WINNER

LOCHAU RURAL (H)ARBOUR

Project Description by Team: The current models and development strategies must be revised to address current challenges—Lochau (H)arbours emphasize strong cores, water arteries, and civic ribbons. The vision involves active negotiation, renewed green spaces, civic node centres, and reduced car traffic. The project focuses on caring for the Lochau meadows as green corridors, adding strategic infrastructural interventions. The (H)arbour building, as a prototype of this concept, is a catalyst for interaction and inclusivity, embracing the idea of care, culture, and community. Spatially, the building consists of light shafts and various planting typologies to attract birds and insects while providing shade, collecting water and cooling. In that sense, the Lochau (h)arbour becomes the meeting point in the coast garden.

Jury Statement:"The project’s strategic proposal is seen as looking carefully at the strategic grain of the place and embracing the notion of caring. The expression of ideas is considered convincing in terms of how it can act as a catalyst for a wider green strategy.[...] The proposed solution works intensively with the wider structure, particularly in terms of connecting streams and watercourses. The idea of a ribbon around Lochau "with a garden inside" is extremely convincing. The preservation of the meadows is seen as a strong strategic idea that the municipality can utilise positively and implement quickly.[...] The proposal stresses the processes involved in dismantling the corroded ferry and constructing the new building, with a  strong emphasis on integrating community ideas. These aspects are regarded as excellent approaches.“

Team Statement: "E17 became one of our first experiences as a collaborative and experimental disposition for thinking and making space. We developed several strategies that became key tools to understand Lochau as a site. Looking at the complex relationships between living beings, objects, and processes around us, we could describe Lochau's Umwelt as a fascinating patch of land. Investigating practices, habits, and rituals and taking them as points of departure became a decisive tool for creating plausible futures."