Urban planning design competition
8. April 2025
Kirchzarten is a municipality bordering Freiburg im Breisgau with a population of about 10,000. A design competition was held to develop an overall concept for key areas of the town center. The entry by ASTOC ARCHITECTS AND PLANNERS was awarded second prize by the jury. With its “Ortsmitte II” project, the municipality has been accepted into the urban development funding program. This funding program pursues general objectives such as creating housing, adapting to climate change, improving the living environment, strengthening the functionality of existing town centers, and promoting integration within neighborhoods. With these goals in mind, the municipality of Kirchzarten intends to further develop the urban planning potential of its town center. The design competition launched for this purpose was tasked with developing an overall concept for the designated redevelopment area—which consists of the historic town center with local amenities and a pedestrian zone, as well as a diverse area featuring residential, retail, and commercial uses. The expected implementation guidelines were to include statements on the urban structure, scale, and density, while taking the current land-use, building, and ownership structures into account to the greatest extent possible.
“Town outside – village inside” – This somewhat provocative reversal of the town marketing guiding principle describes the very different growth dynamics of Kirchzarten, which are already reflected in the spatial structures of the town. To ensure that the expected structural changes can be managed in a targeted manner, we propose this basic understanding as a fundamental guiding principle. The pedestrian zone is the core of Kirchzarten’s identity and should be revitalized as much as possible, but only changed sensitively. In the second row, but with an immediate effect and in direct spatial connection with the pedestrian zone, complementary growth can then take place in the future. This growth can include both infrastructural and functional, but also spatial and atmospheric components. In this zone, qualified spatial consolidation, supplementation and reshaping can take place. The growth zone is supplied by the support zone, in which the strong spatial growth of the city is taken into account. Infrastructure axes and green corridors link the zones and form a resilient basic structure through targeted open space and architectural additions.
Credits: ASTOC