URBAN MIX | Yearbook of the 2011-2012 LAST Studio
Entitled URBAN MIX, the 2011-2012 Yearbook of Prof. Emmanuel Rey's studio is available online. Carried out at the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST), this publication presents a summary of the work achieved for the development of a new neighborhood in the city of Bern.
By an approach at different levels of intervention, from urban design to constructive detail, Prof. Emmanuel Rey's studio aims at analyzing, exploring and experimenting the specific issues related to the contribution of the architectural project to the sustainable city, in particular in the perspective of an urban densification near public transport and an experimentation of sustainable construction approaches.
The area chosen for 2011-2012 consisted of a part of the city of Bern, the development of which is presently questioned and which has revealed being emblematic of the issues related to the reorientation of urban development. The approach of the studio was to initiate a first-time exploration of various forms of urban development leading to a new interaction between the city and the Bremgarten forest.
In programmatic terms, the studio concentrated on mixed-use building questions (housing and activities), of which the issues were treated in an iterative manner at different scales ranging from 1/2500 to 1/20. Typological and constructive approaches also allowed students to explore in a specific and detailed manner the relationship perceived between perceived space and built space.
Thanks to the students' commitment and the rich contributions of speakers from many disciplines, the results obtained during the academic year 2011-2012 completed the visions obtained during the preceding year for this site. From a town-planning point of view, the multiple and original solutions proposed nourish the on-going discussions on the scale of the city of Bern and, even further, the issues related to conditions of urban densification.