The Helvetiaplatz should be transformed into an attractive place to stay and meet. For this purpose, a project competition was carried out. After three evaluation days, which the public was able to follow, the winning project “coquilles saint-jacques” of the team “extrā Landschaftsarchitekten AG, Bern” was selected out of a total of 20 submissions.
The Helvetiaplatz is today heavily influenced by traffic. In the course of its transformation, it should become an attractive place to stay and thus a worthy prelude to Kirchenfeldquartier and its museums.
Convincing winning project and attractive start to the Museumsquartier
The winning project translates the city’s expectations into the design, functionality and quality of stay of this important Bern location in a convincing way. The project will now be processed according to the recommendations of the jury. Implementation of the transformation is scheduled for 2023 and will take around a year. The winning project fits very well with the intended developments in the surrounding area, and Helvetiaplatz can also take on the function of an attractive foyer for the Bernese Museum Quarter with “coquilles saint-jacques”.
Positive experience with public jury
For the first time in a long time, the City of Bern held a public jury award for the Helvetiaplatz redesign. “Interested persons and media representatives were able to follow the discussions of the jury one on one and thus gain an insight into the assessment process at an early stage,” says Ursula Wyss, Director of Civil Engineering, Transport and Urban Green. The experience with this open process was very positive.
This project succeeds in creating a representative place and an attractive prelude to Kirchenfeldquartier with clear, simple means. The historic, star-shaped road pattern is appropriately integrated into the design. The square is newly edged by a three-row, shady tree ring, which forms the missing space edge today and proportions the space appropriately. A generous center of the square with the arched pavement is available as an elegant and functional urban space.
The winning project fits very well with the intended developments in the environment, and Helvetiaplatz can also take on the function of an attractive foyer for the Museum Quarter with “coquilles saint-jacques”
Winner | Extra Landscape Architecture
Location | Bern, Switzerland
