Competition, 2023 - gloriously failed

 

Collaborators:

Sara Sagui - visualizations link

Dominic Wachs - landscape architecture link

Anna Lisa Senius link

​

Visitors can walk roughly 300 steps from the central square in front of the train station to Lochau‘s new Pier Light.

 

One crosses the new overpass that connects the platform with city and harbour, then cuts through an atmospheric array of trees until it merges with the new harbour building:

The 150m long wooden building, clad in blackened timber, stretches iconically along the pier and will house public, semi-public and private uses that will transform the harbour area: Public sanitary facilities, a small kiosk for bathers, one or two restaurants as well as the yacht club and the Harbour Master are all alinged inside the simple structure. Along the roof of the building stretches a linear planter that allows for small scale natural observations before arriving underneath the tall structure that is the new landmark of Lochau. Clad in the same black timber, the tower has an almost humble appearance, where one can sit and enjoy the view. 

 

The urban figure of the intervention is radical and simple: a long, one storey building with an attached overpass that overcomes the barrier of the railway station in a visual way. 

At the other end of the building stands a pier light that officially serves naval functions and can therefore circumvent the height limit for buildings in the harbour. But most importantly the new development has a strong identity that connects the people of Lochau with their harbour: the monument of the old ferry, the Frikk-Beimli-Platz, the atmospheric harbour grove as well as the rooftop garden  or the restaurants named after the iconic pier light „Nebelfeuer“.

 

The most impactful intervention would be the renaturization of the existing shoreline. To increase biodiversity in the easternmost bay of Lake Constance it is paramount to shift the paradigm of hard shores and convert them towards natural habitats for fish, birds, insects and mammals that are local to these areas. The atmospheric shift to a more natural bathing experience will create widespread pride and renewed identification of the locals with their shore and harbour.

​

The urbanist gesture of the structure is rather simple but impactful:

From the main square in front of the train station a set of stairs and and elevator lead up to a

new wooden passerelle, that stretches all the way to the old ferry in a straight line. Its height is determined by the electrical conductors of the train passing underneath. One can descend either to the platform of the train station, making the connection between train, city and harbour publicly visible and less intimidating.

Going on towards the harbour the overpass leads through the atmospheric crowns of a grove of fine-textured thornless Honey locusts, Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis, that filters the sunlight into a playful and sensual experience. A few dispersed hazel pines, Liquidambar styraciflua, Pagoda Trees, Styphnolobium japonicum and Freeman maples, Acer × freemanii increase biodiversity, attract insects and birds and create a spectacular atmosphere in autumn at the entrance to the new harbour area.

 

After a few steps one can decide to descend downwards to explore the harbour and divert either along the coastline towards one of the two bathing spots or along the new building, that rhythmically structures the new area.

The visitors could also keep walking onto the rooftop of the roughly 150m long structure until the Nebelfeuer. 

Along this way the visitor would pass by a planted installation on the roof that not only creates a lush atmosphere filled with flowers, shrubs and herbs that change colour during the year, but also with local and endangered plants, that serve an educational purpose by raising awareness for the local flora and fauna. These plantings attract pollinators to induce a growing wildlife on the shore of the lake, which can be experienced from spring all the way to autumn walking towards the harbour. And if really quiet one can hear the bees hum, the birds sing and even the butterflys flap. Plants from a variety of families are mixed to extend the duration of the insect buffet and ever changing colourful appearance - Indigenious plants such as Fabaceae like the nectar source Trifolium rubens, drought resistant Asteraceaen or Apiaceae like the attractive Enryngium planum mixed with few late-blooming species such as Salvia nemorosa. Edible plants like Allieae, Oreganum vulgare, Calaminta nepeta or the fruits of Cornus mas can be collected by the locals or by the restaurants downstairs to spice up their seasonal menu.