25.06.2010
Courage rewarded

Every now and then, courage receives its just reward – a fact that was recently proved by two young architects from the University of Stuttgart. In a competition to redevelop the urban environment of a 100-acre site in Berlin-Moabit, they walked away with first prize and 5000 euros despite deliberately ignoring the rules laid down by the organisers. "Instant Kiez" (instant hood), by Felix Yaparsidi and Valentin Ott of the Institute for Interior Design and Planning (IRGE), was not the requested final concept for the planned project but a creative solution that will enable the site to be used temporarily for leisure, commercial and cultural purposes until such time as it is completed in 2050. The two students began by analysing the situation in the field; they anticipated that the integration of the present inhabitants and the neighbouring quarters in the projected new district would lead to problems. They considered it would make more sense to draft a solution for the "interim period" that would strengthen the quarter's identity and permit a flexible response to future developments. They decided to transform the harbour basin envisaged for the future "Europacity" district into an open-air swimming pool, for instance, and build a go-kart track on a former turning loop for lorries. The jury, which also includes representatives of the site's owners, lauded their plan as a "groundbreaking experiment".

That University of Stuttgart's Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning is not simply one of the biggest anywhere in Germany but also a visibly successful breeding ground for up-and-coming architects is further underlined by the first prize carried off by five students with their plans for a "BIOCLIMATICenter" in the "German Steel Design Award 2010" competition. The winning entry is concerned with an information centre for bioclimatic design and renewable energies. The design's fascination lies in an adaptive, double-skin facade comprised of moving "kaleidocycles" with integrated photovoltaic modules. The second prize in this competition likewise went to Stuttgart: the runners-up were chosen for their "Porta Alpina" transport system, which carries visitors from the Gotthard Base Tunnel (Switzerland) deep inside the mountain first of all by lift up to the surface and then by gondola to the summit in a transparent tube. Both competitions additionally resulted in sponsorship and special awards for Stuttgart. Teams from Stuttgart also scored two excellent third places in the "Detaching from Architecture" student competition in the framework of the 16th International Conference on "Open and Sustainable Building" in Bilbao.