benefitand relate to the surban condition and provide new orientation for future development. - Innovation Centre with workshop facilities and accomodation for invited artists and specialist watchmakers. - Rethink the boundaries around the watchmaking building. - Create a public space to reinforce connections between existing public areas and facilities opening up pedestrian access possibilities. - Develope connection to river through access points and water channels.
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The Meeting Point
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Blanpain Site: Landscape Barrier to Strip of Activity
Issue: Buildings block the view of, and access to, the landscape and carparks occupy vast areas discouraging movement along and important axis connecting public facilities and relating to the topography.
Intervention: Events - Changing the emphasis on public space from the main road to the path along the railway to shift activity to an area that benefits from views of the landscape. - Creating a space for multiple events such as markets, small, temporary artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workshops, conferences, open theatre and cinema. - Allowing for transition between schools and Sports Centre. - Providing space for educational use and community initiative and events. - Terracing the landscape to organise parking in an efficient way. - Redesign parking areas to accomodate events and markets.
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Strip of Activity
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Breguet Site: Tarmac Surface to Public Plains
Issue: Tarmac has engulfed the natural wetland of the area and created a no manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land without human scale. This disconnects the existing housing and public facilities. Intervention: Housing and Public Space - Re-create wetland to make it present for the area - Provide a new organisation that incorporates new housing into the exisiting fabric, such as affordable housing or accomodation provided by the industry to itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workers. - Use parking spaces as spatial elements to create public spaces for residents to use. - Connecting residential areas with the landscape and providing open public space that will provide structure to expansion. - Responding to suburban layout by using the surface as a form giving element.
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Activated Surface
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Sources
Unless stated otherwise, all drawings, diagrams and photographs are original to this book. Original photographs are the work of Bess Laaring, Daniel Kragskov and Tulsi Vadalia, students of Architecture of Territory during the spring semester 2017. Image Credits p.22 “Fermes Horolgères” Oliver Piguet (2010), (Source: Oliver Piguet, Centre D’Initiation a L’Horlogerie) p.24 “Jaeger-LeCoultre” Weinmann Energies (Source: Weinmann Energies, http://www.weinmannenergies.ch) p.26 “Audemar Piguet Advertisment” Audemar Piguet (Source: http://www.access-geneva.com) p.26 “Watchmakers” Lionel Meylan (Source: Lionel Meylan, https://www.lionel-meylan.ch) p.46 “Carlsberg” (1909) (Source: https://www. stamps.dk/da-DK/lot/66098/danmark-carlsberglaboratorium-i-valby-patch-and-crone-u-no) p.46 “Zonnefeld Saniturium” Joods Historisch Museum (Source: Geheugen van Nederland, http:// www.geheugenvannederland.nl) p.46 “Familistere of Guise” (Source: Budapest Centre of Architecture, http://fuga.org.hu)
Internet Sources http://www.stat.vd.ch/ http://www.communeduchenit.ch/ https://www.lionel-meylan.ch/en http://www.communeduchenit.ch/ http://immobilier.creditfoncier.fr https://www.homegate.ch http://www.junova.ch https://www.swissinfo.ch
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