Abbey in RE major
St Gallen (CH) - Lauréat
TEAM PORTRAIT
VIDEO (by the team)
INTERVIEW
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1. How do you define the main issues of your project in relation with the theme “Re-sourcing”? Re-sourcing thanks to nature, to social dynamics, to new materiality? In which way do you think your project can contribute to an ecological and/or social evolution? And in which way do you think your project can be called a “regenerative project”?
The project re-sources through a reinterpretation of the Abbey as a social ecosystem. It promotes collective living, enriched social dynamics and shared spaces while minimizing land intervention. By creating a new neighbourhood centre, it regenerates daily life, strengthens social ties and activates local resources as a social and ecological catalyst.
2. How did the issues of your design and the questions raised by the site mutation meet?
The project responds to the site’s slope, solar orientation and the presence of radon in the soil by lifting the building. A historic curved route shapes its morphology, while streams, nature and existing gardens are preserved. Increased density counteracts isolation, and new connections integrate the proposal into the existing built environment.
PROJECT:
This is our first project of this scale outside academia. It draws on Donna Haraway’s idea of staying with the trouble, seeing architecture to rearticulate relations between humans, nature and infrastructure. Inspired by Pier Vittorio Aureli’s notion of abstract adaptable structures, built references such as La Tourette, Walden 7, Holliger and De Drie Hoven inform a collective and resilient framework.
SITE:
The project is conceived as a phased process, prioritizing community-building spaces and key infrastructures to connect with the surroundings. Neighbours are involved from the earliest stages. Initial steps focus on preserving existing communities, relocating gardens, ensuring safety and building the Agora as a social and urban anchor.
REFERENCES:
The team was already collaborating on projects, and Europan became an opportunity to position ourselves on contemporary issues at a larger scale. Both members are architects: Guillem Oró focuses on architectural history and research, while Anna Bosch specializes in sustainability and building technology.
6. How could this prize help you in your professional career?
Yes! The prize provides us confidence and motivation to continue working passionately towards architecture that improves social and environmental conditions. It is also a strong professional recognition at an early stage of our careers.
TEAM IDENTITY
Legal status:
Team name: P R A X I S arquitectura
Average age of the associates: 29 years old
Has your team, together or separately, already conceived or implemented some projects and/or won any competition? if so, which ones?
Anna Bosch has won the Arquia Foundation Fellowship in 2021.
