Staff Research Profiles

Design

This competition entry won an honourable mention. The design for a soundwall on the A10 Tauernautobahn road, Vienna, Austria, is by Mackenzie, in collaboration with Kim Thornton and Gunther Koppelhuber of KMT Architects, Vienna. The team worked closely with acoustic and structural engineers to develop folds in timber structure that would reduce noise emissions from the highway. The multi-disciplinary approach led not only to structural innovation but also to realisation of the potential of landscape architectural input at both macro and micro scales. At a macro scale the structure responded to the rhythms and changes of a regional landscape. At a micro scale, alternative surface coatings and timber preservation treatments were used to initiate a stratified banding of lichen colonisation on the structure itself, the dual purpose of which was to enhance the aesthetic of the wall that drivers could respond to but also to provide a inner layer for noise absorption. Instead of hiding highways behind noise protection walls, creating a monotonous journey, the goal of the submission is to increase the relationship with and perception of the surrounding Alpine landscape, while simultaneously reducing noise emissions. The project consists of combined noise protection measures such as plantings, earth walls, and folded wooden walls to accent particular areas requiring special attention from the driver. The folded panels subtly provoke a decrease in speed, increasing the driver's cognition at entrance and exit ramps, parking areas, emergency exits and calling boxes. At the same time, the folds may serve in certain areas as information panels for the tourism-based region. Transparent panels open views onto the wealth of natural and cultural elements in the landscape. The planting strategy on the outside of the walls encourages long-term and seasonal changes. A lactose coating steers the growth of lichen, and time becomes a design element.