Newsletter 106 from 10/29/2008

Internationale Bauausstellung Fürst-Pückler-Land

1. Award-winning viewing tower opened with resounding success
2. "Mobile floating architecture” winning designs
3. IBA advised to integrate in the “Lusatia-Spreewald energy region”
4. Bio-towers decorated with engineering prize
5. “Senftenberg Town Harbour” competition to be announced
6. Seasonal review on the IBA Terraces
7. Last meeting of Lauchhammer Working Group in familiar format

(1) Award-winning viewing tower opened with resounding success

The IBA theme year “Lusatia: Lure of the Lakes” has chalked up another highlight with the official opening of the “Landmark for the Lusatian Lakeland”. Joining together for the opening ceremony in the past week were Infrastructure Minister Reinhold Dellmann and representatives of the town of Senftenberg, the LMBV and partners. The new landmark of the Lakeland is situated at the mouth of Sorno Canal between Sedlitz Lake and Geierswald Lake. The viewing tower was designed by Munich architect Stefan Giers. He had won the IBA’s “Landmark for the Lusatian Lakeland” competition in 2005. His idea has now become reality. The colossal steel structure rises 30 metres into the sky. Standing tall as a symbol of the navigable network of lakes, the tower is emblematic of the transformation of the region from mining landscape to lakeland. The “giant” is made of 111 tonnes of Corten steel which will take on an atmospheric rust-coloured patina through exposure to the elements and act as a reminder of the gigantic open-cast mining equipment. The viewing tower struck a responsive chord on the occasion of its opening thanks to the work of two Italian artists. Hundreds of visitors flocked to the tower on the opening ceremony weekend to take in the views and gain a vision for the Lusatian Lakeland.
"sidelights" from design up to building until opening

(2) "Mobile floating architecture” winning designs

The IBA “mobile floating architecture” competition attracted worldwide interest in the developments in the Lusatian Lakeland. On 15 October the six best designs from the 149 submissions were each awarded prize money of 3,500 euros. The winning designs came from Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany. There was also an honourable mention for a further entrant (2,500 euro). The winners are as follows:

• Gernot Nalbach, N+N Gesellschaft v. Architekten mbH (Berlin), “Cocoon” design

• Karolina Gawryszewska (Munich), “Solar+” design

• Rafaa, Architekt Dipl.-Ing. Rafael Schmidt (Zürich), “The last resort” design

• J.C. van Noort (Amsterdam), “Welcome to Lusatia” design

• Kern & Repper Architektenpartnerschaft BLAUWERK (Munich), “Framing Seascape“ design

• MIR architecten in collaboration with Ahmed El-Shafei (Amsterdam), “Coalibri” design

• Honourable mention “Lift module” by Eduard Langner (Walzbachtal)

The aim of the competition was to design a floating house with the greatest possible degree of mobility and self-sufficiency and in keeping with the Lakeland setting. The competition entries will be on display until 16 November in the visitor centre at the IBA Terraces.
further information

(3) IBA advised to integrate in the “Lusatia-Spreewald energy region”

At its autumn meeting the IBA Expert Advisory Committee made a strong case for the processes instigated by the IBA to be followed up by a successor institution. “For some time the IBA shareholders have been looking into whether and in what form the IBA should be continued beyond 2010”, commented Chief Administrative Officer and IBA shareholder Georg Dürrschmidt. “There is general agreement that a successor institution is needed to continued to oversee existing projects”. He added that it was conceivable that the IBA might be attached to a pillar in the future structure of the “Lusatia-Spreewald energy region”. In the past week the representatives of the administrative districts of Spree-Neiße, Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Dahme-Spreewald and Elbe-Elster and the Lord Mayor of Cottbus met with Minister-President Platzeck to discuss the strategy of regional partnership and shared responsibility. The limited liability company (GmbH) is to be set up next year, with the IBA due to be incorporated after 2010.

4) Bio-towers decorated with engineering prize

Having only just emerged with renewed splendour in July, this unique industrial monument and IBA project has now won the Brandenburg engineering prize. Cottbus engineering firm P. Jähne accepted the certificate and prize money of 3,500 euros from the Chamber of Engineers last week along with architect Frank Zimmermann and Wilken Straatmann, Director of Biotürme Lauchhammer gGmbH. Four different submissions under the theme of “Technologies and Innovations for Environment and Nature” won prizes for excellence in cross-sector engineering, creativity and dedication to fundamental social issues.

It had been intimated that some prize-winning projects would have an impact extending far beyond the Brandenburg state borders. Indeed, they would conceivably attract the same kind of attention as the bio-towers with their history and imposing architecture. Two modern viewing turrets were added to one of the six groups of trickling filters during the redevelopment work. They were designed by Cottbus architectural firm Zimmermann und Partner and constructed by engineering firm Peter Jähne. They create a unique impression of space in a setting largely preserved in its original form.
IBA-Project Biotürme
Website Brandenburgische Ingenieurkammer

(5) “Senftenberg Town Harbour” competition to be announced

The IBA Fürst-Pückler-Land and the town of Senftenberg will be announcing the “Senftenberg Town Harbour” competition before this year is out. It will be a restricted-entry design competition preceded by an application procedure. The public announcement of the architectural and landscape planning competition is scheduled to go out on 10 November 2008. The application documents are to be sent out to entrants on 17 December 2008. At least 25 working groups with experience in architecture, landscape architecture and hydraulic engineering will be invited to enter the competition. The structure will be expected to make its own distinctive architectural statement and to be a centre of attraction and a clear expression of the role of the town of Senftenberg in the 21st century - mining town being transformed into the focal point of a newly emerging lakeland. Indeed, Senftenberg is the only town in the region to have been situated for 35 years by a lake formed from an open-cast mine which is an established tourist location. The emergence of the Lusatian Lakeland will also bring new opportunities for Senftenberg. As the lake is integrated in the 7000-hectare network of lakes via the canal to Geierswald Lake, there will be a need for further expansion of the tourism infrastructure at Senftenberg Lake. The IBA is supporting the development of the town as it opens up towards its lake in the project “Lakeside Town of Senftenberg”. More information to follow on the IBA website

(6) Seasonal review on the IBA Terraces

The tour service on the IBA Terraces had very good seasonal visitor numbers again from April to October. Some 80,000 people are expected to have visited the IBA Terraces by the end of the year. Around 7,000 visitors have explored the emerging landscapes and IBA projects to date on IBA tours. “The most popular tours are the customised packages”, said Ingolf Weichelt from the tour service. The public tours experiencing the highest levels of demand were the “Trip to Mars”, the “Linger in the Lakeland” tour and the cycle tour “From Wasteland to Water”. However, the “Jeep Safari in and around Welzow Open-Cast Mine”, run in cooperation with the Bergbautourismusverein Welzow [Welzow Association of Mine Tourism], also appealed to a wide audience. There were more visitors to the Lakeland from Saxony this year, but there were also visitors from Berlin, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein and Bavaria. The last public tours will run this coming weekend from 31.10 to 2 November. Individual tours can be reserved at any time through the IBA tour service. The opening hours of the IBA visitor centre will change with effect from 01 November. It will then be open daily from 10:00-17:00 hrs.
to IBA tour service

(7) Last meeting of Lauchhammer Working Group in familiar format

In the middle of October the "Lauchhammer Working Group" of the IBA Fürst-Pückler-Land held its 48th and final meeting since it first convened in April 2000. The policy paper "Save the Lauchhammer Bio-Towers" contained the declared intention at that time of the IBA Working Group, the Lokale Agenda 21 Lauchhammer e.V., the Kultur- und Heimatverein Lauchhammer e.V. and the Traditionsverein Braunkohle Lauchhammer e.V. to work together to flesh out ideas for the future use of the bio-towers and to explore the practical options to this end. Having seen the project through to a successful conclusion, the working group as it stood has now been disbanded. "Our partners are keen to regroup in a different format, however”, said IBA project manager Brigitte Scholz, “possibly organising regular informal get-togethers at a set location".