EDITORIAL

welcome.

Welcome to the 48th IFLA World Congress “Scales of Nature.

From Urban Landscapes to Alpine Gardens” in Zurich!

The challenges for landscape architecture and planning seem to be getting increasingly complex. More and more people are moving into towns, cities and expanding conurbations. At the same time an urban lifestyle is no longer just limited to urban spaces. Wherever a larger number of people live in area where space is becoming tighter, while the demands for living space, amenities, sanitation, leisure opportunities as well as for the quality of the landscape are increasing, the design disciplines are particularly challenged. In recent years the question of the sustainable development of landscapes has come to the fore, as has the question about their historicity and uniqueness and their potential for identity and identification possibilities for the public.

The congress’s motto this year opens up the wide topical spectrum of current challenges, on the one hand with regard to the spatial criteria that need working on, and on the other hand with regard to the different spaces’ individual needs for their future development.

Just how differently the focal points and themes are weighted in the international context is demonstrated by the short contributions of the congress’s keynote speakers, who have made their summarized opinions available to anthos. The search for solutions must often be local, despite the global nature of the subjects anthos also contains several contributions addressing the situation in Switzerland, which confront both the specific spatial potentials and the current situation of landscape architecture, as well as illuminating the future focuses of development.

For many congress participants this will be their first visit to Zurich. Cities are best discovered by exploring them personally. anthos contains expert contributions providing background knowledge and inviting visitors to stroll across Zurich’s “seven hills”.

Six selected photographs, away from the conventional postcard views, give an advance insight: anthos asked the two Zurich photographers Eke Miedaner and Markus Frietsch to portray “their Zurich” in three or four photographs each.

Now we will raise the curtain and wish all participants at the congress some wonderful days in Zurich.

It is a great pleasure and honour for us, as well as a splendid continuation of a tradition, to be part of it as a national media partner.

Sabine Wolf

Editor-in-Chief, June 2011

CONTENT

WELCOMING WORDS

President IFLA, Desiree Martínez

Member of the City Council Zurich, Ruth Genner

President BSLA, Pascal Gysin

IFLA AND SWITZERLAND

Bernd Schubert and Heiner Rodel

IFLA World Congress 2011 Schedule

SCALES OF NATURE – FROM URBAN LANDSCAPES TO ALPINE GARDENS

Guido Hager

Winy Maas

Michael Koch and Maresa Schumacher

Kongjian Yu

Raimund Rodewald

Andreas Spiegel

Joan Iverson Nassauer

IS SWITZERLAND LOSING ITS CAPITAL?

Adrienne Grêt-Regamey, Sibyl Hanna Brunner, Ulrike Wissen Hayek

LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT IN SWITZERLAND: WHERE DOES THE SHOE PINCH?

Marcel Hunziker and Barbara Degenhardt

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE IN SWITZERLAND

Peter Wullschleger

STUDENT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE DESIGN COMPETITION

Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil, Department of Landscape Architecture

INTEGRAL PLANNING AND ACTION WITH A VIEW TO OUTCOME

Lukas Handschin

“STANDORTMOSAIK ZÜRICH” OR THE ECOLOGY OF ACCESS

Markus Schaefer

THE SEVEN HILLS OF ZURICH

Stefan Ineichen