Peter Latz

It is a question of what force the existing ’‘

buildings already have and what density of
information they already posses ,that should
guide the design process’’ Latz
Latz’s major interest in landscape

Postindustrial landscape
Classical landscape
Open spaces
Urban transformation
Gardens
Special objects
Peter Latz
is a German landscape architect and a professor
for landscape architecture at the Technical University
of Munich. He is best known for his emphasis on
reclamation and conversion of former industrialized
landscapes. Retired today, he is an adjunct professor
at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and is
also a visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate
.School of Design
The objective of Postindustrial Landscapes is the analysis and planning of
different abandoned spaces located around infrastructural borders where
the presence of obsolete large industrial complexes create an opportunity
.for the reconversion of disputed urban areas

Understanding how landscape ecology and design can invent ’‘

alternative forms of relationships between people and place so that
landscape architectural projects become more about invention and
’’programs than the merely corrective measures of restoration

The protection of industrial buildings is an important

cultural objective and is inherently sustainable in that it
encourages the positive re-use of redundant buildings that
. are part of our industrial and commercial heritage
We should restore contaminated urban land and buildings ’‘
to productive use ,so that our children grow up next to park
not poison’’ USA president Clinton

Topics Of
Postindustrial
Landscape

Reconnecting.1
Reprogramming.2
Reenergizing.3
Reconfiguring .4
 Case Study 1

Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord
Starting point
For two centuries, urban parks have been perceived and understood as public
green spaces. Naturalistic or formal in appearance, they provided for
.recreational activity, and often featured attractive or romantic scenery

Inspired by a series of earlier “International Building Exhibitions”

(IBA) in other parts of Germany, a partnership between the state
of North Rhine-Westphalia, local municipalities, and private
companies was formed. This commission proposed the IBA
Emscherpark, a ten-year effort from 1989 to 1999 to revitalize
the area. The goal was to develop a program of renewal for the
densely populated region along the Emscher River, stretching
from Duisburg on the Rhine in the west to Dortmund in the
east, and including approximately 115 square miles and many
important cities in between. The “exposition” proposed to
accomplish its goal by catalyzing structural, economic and social
reform through a number of exemplary and innovative integrated
.design projects
Located in the heart of Germany’s densely populated Ruhr District,
Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord (North Duisburg Landscape Park)
makes a clear break with this history. A milestone in landscape
design, it epitomizes an innovative approach to the urban cultural
landscape, one characterized by acceptance of its industrial
.heritage and dramatically altered natural conditions

Duisburg Nord park cannot be understood apart from the larger

reclamation effort of which it is a part. Until the early 1970s,
Germany’s Ruhr area, particularly the Emscher District, was one of
Europe’s largest coal-mining and steel-manufacturing centers. The
decline of these heavy industries, however, precipitated an
economic and ecological crisis as well as social change and a loss of
cultural significance in the region. Left behind was a bizarre
landscape of rail beds, smokestacks, slag heaps, polluted soils,
.industrial ruins, and reengineered waterways
 Conceptual Considerations
In a 2004 lecture, Latz explained some of the difficulties the site
presents. “The park is not a park in the common sense, not easy
to survey, not clearly arranged, not recognizable as a whole.
According to its situation amidst chaotic agglomerations and
infrastructure lines, it appears as a torn figure with numerous
”.different aspects

Latz was struck by the power of its remnant patters of infrastructure

and industrial relics—an aesthetic of gigantic objects that could
potentially function as landmarks and nourish the genius loci of the
.site

The abandoned colossuses of steel production also spoke a language of

the sublime. “A blast furnace is not only an old furnace. It is a
menacing ‘dragon’ frightening men and rising above its surroundings,”
Latz has said.2 In their groundbreaking concept, Latz + Partners
attempted to reveal the unique qualities of this place. Historic layers
of use had left their physical marks through industrial imprints, altered
conditions, and environmental contamination. However, the goal was
to consider these disturbed and complex conditions for their creative
potential rather than as a nuisance that should be erased or
camouflaged
 Park Systems

The 230-hectare (approximately 570-acre) project was developed in

phases over the course of thirteen years, from 1989 to 2002. It
consists of several layers of design elements that operate
independently as park systems, and help create a sense of
orientation that makes an extremely complex site interpretable at a
human scale. Among major elements are a railroad park consisting
of the raised ribbons of old rail-beds and other structures of a
formerly manmade topography; new footbridges and promenades; a
water park at its lowest level; and fi elds of vegetation— woodland-
like groupings of trees, pioneer plants, and prairie meadows—
.situated between more linear elements
The Piazza Metallica, situated at the symbolic heart of the park serves as its central
event and gathering space. Here, a total of 49 recycled iron plates, each weighing
seven to eight tons, were carefully arranged in a square, defining a plaza that is
.completely enclosed by looming industrial forms
Partial project, Ore Bunker Gallery
In cooperation with artists and the Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg
Through openings in the massive walls, paths and footbridges connect the labyrinthine
complex. They will lead to artificial gardens with differentiated microclimates, with sound
.effects and various artistic interventions
With concrete saws entrances were cut into the massive walls 2 to 3 metres thick. They open
up completely new prospects into the future gallery, the dark rooms of which had been visible
only from above
Case Study 2
Parco Dora
From Concept to Conception: Parco Dora
 Parco Dora, designed by Latz + Partners, is a park across from the once
Olympic Village. The 37 hectare park in Turin, Italy was created on the site of
a series of abandoned industrial facilities along the Dora River. As a
postindustrial landscape, the site is fitting for Peter Latz, who has consistently
reimagined the urban realm. Instead of treating each project as tabula rasa, he
.sees the urban environment as a layering of the past and the present

The basic concept for this project—and Latz’s postindustrial design philosophy—is well-
known in the landscape world: genius loci. As a result of invoking the place’s natural
character, the history, existing infrastructure, physical context, and social context all
played a major part in shaping Parco Dora’s design. Typically, Latz responds to the history
of the site by capitalizing on derelict structures left on site. Once a number of ironwork
factories run by FIAT in the early 1900s, much of the site was cleared in preparations for
the 2006 Winter Olympics. This clearing of the site prevented Latz from utilizing fully the
many layers of information produced by the site. The few remaining relics were kept and
.utilized
These images demonstrate how the steel columns of the Vitali factory hall create a
“technical canopy” from the remaining structures on site. They create a linear axis
across the site, creating formal repetition. An elevated walk beside them gives users
the ability to see the integration between the old [factory] and the new [park].
Latz envisions that these steel columns will one day become overgrown with plant
material, suggesting a true integration of city and nature as the urban element
supports the plants. This area is the most iconic part of the park, which makes it great
choice as a visual representation in the design process. Visualizations of the rest of
.the design also describe how Latz responds to the site
Due to the industrialization of the region, the river here had been channelized. To fit
people’s expectations for a park, Parco Dora needed to give the river back its natural
character, but this conflicted with the highly artificial history of the site. These two
opposing forces were balanced by removing the concrete that had covered the river
but leaving the walls. Coupled with the rows of trees, this action creates a powerful
mix between natural and urban forms. The concept behind the river intervention was
.to create a manmade gorge
Special
Objects
 Change of Weather", Munich, DE"

Temporary exhibition garden for the Federal Garden show in Munich 2005

The garden is one of 12 so called “Cell Gardens” bordered by gravel banks. The “
theme of the cell is taken up by a self-contained turbine-like figure and a special
:climate
high-pressure nozzles produce light and milky veils of mist between 120
vertical slabs of white Jura limestone. An airflow is caused by the regular
curves of the stone walls, moving to the central point and creating a
compact pillow of fog above slabs arranged in layers at the deepest point of
the garden
The visitor will be taken by surprise on his way through the garden by an
interplay of dry and warm stones with moist and cool ones, of airflow and
fog and shady umbrella-like willows, by changing climatic effects being
”.highly attractive in summertime
MÜHA
Memorial Place Mühldorfer Hart, DE
The bunker construction site in the woodland near the small town Mühldorf in Upper Bavaria
claimed more than 5.000 victims towards the end of the Second World War. It represents the second
.largest satellite camp of the Dachau concentration camp

Its remains cannot be understood without additional information, the marks of history wither. By
overlaying the existing and tangible with a new abstract layer, the site gets evocative of the past and
the unexplainable will be made intelligible. Actual understanding results from a deliberate
.perception of what can be seen
Creating a vertical and horizontal surface
 Done by
Dina hawash
Hala ghanem