To develop Schallmoos is the goal of the Transformator:in, and Research Studio iSPACE of RSA FG is on board for it. As part of a course at the Institute of Urban Planning at Graz University of Technology, students presented their ideas for the neighbourhood. To do so, they visited Salzburg and gathered input from the local Trans|formator:in partners.
“Salzburg: hint[re] dem Bahnhof aufräumen (Cleaning up Salzburg behind the train station)” – This is the title under which students at Graz University of Technology summarise their ideas for Schallmoos in a booklet. For a course at the Institute of Urban Design under the direction of Sabine Bauer and Mario Stefan, teams of three developed concepts for each part of the Salzburg neighbourhood. The Trans|formator:in project is also dedicated to Schallmoos, which is why members of the project team invited the students to a site visit to Schallmoos and also evaluated the results of the course.
The students had the task of analysing their planning area, developing a spatial strategy and creating plans, sections and 3D models for illustration. The results were exhibited at the institute and collected in a handbook in which the course participants presented their ideas on over 300 pages.
Schallmoos lies behind the Salzburger main station and is virtually enclosed by the track curve and by the Kapuzinerberg. The area is dominated by motorised traffic, the transportation links into the city are lacking, but the potential for urban development and housing is high. Urban planning in Salzburg has recognised this and wants to upgrade the district as part of the Trans|formator:in and improve public transport links and a bicycle axis.
c_TU Graz
The students started with this vision and were tasked with planning Schallmoos as a lively, attractive and well-developed district with mixed use and high-quality public spaces. To this end, the students from Graz also travelled to Salzburg, where staff from the Office for Urban Planning and Transport and the iSPACE project team showed them the situation on site. At the end of the course, urban planner Cristina Polito from the City of Salzburg and Günter Gruber from Research Studio iSPACE travelled to Graz to assess and evaluate the students’ results in a final critique. ‘It was fascinating to see the high-quality concepts developed by the students in a short space of time, which harmonise the complex interplay of buildings, mobility and open space quality and show modern visions of the Schallmoos development area,’ said Gruber.
The students presented various measures that are also reflected in the Trans|formator:in project plan: For example, closing gaps in cycle paths, expanding the bus network, generous green spaces as connecting elements with innovative seating and a diverse mixed use of the building structure. The students also recommended the development of an identity-forming, cultural district centre, something that Schallmoos currently lacks. They put forward numerous ideas for the development and preservation of green spaces in Schallmoos. From greening to cycle routes and residential space development, the students came up with numerous measures to awaken Schallmoos from its slumber. Something that the Transformator:in project also aims to do.
Fotos: TU Graz
