Topos 96

Infrastructure

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

96

2016

T H E

R E V I E W

O F

L A N D S C A P E

A R C H I T E C T U R E

A N D

U R B A N

D E S I G N

Infrastructure

DENMARK NØRREPOR T STATION IN COPENH AGEN · THE NETHERLANDS HOW TO DESIGN INFR ATEC T URE · SWITZERLAND INFR A ST RUC T URE A ND T HE L A NDSC A PE · USA THE 606 IN C HIC AGO · MEXICO WATER M A N AGEMENT IN ME XICO CIT Y · GREAT BRITAIN THE G A RDEN BRIDGE IN LONDON · CHINA THE FUNDA MENTA L S OF LOGISTIC S · PORTUGAL WA LK WAY AT THE PAIVA RIVER · JAPAN FLOATING A IRPORT URBA NISM · ITALY BA LESTR ATE SE A FRONT IN SICILY · SWITZERLAND FOOT PAT H A ND C YC LE WAY BE T WEEN FR A NCE A ND SWIT ZERL A ND · THE NETHERLANDS MULTIPLE MODA LIT Y IN EUROPE

Village Underground

CIPM/Franco Banfi

Rasmus Hjortshøj

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Nørreport Station, the most chaotic intersection

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The BGG, an interdisciplinary advisory group for

Shipping containers are symbols of contem-

porary capitalism. They stand for the efficiency of

a lively urban space. Sculptural structures guide the

visible, above-ground effects of the Gotthard axis in

global logistics systems and can be used for the most

flow of pedestrians and bicycles through the station.

Switzerland to connect infrastructure and landscape.

noble purposes as well as for the most cruel ones.

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Mauro Filippi

Daniel Kessler

design, is working on the coherent appearance of the

Nelson Garrido

in Copenhagen’s city centre has been transformed into

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The Paiva Walkway in Portugal is situated in one

The new promenade at the seafront of Balestrate

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A public footpath and cycleway has recently

of the contry’s most beautiful and pristine landscapes.

in northwestern Sicily consists of few elements and

opened in a border region on the River Rhine. The

The structure is a gentle intervention that respects the

is built with local materials. The subtle design of the

new infrastructure opens up a section of the riverbank

landscape and promotes sustainable tourism.

space enhances the natural features of the site.

that had been inaccessible for the public for decades.

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INFRASTRUCTURE

Cover: Øresund Bridge Design: Georg Rotne, i.a.w. engineering firm Arup Photo: Håkan Dahlström

L ÆR K E S OP H IE K EI L

TABLE

OF

CONTENTS

L AU R A C IP R IA NI

14 A Flow through Copenhagen

74 Floating Airports

Lively space: Nørreport Station in Copenhagen

Fragile systems: Airports and water

MA R C V E R H EI JE N

S T E FA N T IS C H E R, F RA NC E S C A AR I C I

22 Infratecture

80 Sicilian Minimalism

Improving mobility: How to design infratecture

Longing for the sea: Balestrate seafront in Sicily

PA L LE P E T E R S E N

C L A UDI A MOL L

28 The Idea of Combinare

88 Between Countries

Integrated design: Infrastructure in Switzerland

Public crossing: Footpath and cycleway in Switzerland

C ONOR O’ SH E A

K E E S C H R IS T I A A NS E

36 Owned by the Public

96 Multiple Modality

Connecting element: The 606 in Chicago

On the road: Travelling through Europe

K EE S L OK M AN

44 Exploring a New Paradigm Currents

New solutions: Water management in Mexico City

06

News, Projects, Competitions

DAV I D M A D D E N

52 Designing Against the Public

Products

Difficult investment: The Garden Bridge in London

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AL EX AN DE R G UT Z M ER

110 Authors

Playgrounds

60 Living (and Dying) in a Box 111 Credits/Imprint

Inside the container: Logistics and urbanism VIR IATO SORO ME N H O-M AR QUE S

66 Erotic Slowness In harmony with nature: A walkway in Portugal

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LĂŚrke Sophie Keil

A flow through Copenhagen The most chaotic intersection and station in Copenhagen’s city center has transformed into a lively urban space. With modern sculptural building structures to guide the massive flow of pedestrians and bicycles through the station, a new atmosphere and mobility have emerged in a formerly dull and disorienting area.

Nørreport Station is the busiest traffic terminal in Copenhagen with access to S-Trains, local trains and the metro.

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The Garden Bridge is a new spectacular design for Central London. It is planned to span the River Thames from Temple to the South Bank. The 366-meter-long concrete and steel construction is designed to appear as a quasi-organic form.

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David Madden

Designing Against the Public Spectacular new public spaces are being built in many cities today. But for the most part, they are privately financed and controlled. Far from embodying the democratic spirit of the city, they illustrate the domination of urban development by elites. The Garden Bridge, a new eye-catching project in the heart of London, exemplifies this trend – and exposes the limits and contradictions of contemporary urban public space.

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Viriato Soromenho-Marques

EROTIC SLOWNESS In Northern Portugal, in one of the most pristine landscapes of the country, landscape architects and engineers have proposed a solution to solve one of the major problems of sustainable tourism: how can we enjoy environmental beauty without spoiling it through unwanted negative impacts?

Henry David Thoreau is the well-known North-American ethical pioneer of many of our worries regarding the major problem of our planet today, the global environmental crisis. It is almost impossible not to be deeply touched by his decision on the 4th July 1845, to move from his hometown Concord to the wooden shores of pound Walden, only some miles away in the Massachusetts countryside. He wanted, according to his own words, “to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life”. The literary depiction of his two-year-long solitary experience in the heart of nature can be found in his masterpiece, Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854). However, the reader will not find in the hundreds of pages of this philosophical pilgrimage a mention of the author’s serious blunder that raised the wrath of timbermen and farmers who also wandered near the lake. Apparently, Thoreau caused the burning of around 300 acres of valuable forest land by letting a camp fire that he had lit run out of control. This incident may be taken as emblematic of the very same problem facing humanity today, only at a global scale: our problem, both as society and individuals, is the gap between our intentions and our deeds. We will not find solutions, neither to climate change nor to the massive extinction of biodiversity, merely by professing lofty moral commitments or giving ponderous speeches, like those delivered by heads of state at the end of international summits. We need to learn, as fast and as smartly as possible, how to dwell on earth in ways that do

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