Insect city is a project that explores new approximations to reimagine the boundaries between human and nature, through a site-specific intervention that leaves spaces for new encounters. It is a public artwork, located in an undetermined fragment of an urban landscape in the city of Linz, Austria, composed of a series of geometric wooden pieces that aims to sensitize and raise awareness on ecological and biodiversity values.

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The project aims to develop a broader dialogue and new approaches to the diversity of plant and animal life in urban habitats. In this way, the intervention dialogues with the city landscape, creating new ways of coexistence between the natural and built environments. A new hybrid urban landscape, as a housing complex for our cohabiting insects -wasps, bees, beetles or bugs-.

Insect city is in a transitional area where several natural and cityscapes are diluted together. On the one hand, the site is close to the Danube River and its industrial port, and on the other hand, the site is bounded by a disused railway and the elevated highway. Although the area is characterized as an undefined public space, the site is privileged for its biological richness, since it is located in a self-maintained urban meadow surrounded by houses with orchards and community gardens.

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The project has been developed with the support and collaboration of the Architectural Forum of Upper Austria (afo), with the bio-consultancy of the Biologiezentrum, a biology center located in the city of Linz, which has one of the largest insect collection in Europe, and is dedicated to preserving, researching, documenting, exhibiting and transmitting knowledge about the flora and fauna. At the same time, during the process, a positive neighborhood consultation was carried out, with the aim of disseminating the public project among local residents as part of their own environment.

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Credits: x-studio : : Ivan Juarez
with the collaboration and support of architekturforum oberösterreich (afo)

Implementation: Leonie Reese, Thomas Kluckner, Roland Laimer and Dominik Leitner and Mariya Zhariy (afo) and Ivan Juarez
Production, organization: Franz Koppelstätter, Uschi Reiter (afo)
Bio-consultant: Biologiezentrum Linz, Dr. Martin Schwarz
Supported by Time’s Up and Hanger-Holz GmbH

Funding: by Linz Kultur
Thanks to: City of Linz, Linz AG and all neighbors of the Posthofstraße
Photography: Gregor Graf and x-studio : : Ivan Juarez

Usually a hydropower plant stands for river regulation and threatened river species. At the mouth of the Hagneck River into the Lake of Biel in Switzerland, the opposite can be found: The surroundings of a new plant provide a remarkable renatured delta-landscape, where man and nature can co-exist next to each other. Responsible for the design of the area of recreation and preservation is the Raymond Vogel Landschaften AG, which was rewarded with the American Architecture Prize for its concept.

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Human in harmony with nature

The idea behind the concept is to overcome the separation between human and nature. A small alluvial forest and an accessible delta-landscape were created. The design of the terrain provides a perfect view of the Lake, the St. Peter´s Island and the vineyards on the mountain ranges. Despite the nearby hydropower plant, visitors feel like they are part of the nature and realise the connection between them and their environment. To improve nature conservation special “bait flows” attract fish to go around the plant. Beside that fish passes were developed in a nature-oriented way.

Multifunctional Structure

The new Hydropower Plant Hagneck is replacing an older plant and provides compared to the old one 40 percent more renewable energy. In addition, the flood protection and fish migration improved significantly. The dam of the structure carries a national cycle path and walking trail, whereby the adjacent delta-landscape function as a natural resting area.