LGS Thuringia 2024

The waters of the Ohne River are both an element of nature and a continuously transforming cultural landscape. The garden city of Leinefelde represents a furthering of this principle. The buildings blend into the flowing structure of nature. They become denser at the central square, making their mark in equal measure to the landscaped space that has been drawn into the neighbourhood. Courtyard living promotes aspects of community life and more manageable neighbourhoods. A belt of gardens in front forms a subtle filter between the landscape and the residential area. Diverse spatial sequences link private garden areas, communal residential courtyards, neighbourhood squares and public open-space axes with one another while establishing a small-scale hierarchy of recreational and meeting spaces in the neighbourhood.

The dense, currently almost impenetrable floodplain forest is thinned and preserved in fragments, creating an intriguing interplay between dense and shady groves of trees and open and sunny meadow areas. A serpentine floodplain path runs through the meadow space and plays with its fluctuating proximity to the water. To the south, the zone of transition to the main road is enlivened by a densely paced activity belt. In contrast to quieter horticultural uses in the garden belt between the new residential quarter and the Ohne meadows, the activity belt functions as an area for more noise-intensive recreation.