270611: Architektur im Ringturm - Green belt and quartz

Architektur im Ringturm Green belt and quartz 10.06.11 – 08.07.11 Nobody could have foreseen the developments train stations might trigger in the 21st century. The modernization of railway tracks and stations is only one aspect of restructuring train stations – yet much more important than promoting public transport is the enormous potential for municipalities, states and companies to develop the newly available space. Stuttgart and Vienna are only two examples. At the beginning of this year, an international competition asked participants to submit their visions for the layout surrounding the 150 year-old Bolzano train station. The winning project by Austrian architect Boris Podrecca and the landscape architects Auböck +Kárász, as well as eight other drafts are currently presented in the exhibition room of the Ringturm – a venue once reconstructed by Podrecca. The displayed visions are enlightening, if nothing else because they say much about how architects deal with the givens of historical cities. Podrecca and Auböck+Kárász relocated the railway lines, created green belts on the old tracks and structured new residential and commercial buildings by adding pedestrian zones and squares. Ben van Berkel and Daniel Libeskind maintained the routing as it was and accentuated the newly built quarter with 60m high quartz-like solitaires. By Iris Meder Architektur im Ringturm 1010 Vienna, Wiener Städtische Allgemeine Versicherung AG, Schottenring 1 Tel: +43 1 531 39 Ext: 1115 or 1101 http://www.vig.com/de/presse/biddatenbank/architektur-im-ringturm.html Opening hours: Mon – Fri 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.