CSS Tribschenstadt Lucerne, Switzerland 2005 freiraumarchitektur gmbh
↑ View of the pergola from the office building → View under the pergola to the hanging cables with a sufficiently large plant trough
Projects
The freestanding pergola is located at the center of the inner courtyard of a new complex of buildings in the Tribschenstadt in Luzern. Its triangular ground plan refers to the surrounding buildings. The 34-meter-long, 15-meter-wide pergola is made of 100% galvanized steel, trained with various climbing plants, and has a clearance height of 3.90 meters. It is constructed using round supports 15 centimeters in diameter, beams made from T-profile steel supports, and lateral rung-like supports of the same profile. The supports are spaced at double-rung intervals along the beams. The spacing changes to an interval of one-rung from beam to beam. This staggered spacing enables the outward-facing end supports to be placed directly under the beams that run diagonally at this point. The rung level was augmented by means of Inox cable pulls (www.jakob.ch) that run transverse to the metal supports and serves as climbing aids. The four-millimeter-thick steel cables are laced through holes drilled into the rungs. The posts are fixed to the ground by welded flanges, which are bolted into the concrete base with compound anchors. This joint is below the surface of the pavement and covered with a water barrier to prevent moisture entering the concrete body. On the upper ends of the supports there are double link plates to which the beams are bolted. The drilled holes for the screws are elongated lengthwise, so as to compensate for any possible deformation of the material when erecting the construction. The rungs are bolted directly onto the beams. The climbing plants grow in steel plant troughs, which are embedded halfway into the earth under the pergola. The hanging cables extend from these troughs to the level of the rungs. The plants are distributed along the rung level and the horizontal cables spanned at this point. The cable winches are attached at ground level by a frame construction made from band steel that is concealed in the troughs. A variety of climbing plants were used to green the structure; these include wisteria, clematis, akebia quinata, campsis radicans, lonicera japonica, parthenocissus quinquefolia, and vitis riparia. The dense growth along the hanging cables creates the effect of spatial partition and protection. Assigned to them are seven concrete benches. An additional concrete element is a 2.40-meter-high wall plate that cuts across the construction in the tapering area of the pergola, creating a spatial conclusion. There are five hanging lamps arranged in a row to illuminate the space. The required electricity is supplied by a cable that is fed through the supports and follows along the beams.
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