Comment of the Holcim Awards 2005 Jury for Europe
The project's overall strength lies in increasing the performative capabilities of the landscape and giving its inherent qualities a convincing architectonic expression through the introduction of new sustainable uses for the recovered structures located on the site.
Although proposed for a large area of the selected region, the work is scale independent and therefore applicable to other projects. Also to be credited is the collaborative symbiosis of university, private industry, and local representatives.
The project demonstrates a high ethical standard in combining historic preservation and contemporary architectural expression to conserve the identity giving latitude of the structures.
The concept for self-sustaining buildings - waterpower - is ecologically sensitive while at the same time introduces a convincing financial model for long-term improvement of the economic condition of the region.
While the ensemble of the buildings was given special attention, the individual interventions manifest a successive, continuous impact, thus making a revitalization of the valley easily conceivable.
With acute contextual awareness, the project displays a high degree of skill in coordinating diversity as well as maintaining an aesthetic balance between existing and new structures.