Competition for AgriCo: Team with Basler & Hofmann convinces with a modular timber construction for the future parking garage
The competition team of Basler & Hofmann (engineering), AFF (architecture), Metron (urban transportation) and Emch+Berger (cost estimate) has won first prize in the project competition for the new "AgriCo" parking garage in Fribourg. AgriCo is one of the most important economic development projects in the canton of Fribourg. The site is set to become the leading campus for food and biomass in Switzerland by 2034.
AgriCo wants to develop into a sustainable industrial site on an area of 280,000 square meters. Around 1,600 people are expected to work on site by 2024. As the first of several large-scale projects on the site, the Cantonal Institute for Active Land Policy (KAAB) carried out a two-stage study contract in a selective procedure for a parking garage, from which the team led by Basler & Hofmann emerged as the winner.
A modular timber construction with 1,400 parking spaces
The "Ligne durable" project impressed the jury with its sustainable, modular approach: "Intelligent, innovative and sustainable: Ligne Durable goes beyond a simple parking garage and already integrates a possible future conversion of the spaces," explained Giancarlo Perotto, Director of KAAB. The mobility platform will be partly made of wood. In addition to around 1,400 parking spaces, there will also be a connection to public transport. The competition team designed the foundations and the structure in such a way that, on the one hand, the required number of parking spaces was achieved and, on the other, there is maximum flexibility with regard to future uses. The parking spaces can easily be converted into parking spaces for bicycles, for example, in line with developments in urban transportation. In addition, some of the floor slabs consist of removable elements, so that part of the parking garage could be converted into laboratories or offices, for example, if required.
Showcase for renewable energy
The future parking garage also impressed the jury in terms of energy. On the one hand, photovoltaic panels will be installed on the roof. Secondly, the piles from the foundations of the building can be used to generate geothermal energy.