topos 86 | Construction & Landscape

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Topos 86, Construction & Landscape

Architecture and landscape belong together. Both are synonymous with a region’s culture and its society. Bridges may be functional but can be captivating despite their technical sparseness. Other structures reflect the history of a place and -remind of long traditions, the presence of generations of people. If architecture and landscape are congruent they may help to establish identity, especially in places where the landscape is transformed by changing economic practices. As landscapes seldom have clearly defined boundaries, solid buildings can serve as points of reference.  

Aaron Roberts: Discovering a River Landscape
Along the River Derwent in Glenorchy, Tasmania, a colourfully calibrated public walkway links previously marginalised, but surprisingly beautiful sections of foreshore. Carefully crafted pavilions 
offer shelter.

John McLaughlin: Simple and Quiet Monumentality
The new visitor centre at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland is part of the impressive coastal landscape that was once formed by volcanic and glacial forces.

Kazi K. Ashraf: Architecture for the Floodplain
The Friendship Centre in Gaibandha, Bangladesh emerges from the landscape by strategies of excavation, mounding, and berming. The building in the flood area of Brahmaputra-Jamuna is a step towards topographical architecture.

Alma Oftedal: Acoustic Chamber for the River
Høse Bridge across Suldalslågen River in southwest Norway is constructed in the tradition of a Chinese lounge bridge. Steel mesh in the middle of the bridge’s decking brings the visual and aural landscape of the river into the body of the bridge. A visit reveals the power of the place and the idea of the acoustical chamber.

Peter Zöch: Concrete Bridge Trilogy
Two simple but elegant concrete bridges blend perfectly into the Austrian mountainscape near Dornbirn. A third bridge is to follow.

Flavia Pastò: Virgil’s Mincio River
“Virgil’s Mincio” is situated within Mincio Regional Park, close to the Northern Italian city of Mantua. Merging architecture and sculpture, it consists of a series of ambivalent structures that guide visitors through the fluvial landscape and reconnect them to the surrounding cultural habitat by calling up the writings of Virgil.

Claudia Suárez: Hiking Step by Step to the Virgin of Talpa
Landmarks by several architects offer resting and meeting places along the Route of the Pilgrim in Mexico, which leads from Ameca to the Church of  Talpa de Allende.

Wilfried Dechau: Landscape Planning on a Scale of 1:1
While walking along the Flem River in Switzerland, civil engineer Jürg Conzett designed a new mountain trail with seven footbridges that runs through a wild landcape of gorges and ravines.

Ken Worpole (Text) / Jason Orton (photos): The New English Landscape
Photo Documentation

Tone Lindheim: Working with the Cultural Layers of Ekeberg
Interventions on a wooded hillside on the east side of Oslo form the Ekeberg Park. Historical traces were emphasised and views now reconnect the area to the fjord and surrounding urban landscape.

Nádia Schilling: The Ecological Opening of a Sensitive Natural Landscape
After years of degradation, the Arribas cliffs and dunes in Foz do Arelho, Portugal, have been revitalised. A wooden walkway was inserted into this fragile landscape.

Nella Golanda, Aspassia Kouzoupi: Sculpted Architectural Landscape
Slight landscape interventions accentuate the ancient quarry of Kleonai next to the new Corinth-Sparta national motorway in Greece.

Sindre Wam: Gjennomsikten – the Beginning of an Archipelago
The Gjennomsikten pavilion in Porsgrunn, Norway, is part of a theatrical path along Porsgrunn river and is both a stage and public space. It could become a model for the former industrial zone where a new housing area is planned.

Hans-Petter Bjørnådal: Mystified by Tales and Mountains
The stage at the Klemet Environmental Theatre in Hemnes, Norway opens up to the surrounding mountains, farms and a river running down from the glacier. This natural setting is the environment for a stage setting constructed with elements from the shaman Klemet’s life.

Fredrik Pettersson: Viewing the Sunsets of Bornholm
Suffering from industrial decline, Hasle Harbour prepares for a future as a recreational site. The first step is a bath with a spectacular view.

Christophe Girot, James Melsom: The Return of the Aviators
Views from the sky could open up entirely new perspectives on landscape, due to the use of small unmanned aerial vehicles. The resulting precise geographic information enables new possibilities for design.