Category urban – landscape – architectural

Location Landsberg, former Lechrain Barracks

Population c. 28,000 inhab.

Strategic site 553 ha - Project site 31 ha

Site proposed by Landsberg Town Council, 3C Carbon Composite Company GmbH

Owner(s) of the site 3C Carbon, Landsberg Town Council BImA (Insti tute for Federal Real Estate), private owners

Commision after competition Outline urban and landscape plan

Team representative professional of urban design - architecture - landscape architecture

How can the site contribute to the adaptable city?

Landsberg benefits from its location in the Munich metropolitan region. The state capital and higher education facilities can be reached in only 30 minutes by train or car. The Lechrain Business Park is a former barracks site. Where heavy armoured vehicles were once stationed, today 3C Carbon develops and manufactures ultralight, hightech fibre composite structures for the automotive, mechanical engineering, medical technology and aerospace sectors. In the past 10 years the company has renovated the existing buildings and adapted them to the requirements of a hightech company in combination with new buildings. The objective of the competition is to broaden the spectrum of uses and develop the site as a recreational, residential and work location that takes account of climate protection concerns by the use of innovative technologies.

City strategy

In 2011 the City of Landsberg began with its integrated urban planning concept “Future at the Lech” that is subdivided into six fields of action. The latter pursues the overriding goal of transforming the planning culture of recent years from inductive to deductive; i.e. not merely reacting to prevailing circumstances, but planning in advance so that the consequences for Landsberg and its citizens are logical and positive. The result can and should be a different management structure for urban development. The main focal points of the competition area are the fields of action “Transport and mobility”, “Business, trade and the town centre”, “Open space structure, energy and environment” and “Housing and settlement structure”.

Site definition

The Lechrain Business Park, for the most part owned by 3C Carbon, is situated in the centre of the strategic site. The southern and eastern parts of the study area, including the Lech as a recreational space, are high-quality ecological areas that have been designated a FFH zone. Adjacent to the north are woodlands and meadows that can be developed in the long term. To the west, the site is bounded by federal road B 17 that connects it to Landsberg town centre, about 5 km to the north. The commercial uses on the site of the former barracks are expanding, although the directly adjoining natural areas are protected. How can these diverging functions co-exist, adapt to and even supplement of reinforce each other?

Future of the site in relation to the site family and to Adaptability

The aim is to enable the outstanding landscape to be experienced by the population without disturbing the ecological balance. Besides supplementary health, social and sport uses, a vision for the northern zone exists by which a philanthropic approach is adopted in the form of company housing in a present-day interpretation. The result should be a sustainable neighbourhood based on technical innovation, with building and layout typologies adapted to a wide range of lifestyles. An overall organism according to the campus concept is to be created with supplementary infrastructure. Can entrepreneurs solve the problem of a shortage of skilled employees and lack of affordable accommodation, and bind the employees to their place of work with attractive accommodation analogous to the company housing of the 19th century? Can skilled employees be lured by appealing architectural and urban planning? These questions are related to changing working and lifestyles, and must be seen interactively, taking into account numerous fields of action such as energy and environment or mobility. Can an energetic cycle be achieved on the site by better, forward planning, and can energy resources be generated, consumed and recycled on site? How should this kind of settlement be configured amid high-quality landscape and nature conservation areas? Can this result in an interesting future-oriented interplay of different uses?