This thesis book describes the analysis, ideas and experimentation that lead to the
“Along the railway” project proposal in Emmenbrücke. It begins by identifying and
analyzing current challenges related to private property development, the housing
crisis, and urban growth—focusing specifically on Switzerland and the Lucerne
agglomeration. After that, it provides some background into SBB’s ambivalent role as
both, a profit seeking real estate developer and a publicly accountable urban shaper.
Central to the thesis is the idea to utilise underused land along railway lines, which is
considered of low value but potentially provides great connectivity. This land would allow
for a mix of uses which under normal circumstances would be limited by plot boundaries,
but SBB’s dual role enables a more gradual approach.
After studying available land, the thesis proposes to use a long plot of land along the
tracks in Emmenbrücke as a Grossform, drawing ideas from Oswald Mathias Ungers,
Cedric Price and urban developments in Tokyo, among others. The project highlights
ways to balance different needs such as housing, low impact industry, public and
common spaces as well as public transport (by integrating the Emmenbrücke railway
station) within a single structure. While the outset of the thesis was to accommodate
housing, the exploration lead the project to the urban aspects of Grossform.
Therefore, the project emphasizes it’s interactions with it’s context. Over it’s length,
these context’s change multiple times, and the structure attempts to be a connector,
drawing connections for pedestrians and bicycles. It proposes not just an architectural
form, but a framework for coexisting needs.
Along the railway Trackside Grossform in Emmenbrücke
Beschreibung
This thesis book describes the analysis, ideas and experimentation that lead to the
“Along the railway” project proposal in Emmenbrücke. It begins by identifying and
analyzing current challenges related to private property development, the housing
crisis, and urban growth—focusing specifically on Switzerland and the Lucerne
agglomeration. After that, it provides some background into SBB’s ambivalent role as
both, a profit seeking real estate developer and a publicly accountable urban shaper.
Central to the thesis is the idea to utilise underused land along railway lines, which is
considered of low value but potentially provides great connectivity. This land would allow
for a mix of uses which under normal circumstances would be limited by plot boundaries,
but SBB’s dual role enables a more gradual approach.
After studying available land, the thesis proposes to use a long plot of land along the
tracks in Emmenbrücke as a Grossform, drawing ideas from Oswald Mathias Ungers,
Cedric Price and urban developments in Tokyo, among others. The project highlights
ways to balance different needs such as housing, low impact industry, public and
common spaces as well as public transport (by integrating the Emmenbrücke railway
station) within a single structure. While the outset of the thesis was to accommodate
housing, the exploration lead the project to the urban aspects of Grossform.
Therefore, the project emphasizes it’s interactions with it’s context. Over it’s length,
these context’s change multiple times, and the structure attempts to be a connector,
drawing connections for pedestrians and bicycles. It proposes not just an architectural
form, but a framework for coexisting needs.