Westpark Augsburg

BACKGROUND
With the withdrawal of the American armed forces in 1998, Augsburg had the opportunity to use the conversion of the barracks for an overall spatial development of Augsburg's west and to expand the city-wide green space system by a ring linked to the Wertach floodplain.
Building on a basic urban planning framework developed through competitions, a two-phase international open space competition with intensive citizen participation was announced for the Westpark, which was decided in 2005. After a planning and realization process lasting more than 15 years, the Westpark is expected to be completed in 2021.

AMERICAN LANDSCAPES
Like a leisurely river, a meandering ribbon lies in the middle of a tree-covered park landscape. It changes width, individual lanes drifting apart and reconnecting to form the main path through the park. The ribbon, which is made of light coloured asphalt throughout, links the different spatial sequences and sequences of the new north-south green corridor and becomes a guiding line through all parts of the park. It takes its origin at two not yet realized places at the Ulmer Straße and connects the Reesepark with Sullivanpark, Westfriedhof, Sheridanpark and finally by green bridge across the B17 with the former Vehicle Park to a continuous almost four kilometers long and 60 ha large green corridor in the west of Augsburg.
The way is depending on the choice of the loop a fast or a slow, strolling connection. The fastest and most direct connection is the central bike and pedestrian path, which is also shared as a skate line. As the widest paved area, it is easily readable within the ribbon.

The spaces in between are special places with sports and play animations and / or special plantings that interpret American landscape sections: Fields of flowering prairie shrubs, dense groves of trees, or topographical faults that also reference the Wertach floodplain, alternate in various forms and invite exploration, experimentation, and exploration of the entire park. In the Reese part, for example, there is the landscape section "Table Mountains", which function as a movement animation for the entire recreational vehicle park available on the market - from running wheels to rollerblades, bikes and skates to wheelchairs.

The existing trees, some of which are extensive and worthy of preservation, were integrated into the park and supplemented with North American tree species coloured bright red, orange or yellow. The edges to the development are uniformly bordered with rows of trees, which create the framework for the generous, open grassland, loosely covered with tall trees. Some of this is mown regularly and used for ball games and sports areas, while large areas are only mown twice a year and develop into extensive meadows rich in flowers and insects, which also serve as compensation areas or ecological connectivity.
The relics of the barracks, such as the Chapel and Kommandantur buildings in the Sherid portion, as well as the Casino - now the Abraxas House of Culture - in the Reese portion, are integrated into this expansive grassland.

DEVELOPMENT
The park's basic framework of vegetation, topography, and path meandering were realized in sections prior to the adjacent structural development, but with "blank spaces" for future play and use ideas. Planning was staggered and involved resident input. Over this long period of time, the park development was also continuously accompanied in terms of care, maintenance and adaptation. In our view, it is a sustainable, future-proof planning process that is worth discussing:
-Models for making planning processes more flexible (planning modules - incl. maintenance)
-Adaptation planning: continuation of the planning process beyond Lph 9
-Scenario culture instead of discussion of errors
-Continuation of participation (advisory board, local stakeholder groups, volunteers)
-Consideration of adaptation and development budgets.

First prizeGerman Landscape Architecture Award 2021

Jury verdict:
With the withdrawal of the American forces, Augsburg gained 60 hectares of park. The two main parts of the new Westpark, which runs through several parts of the city, are Sheridanpark and Reesepark. This park landscape links a meandering ribbon: a light path surrounded by perennials, copses and play areas. This flexible band makes it possible to react in its course to the old tree population, which essentially characterizes the park. The old trees were supplemented by species that catch the eye with their bright autumn colours.

With a great deal of sensitivity, the path, which runs through the grounds like a river, becomes the shaper of the planting, play and sports areas in the park. It opens up and widens out again and again, taking in "American landscapes" such as prairie shrubberies, dense groves of trees or various activity areas in its interstices. The landscape architects also skilfully play with the topography and thus make reference to the nearby Wertach floodplain. Only some of the wide meadow areas are regularly mown for ball games, while large parts develop into extensive flower meadows.

Thanks to the design concentration on the ribbon, the park has an impressive density of opportunities for exploration, experimentation and discovery for all age groups and meets the various requirements of a sustainable open space in a natural way that is unparalleled.

In particular through its planning process, the Westpark makes a contribution to landscape architecture that radiates far beyond Augsburg. The competition took place back in 2005. The basic framework of the park, consisting of vegetation, topography and the meander, was realised in sections even before the adjacent development, whereby "empty spaces" for future ideas for play and use were filled with a time delay and with the participation of the new residents. The long project period therefore required reacting to new trends and also incorporating interim uses that became entrenched during the planning period.

The landscape architects also accompanied the care, maintenance and adaptation of the planning over the long planning and realisation period, so that the process extended beyond service phase 9. Through this planning with scenarios, participation, adaptation and flexible processes, the park provides important and forward-looking ideas for landscape architecture.