Switchyard – From Tailgate-Party to Industrial Thinkbelt

Europan 13
Runner-Up
masterplan
location: Bruck an der Mur, AT

In the region around Bruck an der Mur, there is great potential in the timber industry and wood processing, as there is a well-functioning network of forestry, industry, crafts and training locations. The city of Kapfenberg and Leoben, both important locations for secondary schools and universities, can be reached by train in a few minutes. The location of the competition site directly on the railroad line and the planned new stop of the S-Bahn suggest a linking of these different expertise to become a new hub of research and development.

A development strategy for the property seemed important. On the one hand, to make the residents aware of the property, which is remote from the center, and on the other hand, to establish a gradual expansion of a new cluster with the impulse generator ‚Haus der Mitte’.

By overlaying a park-like landscape with strips of parking lots, the plan area has been transformed into a programmed field of different uses. The clever combination of parking and parking on the lot results in an almost absurd, yet interesting modulation.

The entire area is the ultimate drive-in: drive-in gardening, drive-in cinema, drive-in yoga, drive-in strawberries and flower picking.But the car is just the catchpenny.

To make the transformation from a transportation hub to a new urban and vibrant neighborhood, there must be strong demand at the outset. There is a need for parking, but what is proposed is not just parking: The site simultaneously provides open space with qualities for lingering and strolling. A boulevard connects the site to the area west of Wiener Strasse, making it easy to leave your car behind and explore downtown on one of the rental bikes. The new train stop brings the site closer to public and regional interest, and the development of the „Haus der Mitte“ blends some formal functions with informal on-site activities.

This will make it possible to develop the area step by step and according to necessity and possibility. The ‚Haus der Mitte‘, initially a parking garage, will be further expanded and later house the ‚Learning Campus‘ and stand as a networking structure of the region’s knowledge.