A group of new public buildings and housing towers along the edge of the lake
are connected by a large square. Under this square, a spacious underground parking – designed
as a ‘parking palace’ - organizes and directs both traffic and pedestrian flow to all buildings
and squares surrounding or penetrating it.
Along one side, the parking opens up to the
open water. On two others, roads circle down into and up out of it. Off the middle and parallel
to the water, the parking is divided into ‘public’ and ‘private’ parking.
The water levels can mount up to 50 cm above the given floor level. Yet, for the creation of the
park - for which one will need to cut through the concrete floor slab - we do not want to see a
visible boundary in the direction of the water or in any other direction: no closed vertical walls,
limiting the spatial experience of the space.
We imagined the water pressure breaking open the concrete parking floor from below:
One large irregular crack creates an open ‘wound’, from which water, wet soil and trees emerge.
Along its edges, concrete wedges point diagonally upward. The swamp trees grow fast, grow
upwards through the open roof; tower over the plaza above. Special light effects create mysterious
evening settings, tree-crowns lighting up or creating shifting shadows.
