THE ACT OF EMBODIMENT

BACKGROUND

The shaping of the landscape is closely related to the history of human settlement. Since the beginning, the earth has been reshaped and appropriated due to various driving forces; especially with sedentarisation, adaptation to one's own needs gained in importance.

In the meantime, hardly any place can be found in completely untouched nature, often it has been reshaped in an act of force and the new landscape contradicts its previous image. As a kind of "man's right", countless hills have been shifted, rivers tamed and plains created, manifesting their own sublimity. Only natural disasters are able to create an awareness that we are still at its mercy and create pressure for action in dealing with it. There is a paradox in the perception of nature and landscape: on the one hand, there is an attempt to counteract it, to tame its power. On the other hand, we find the glorification of it, especially in painting, in which the identity-forming peculiarity for society is emphasised.

This ambivalent relationship can be seen in the development of nature conservation. The naturalist movement dominated science at the beginning of the 18th century and was particularly popular in Geneva. Through the work of the private organisation Swiss Academy of Science, many foundations were laid which were subsequently transferred to the task of the Confederation. Although great progress was made, public policy and legislation remained limited. The first forest police law of 1876, introduced as a result of the flood catastrophes, was the first protective measure and is still effective today. With the onset of industrialisation, the first concerns in dealing with the landscape were raised, driven simultaneously by conservationists and nature conservationists.

At that time, the two organisations were not yet separate forces but arranged themselves together for a harmonious overall picture. With the background knowledge of painting provided by Marguerite Burnat-Provins on the board, the first attempts were made to protect species, landscapes and places.

APPLICATION

At an early stage, attempts were made to achieve a draft law at the federal level and to ensure generally valid protection for natural and local landscapes. In 1924, National Councillor Rudolf Gelpke submitted a motion to this effect, which was, however, rejected by the Council of States and forgotten for the next few decades.

As a result, protection for the remaining landscape could only be guaranteed retroactively.

The project is an attempt to investigate the question of what would have happened if this law had come into force 40 years earlier.

The municipality of Riddes in the canton of Valais is located in the French part on the Rhone plain and could have been declared worthy of protection due to its unique character. With the decision to move the village centre, the original parish church of Saint-Lauren lost its importance. The village developed towards the river crossing along the cantonal road and lost its original idyllic image. The uniqueness of the view along the pilgrims' path, to the high-altitude village of Isérables, is marked by the 15km-long avenue of poplars, which, as the original longest cantonal road, stretches all the way to Martigny. For heritage and landscape conservation, the harmony is evident in the straight roads that run into the distance and support them, contrasting with the meandering Rhone. The valley is framed by the flanks of the mountain and supported by the closed form of the village centre.

The square of the parish church offers a view of the horizontality rarely found in the valley, framed by the buildings, the staggering of the avenue, the building mass and the mountains is revealed. The newly extended A9 also fits into the ensemble.

The view inside the avenue reveals what can already be guessed at: The idea of protection, no matter how openly it is formulated, does not create universality. Submitting to harmony reveals the other side of what remains hidden from view.

VOLUPTAS, Chair Charbonnet / Heiz, Assistant Marina Montresor

Chair for the Theory of Architecture, Prof. Laurent Stalder, Assistant Davide Spina