The Tummelplatz is a place that caters to a wide range of people and activities, it is a mix of different spaces and uses. The proposed design celebrates these unique characteristics and creates a series of inviting open areas. These spaces are connected by a green-blue pathway, adorned with trees, green spaces, and rain gardens, which also help with water management and cooling. The natural topography is taken into account here in the design.

The design embraces the contours of the central plaza, creating spots where people can gather. It’s a flexible layout that accommodates various activities, encouraging people to linger, pass through, and enjoy the place. A moved-out podium creates seating steps and frames the square, as well as tree plantings in the tight corset of pipes in the ground. There is also space for an occasional central water feature.

With a focus on sustainability and timelessness, the chosen materials blend harmoniously with the surroundings, adding to the overall appeal of the Tummelplatz. The lighting design enhances the ambiance, making the place even more inviting. Inclusivity is also a key aspect, as the design aims to improve accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists. Integrated into the diverse mobility needs of a pedestrian zone and shared space in Graz’s old town, which also takes into account loading zones, disabled parking spaces and bicycle parking facilities.

Place: Graz, AUT

Partner: Kollektif landscape

Year: 2023

Place: Graz, Austria

Partner: Quantuum consulting, TU Graz, Studio Magic

Year: 2023

The Vademecum is based on four principles: (1) a high-quality cycling route network as a basis; (2) an accessible infrastructure for cyclists aged 8 to 80; (3) a growing number of cyclists and an increasing diversity of users and (4) cycling infrastructure considered from the perspective of the cyclist.

The Vademecum on Bicycle Facilities is intended to be a “live” and dynamic document, which will be regularly adapted and adjusted based on new insights, developments, or responses from the different users.

Artgineering together with the VUB was commissioned by the Flemish agency AWV and Fietsberaad to provide the process, content and design. 

Year: 2022

Client: Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer (AWV), FIETSBERAAD Vlaanderen

Partner: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) – Cosmopolis 

In a joint observation walk and workshop with city representatives on potentials, goals, expectations and barriers, guidelines and ideas for Dammallee were developed and essential design elements were identified that could guide the planned redesign of Dammallee. The collaborative workshop was introduced by a public lecture about “Rethinking Public Spaces” and a first analysis of the area.  

Dammallee is a tangential street from the densely built-up Bayreuth city center with a large pedestrian zone. It is already a green axis along the historic city wall – between the dense inner-city Gassenviertel and the heterogeneous, mixed-use surroundings up to the busy ring road. The Dammallee is characterized by the historic city wall running parallel to it, along which closed residential blocks and solitary buildings form pockets of open space of different sizes and uses. Today, Dammallee has a lot of space for cars and very little space for people to meet and hang out. In the near future, the Dammallee will form part of the planned bicycle city ring. It runs along the Sendelbach, which is canalized in this section, and can be a piece of the puzzle and a connecting element between various green spaces.

Year: 2022

Client: Stadt Bayreuth

The masterplan Radoffensive Graz 2030 commissioned by the Land Steiermark and the city of Graz is more than just a handbook for cycling planning. On the one hand, it is a summary of an ongoing process, and on the other hand, it formulates an integral image of urban mobility for the future. Clear values, concise planning principles, a design concept and a bundled catalogue of measures are the product of multidisciplinary cooperation. This master plan supports the public authorities (departments of the City of Graz and the Province of Styria) and accompanying expert planners in the implementation of the €100 million project Cycle Offensive 2030. Based on the cycle network study of the Styrian core conurbation, existing plans are upgraded and new plans are initiated. The associated master plan sets new standards for a sustainable and intensive use of the bi- cycle. Investments in cycling are furthermore activated as a means of improving the city as a whole.

The masterplan includes a bicycle guidance system for recreational and functional cycling within the city and the entire region of the Land Steiermark. The focus is put on the road surface as the ‘user interface’: colour and markings are used as the primary design elements. Signage and digital applications are additional, secondary elements. The aim is an intuitive to use, self-explaining guidance system for all bicycle users.

Artgineering established the masterplan, the physical guidance system and currently accompanies the city and region on several pilot projects about bicycle streets and (transport-)bike parking. Stefan Bendiks was appointed the Masterplanner of the Radoffensive 2030.

Place: Graz, Austria
Client: Land Steiermark/ Stadt Graz
Year: 2020-
Value: +- 150.000,- euro (excl. tax)

Public urban spaces in Austrian small and medium-sized towns are still predominantly allocated in favor of motorized individual traffic (driving or parking), resulting in significant social and ecological impacts that require urgent action. The ongoing developments in the transportation system, with a continuously increasing motorization rate outside urban core zones, along with a societal mobility culture that remains heavily reliant on cars, are having a progressively negative influence on opportunities for social participation and gender-equitable usage. Furthermore, there’s a risk of losing the functionality of public spaces for active mobility, and the slow pace of ecological transformation of urban areas in terms of climate change adaptation.

Despite decision-making and planning processes being built on a traditional, negotiated framework, they are notably inflexible and hinder the necessary redistributive efforts in urban spaces. This is where the Tactical Mobilism project comes into play. The project aims to establish time-limited, simple, and cost-effective interventions in the transportation sector, such as new traffic management, reassignment of spaces, additional design elements, and greenery, as well as functional programming. The particularly crucial aspect is the collaborative and participatory develop- ment and testing of such interventions in public spaces within a so-called “real-world laboratory.” This approach opens up new perspectives, prompts the necessary rethinking among stakeholders, and can trigger a transformation in mobility culture.

The spatial intervention mechanisms intentionally implemented in the Tactical Mobilism project are aimed at improving their integration into existing planning and decision-making processes, thereby creating room for inclusive and sustainable mobility and quality of stay. The city of Villach, as a project partner and pilot city, provided the space for the first Tactical Mobilism real-world laboratory within the project. The experiences gained here can serve as a model and example for other cities in Austria and beyond. Drawing from the insights, follower cities can learn, incorporate processes and concepts, and utilize them for their transforma- tion and innovation processes. The physically tangible elements and pro- cedural insights tested in Villach have been summarized in a guide.

Place: Villach, AUT

Partner: TU Graz, TU Wien, queraum, planum

Year: 2021

The study is not (only) about cycling, it about active mobility as means to achieve vital, liveable, inclusive and healthy neighbourhoods. It addresses accessibility for all: young- old, for all genders, ethnicities and abilities. The project promotes behavioural change and formulates practical guidelines for the transformation of neighbourhoods, taking into account all users.

To realize this project, the Flemish state architect and Fietsberaad Vlaanderen together set up a collaboration. The study combines spatial planning and cycling policy, a top-down and bottom-up approach; as well as design practice and academic research. Artgineering with the support of VUB (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) and in collaboration with different municipalities, researched for inspiring examples, strategies and hands-on design principles.

This plea for ‘lively neighbourhoods, inspires municipalities and other actors who can contribute to the design and realisation of cycle friendly, lively neighbourhoods. The findings on the importance of network, proximity, aesthetics, ecology and process are bundled in a brochure with international best-practices. The study resulted in concrete follow-up projects for the actual transformation of several neighbourhoods into ‘Leefbuurten’ in Flanders. 

Haren benefits from a very dense and ancient network of paths and tracks. Taken together, these connections represent a total network of around 10 km. However, in recent years, many of these paths and tracks have disappeared, some being incorporated into infrastructure projects, others into housing projects and others extinguished by not being used for thirty years. The City of Brussels, wishing to preserve and complete the network of footpaths that still exist with a view to promoting soft mobility while preserving the rural character of this part of the city, has decided to create a network of footpaths and pathways.

Machelen, has embarked on a path inventory and upgrading project. The project, carried out by the City of Brussels’ Planning Department, involved updating and digitising the atlas of Haren’s byways. This work was the starting point for the analysis of the state of the network of paths and tracks in Haren. At the same time, the City of Brussels set up a participatory process to consult and involve local residents in the reflections on this inventory. The process involves identifying and prioritising the connections and proposing a network to be preserved and completed, as well as an action plan to preserve, enhance and promote the paths and tracks in Haren.

The ‘Vade-mecum sentiers et chemins de Haren’ project, which is based on preliminary studies and information, consists of drawing up a practical guide defining specific developments for paths and tracks. The aim is to increase their use and visibility, making them more attractive and optimising their management.

The study consists of 2 parts: Analysis of the existing situation and Vision of the projected situation.

Place: Haren, Belgium
Client: Brussels city

Partner: Trage Wegen
Year: 2021

The urban space will not only be a square, but also a park and garden, without compromising its intensive use as a stage for the weekly market and other events. It will be a place to gather, play soccer, barbecue or picnic as well. A green edge with trees, plantations, water and seating areas frames the wide central area with lawns.

Through traffic is excluded, creating more space for cyclists and pedestrians, and shopkeepers can hence activate the perimeter of the square. As a result, the Grote Markt will be reintegrated into the urban fabric, as a place to meet and stay.

The water features also serve for peak storage, cooling and water filtering, thus acting as a climate regulator for the inner city. The lawn subsides in the south to the underground car park: a first step towards a transformation to a more sustainable infill with a pleasant underground bike parking facility, a coffee bar and a bicycle repair shop.

Place: Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
Client: Municipality of Sint-Niklaas
Partners: ALS_O (LAMA, SWECO, Daniel Ost)
Year: 2020 (implementation 2024)