«Places without special location qualities»

Description

The inventory of the protected local images of Switzerland (ISOS) was created in response to the rapid urban growth of the post-war period and the associated concern about the loss of historic settlement structures. The inventory was established in the 1970s to systematically identify the most valuable local images of the country and to secure their preservation. A local image includes not only the buildings but also street layouts, squares, gardens, parks, and cultural land. Numerous photographic recordings from pedestrian and street areas were made for assessment. The federal government evaluated 6,000 local images and classified about 1,200 of them as "nationally significant." The ISOS thus reflects the Swiss perspective of the 1970s on its own country. It captures an ideal image of Switzerland, with picturesque medieval towns and idyllic villages shaped by agriculture. The suburban communities had no place in this image of Switzerland. The oil crisis, the warnings of the Club of Rome, and the European Year of Monuments in 1975 led to a growing decline in growth mentality among the population and a sense of alienation from contemporary architecture, which was strongly represented in expanding suburban communities. The suburbs were considered ugly, inhospitable, disruptive, and their architectural development was left to spatial planning rather than monument protection. The communities where most people lived and which grew the fastest were declared "places without special location qualities" during the inventory process. The exhibition curated by Gerold Kunz and Manuel Medina González now takes the example of the Lucerne suburban areas Emmen, Emmenbrücke, Horw, and Kriens to re-examine the ISOS photographic collection: What criteria were used at that time? What impact did these classifications have on the further development of the places? On the self-understanding of the people living there? Does a look back into the photographic inventory enable a reassessment of the suburban area? This is complemented by contemporary architectural projects from the Lucerne communities, which show new trends in dealing with the suburban area.

Highlights

• Exhibition on the ISOS local image recordings from 1981
• Focus on historic settlement structures
• Location: Museum im Bellpark, Kriens

General Information

The exhibition addresses the reassessment of the protected local images of Switzerland, documented in the 1970s. It sheds light on the development and perception of suburban communities in the context of Swiss architectural history.

Location

Luzernerstrasse 21, 6010 Kriens, Switzerland

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