ZÜRICH-ALTSTETTEN

The places chosen as the sites for the design exercises are located in the city of Zürich and in the hamlet of Massagno near Lugano. They were selected in recognition of the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult today to speak of center and periphery as recognizable areas of a city. The truth of the matter is quite to the contrary: places can be found throughout the country which, despite differences in their basic characteristics, evidence the same values in terms of planning strategies and thus offer a fine opportunity for design experiments. It is particularly interesting that at least as many places can be found throughout the country which have never been subject to any other forms of planning, and still others for which no urban plan at all has yet been proposed. This situation allows for experimentation with solutions. It may therefore lead to the development of urban design methods which are not necessarily bound to one specific place and thus may be used in comparable situations.

Prof. Mario Campi

Published in "Regaining the Center: New Urban Landscapes", 1996