The winning entry of the Northern Shore Lake Zwenkau competition, which challenged select firms to introduce "holiday villages" and recreational activities to a small lake twenty minutes outside of Leipzig, Germany, was proposed by Labor4plus. Dubbed "Yearning Spaces," the proposal envisions a Western harbor village that concentrates recreational activity along the northern coast of Lake Zenkau and connects to eastwardly located "hermit huts" via hiking trails paralleling the shore.
Development
The development of the villages and campsite is concentrated along the shore, orienting itself to the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape and the serenity of the lake. The recreational area is designed to stay car-free and newly proposed developments connect to the surrounding region with bike trails, small picnic areas, and an adventure path.
Topography
The sculpted landscape “is elevated by supporting walls, slopes and a viewing tower and developed by ramps and stairs,” resulting in a series of terraces which can adapt to multiple uses.
Tourism
The proposal envisions “a soft form of tourism with as little interference into nature as possible.” Though visitors are encouraged to perambulate walking paths through the adjoining forest, most recreational activities are concentrated at the North shore development along the shore.
Holiday Villages
“The hotel and leisure complex in the harbor village offers restaurants, boat and bike rentals, as well as shopping opportunities.” The waterfront "lake village" also proposes holiday homes and house boats with the requisite docking facilities for berthing sailboats and recreational water sports programs. For visitors who prefer the tranquility of the trees, the design proposes a "forest village" of log cabins at the west of the site, an adjacent campsite for camping and caravan enthusiasts, and remote "hermit huts" integrated into the eastern-most forest area.
Landscape
“The first initial plantings will be made in the areas of the villages of the campsite and the waterfront path in order to structure the landscape, to zone the respective areas and to timely embed the leisure areas into the landscape.” Ecological forest restructuring is proposed for the northern shore of the lake, with the introduction of native oak and hornbeam trees in combination with select pioneer species. The southern shore is not interfered with and left to natural repopulation.
Competition
Northern Shore Lake Zwenkau CompetitionAward
First PlaceProject Name
Yearning SpacesArchitects
Location
Zwenkauer See, GermanyDesign Team
Jan Adolph, Forian Alles, Dirk Hamann, Franziska SchieferdeckerVisualizations
Georg LindenkreuzProject Year
2014Photographs
Competition
Northern Shore Lake Zwenkau CompetitionAward
First PlaceProject Name
Yearning SpacesLocation
Zwenkauer See, GermanyProject Year
2014Photographs
