E9_jury's report

JURY´S REPORT
european urbanity - sustainable city and new urban spaces
EUROPAN 9
BABENHAUSEN
STRAUBING
STRAUBING
Unfortunately, the opportunity of using water as a landscape element in Babenhausen
is far too tentative and has been considered without the decided inclusion
of the nearby lake.
The three new quarters have been dedicated to the functions of living in the
east, commerce in the south-west and mixed utilisation with services in the
barracks area which is listed under the protection of historical buildings. Here,
it is of interest that the respective boundaries towards the central green area
are formed from different living concepts which are also adapted to the area’s
character (workshops, town villas, terraced houses). One aspect which is seen
in a positive light is the possibility of also placing convenience stores in the
“innovation field” and to connect them to the bypass. As such, this also offers
the opportunity of providing the new area with local supply outlets.
AZ 751 a gardener‘s theory …
This design guides the water from the northerly located Hassel lake (artificial)
as a consistent image-generating element into the design area and, with a
canal that is cut off by a marina at the southern end, creates a unique quality.
The possibility of experiencing the water is brought to life by a footbridge system
which provides access to a “water city”, and this is emphasised by the deliberate
accentuation of the end points of a canal that runs in a north-south
direction.
The proposed connection to the town centre by way of the green strip in an
east-west direction which is surrounded by detached and terraced houses was
treated by the jury with some criticism.
The historical barracks area is provided with an amorphous series of buildings
which are suggestive of an “old town” and are too concentrated for Babenhausen,
coming from the B26 and going northwards - this was criticised by the
jury: the utilisation of the buildings here remains just as unclear as the functionality
of the proposed structure.
The quality of the design lies in the emphasis and development of the water
theme which gives the new quarter its own profile.
AP 123 readymade
This work picks up very coherently on the existing buildings of the former ski
factory for its guiding concept and sees it as an already nearly completely finished
structure (“readymade”). The proposed architectural and artistic elements
in this area strongly upgrade the site optically and functionally, whereby
attention is paid to making sure that the substance also continues to appear
“original” in the future.
Elaborate conversions are done without. The surrounding galleries are
assessed as an interesting approach here, however, on the ground, they seem
pretentious. They cannot really be regarded as a realistic measure there. The
new utilisation of the large halls enables a variety of proposals which do justice
to the overall idea (for example, sport, youth hotel, offices, workshops, band
building, maisonette apartments).
The residential buildings in the northern part in two long rows create a definite
focus as a strict, block-type building element, but must be questioned in view
of the given urban construction context.The orientation of the northern housing
row is not advantageous with respect to lighting and the use of open spaces.
The central green space acts as a ribbon-like link between the areas used for
buildings. The arrangement of fixed sport areas in the biotope is problematic in
the form it has been presented in.
UR 334 “come together!”
This work is characterised from an urban construction point of view by its division
into a cultural-commercial area on the Völkl premises and a residential
quarter in the north. The “come together” exists in the form of a continuous
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