Architectural excursion in the Siedlung Halen
Siedlung Halen © EPFL / LAST
Professor Emmanuel Rey's studio of the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) went on an architectural excursion to visit the Siedlung Halen in the periphery of Bern. This extra-mural teaching activity provided the opportunity for the students to discover this iconic neighborhood, with a special attention on housing, shared and public spaces. This visit closely resonates with the issues addressed within the framework of the Reliefs urbains design studio.
The architectural project is to play a central role in the search for alternatives to regenerate urban territories. Through an approach at different scales, the LAST studio aims to analyze, explore, and experiment with the specific issues at stake in a perspective of transitions towards sustainability.
The excursion to the Siedlung Halen, designed by Atelier 5 at the end of the fifties, was conceived in this spirit. The objective was to allow the students to discover different project stakes linked to intermediary housing and to dialogue with users.
The tour also allowed the students to put into perspective the questions of contextual integration, conceptual coherence, built morphology, spatiality and typology, with broader issues linked to the urban territories in transition.