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Campus - 15.01.2025 - 11:00 

Building the future: Vision for St.Gallen's urban development

Once upon a time, they were vibrant and central transport hubs: freight yards have great potential for being revitalised in a new way. In a joint course offered by the Chair of Architectural Behaviourology at ETH Zurich and the Department of Sociology at the University of St.Gallen, 34 students empirically examined the St.Gallen freight yard and developed ideas for its redesign.

Urban areas are attractive because they are both living and economic spaces, combining work, home and leisure. In Switzerland, around 85 per cent of the population live in cities and urban areas. However, with a growing population and limited space, these areas are becoming increasingly dense. Despite the increased pressure, there are still ‘gaps’ in the urban fabric where development has been left unfinished for various reasons. These are often found behind train stations and along the tracks, which is also described, for example, in the book ‘Hinter den Gleisen’ (Behind the Tracks) by Katharina Graf and Niklaus Reichle.

The areas behind the train stations and along the tracks offer great potential for future urban development. However, repurposing these areas requires not only good planning and investment, but also solid knowledge of the area. One example of a successful redevelopment is the Europaallee in Zurich. In St. Gallen, the St. Fiden train station and the freight yard on the outskirts of the city centre are among the city's most promising development areas. 

“Architects of the 21st century need to have knowledge and skills for analysis and reproduction of the 20th century model and problem to maintain from both side of society and environment.”
Prof. Momoyo Kaijima, course lecturer, ETH Zurich
“The joint course with the HSG and the Department of Architecture at the ETHZ focused on inter-disciplinary exchange on a real site. We hope that it is a great kick-off for this collaboration with design and economy.”
Prof. Momoyo Kaijima, course lecturer, ETH Zurich

The neighbourhoods behind the train tracks: potential for urban change 

The future of the freight station area in St.Gallen has been under discussion for years. However, the processes that have been initiated have often failed, not infrequently due to the different perspectives and interests of the actors involved.

As part of the course ‘Building the future – the significance of industries for urban development’ at the University of St.Gallen, students from HSG worked together with prospective architects from the ETH Zurich to examine the processes of urban development and planning – specifically using the example of the freight yard area in St.Gallen.

“The students’ concrete experiences of interdisciplinary collaboration show how important it is to become aware of the differences in thought processes.”
Dr Niklaus Reichle, course lecturer, University of St.Gallen
“Only by thinking outside the box of our own discipline can we meaningfully address the future challenges of how society deals with space.”
Dr Niklaus Reichle, course lecturer, University of St.Gallen

The students explored the area in groups and curated walks. Inspired by the ‘strollology’ of sociologist Lucius Burckhardt, the walks served as a methodological tool to get to know the social atmosphere of the area. The aim was to experience the area from different perspectives. 

Researching the area through interviews and observations was a prerequisite for the creative intervention. Those who are familiar with the so-called everyday realities on the ground are better able to assess the consequences of interventions and whether they are sensible and feasible. The students transferred the complex interrelations and topics that emerged from this empirical research into so-called “actor-network drawings”. For this purpose, they were introduced to the basics of hand drawing by the painter Walter Dick.

“The study of wastelands and their role in urban development made it clear to me that even inconspicuous and unused areas can be crucial for social and spatial dynamics.”
Livius Schönle, student, University of St.Gallen
“With interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative approaches, we were not only able to demonstrate the potential of such areas, but also to make it tangible.”
Livius Schönle, student, University of St.Gallen

Final presentations at SQUARE of the University of St.Gallen: The students presented their visions on sketches

Course lecturer Prof. Momoyo Kaijima from ETH Zurich

Course lecturer Dr. Niklaus Reichle from the University of St.Gallen

Guests at the final presentations: St.Gallen architect Christine Egli

HSG cultural studies scholar Oliver Kerrison

The students in discussion

Sketch 1: ‘Rooting’ shows the transformation of the plant world in the HEKS community garden. Similar to the way the plant world is shaped, encounters between people also shape the place over the course of the year.

Sketch 2: Links places of social encounters – from chance meetings at the Appenzellerbahn to nocturnal encounters at KUGL – and shows how an understanding of social dynamics supports the development of new projects.

The course “Building the Future – the Importance of Industries for Urban Development” was led by Dr. Niklaus Reichle, lecturer at the Institute of Sociology (SfS-HSG) at the University of St.Gallen. Insight into the world of architectural planning and design was provided by the renowned architect Prof. Momoyo Kaijima, full professor of Architectural Behaviourology at the Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich. She is a co-founder of the Bow-Wow studio and a winner of the Wolf Prize. 


Images: Final presentations on 19 December 2024 / Hannes Thalmann
 

 

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