Spatial visions for the city of tomorrow
Zug © Van de Wetering
Han van de Wetering, founder of Van de Wetering Office for urbanism in Zurich, was invited by Prof. Emmanuel Rey’s studio at the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) to talk about his work as an urban planner on two local planning projects. Entitled "Spatial visions for the city of tomorrow", his lecture gave students the opportunity to discover projects for the cities of Zug and Neuchâtel, addressing the urban design challenges related to the slope.
Han van de Wetering, an architect and urban planner who graduated from ETH Zurich in 1997 and TU Delft in 1999, founded the Van de Wetering Atelier für Städtebau in Zurich in 2008. As one of Switzerland's leading urban planning firms, their projects have won several awards, and are current winner of the Stadtlandpreis. Han van de Wetering has also taught at the HES-SO, the BFH and the ZHAW in Winterthur.
Van de Wetering Atelier für Städtebau is specialized in developing integral urban projects, especially in places with limited space, diverse usage requirements, and complex constraints. They take great care to combine unconventional ideas, sensitive approach to existing structures and spatial designs based on the specific realities of each region.
The conference highlighted these motivations through two spatial visions that approach the challenges of urbanity on slopes from different angles: Zug's, which results in an integral, precise and differentiated project for 2050, transcribed in a planning manual; and Neuchâtel's, which proposes a territorial project based on seven strong spatial ideas, including strengthening centralities, crossing the slope, requalifying major urban axes and living with nature.
Resonating with the issues addressed in the studio RELIEFS URBAINS, the conference allowed students to put into perspective the didactic approach, from the urban project to the construction detail as a relevant process for the transformation of urban territories in transition.