Evaluation

There are no standardised methods for the evaluation of image archives. Formulating questions and developing adequate forms regarding the evaluation and use of this material will be part of the artistic research carried out during this project. The long duration of the project makes it possible to try out different approaches and to collaborate with different partners.

Ongoing monitoring of urban development in Schlieren

Stadt Schlieren/Abteilung Bau und Planung

For the municipal authority, this long-term photographic observation enhances the spatial monitoring performed by means of its information plan, which is updated every six months. The information plan identifies in detail the existing, planned and approved buildings, as well as those under construction within the entire urban area. In addition to this plan the photographs taken during the long-term observation also show changing patterns in the observed locations in terms of architecture, colour, materials, space, vegetation, layout, furnishing and use of the urban area.
In contrast to larger urban areas, there is no professionally maintained architectural archive in the agglomeration area. The local photographer who documented the development of Schlieren for his own interest until the 1990s does not have a successor. The long-term observation creates a photographic local history, which comprehensively documents the current process of transformation in the community.

Metron AG

The long-term observation enables Metron AG to track the implementation of its urban development concept over an extended period. Continuous monitoring of this kind after completion of commissioned work does not usually occur in everyday planning. If at all, an urban development concept is usually only reviewed in terms of its effectiveness at planning level. The photo series facilitate a shift from the bird’s-eye view of the plan to an observation of the city at eye level. In this sense, the photographic observation extends the existing methods used to deal with the situation on on-site, such as site inspections. The partners of Metron AG found this reference back to actual locations to be very productive as early as the initial phase of the project in 2005/06. Only intensive examination of the image stock in 2005 and writing captions for the 63 overall views led to more precise definition of what impact the urban development concept could and should have on the respective specific locations.
At urban planning and functional level, the objectives of the urban development concept were largely implemented in the areas to be restructured. However, the detailed observation of the current construction boom in Schlieren based on the image series raises the question for Metron AG as to the relationship between urban design and architectural implementation.

Project “Visual and auditory perception dispositifs” 2012/13

At the halfway point of the long-term observation in 2012/13, the research project “Visual and auditory perception dispositifs” was implemented in conjunction with the Auditory Architecture Research Unit (AARU) at Berlin University of the Arts and sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) (project team: Alex Arteaga, Ulrich Görlich, Rohit Jain, Thomas Kusitzky, Meret Wandeler). The AARU at Berlin University of the Arts has been carrying out a long-term auditory observation in Schlieren since 2007. Sound recordings have been made every two years at 24 locations throughout the urban area. Representatives from Schlieren’s Department of Building and Planning and Metron AG were involved as practice partners. The project is documented at www.wahrnehmung-agglomeration.ch.

The image series from the long-term observation can be analysed from various perspectives. As information media, they enable changes which occur at certain locations to be tracked, for instance showing the buildings which have been constructed or demolished and how the road design and the layout and use of urban areas changes. As aesthetic artefacts, as “images”, they simultaneously open up access to the sensual and emotional, i.e. the aesthetic, perception of space. However, access to this aesthetic dimension requires a particular form of interaction between the image and the viewer. Focusing on aesthetic perception is an activity that requires a specific approach by the viewer and a willingness to submit to this mode of perception. The photographic material also requires specific presentation conditions.

Conception of perception dispositifs

The starting point for the joint research project with the AARU at Berlin University of Arts was the question of how to provide access to the aesthetic dimension of changes in Schlieren by cross-linking the photographs and sound recordings taken as part of the long-term observations. Different configurations and installations of photographs and sound recordings from indoor and outdoor areas have been developed and tested; so-called perceptual dispositifs. Various types of perception dispositifs, i.e. simultaneous and sequential combinations of images and sounds, different presentation formats (large and small-format inkjet prints, monitors, iPads, closed headphones, free-standing speakers, MP3 players) allow viewers to hear and see the urban space in different ways. Specific questions draw the attention of users of the dispositifs to certain aspects of the presented material: to the structural level (objects, sounds, parameters, relationships), or to the field of connotations, atmospheres and moods. The use of perceptual dispositifs by practice partners Town of Schlieren/Building and Planning Department and Metron AG took place within the framework of two structured workshops, based on a performative approach. Images and sound material exemplary of visual and auditory changes in the town centre, in the former industrial areas, in residential areas and in green spaces were used. Different types of dispositifs dealt with individual sites, selected areas or the urban area as a whole. In connection with the use of the dispositifs, moderated group discussions were held and “Perceptual Maps” were compiled (graphic representations of aesthetic qualities on one plane). In combination with the Perceptual Maps, the workshops also resulted in an edited, condensed text montage of the transcribed group conversations.

Discussion of spatial changes that are perceptible by the senses

The practice partners found that allowing for perception focused on visual and auditory aesthetics was a productive and effective enhancement of the functional, goal-oriented approach of everyday planning. The perception dispositifs made it possible to discuss abstract urban development issues on the basis of specific situations. What does “quality of the living environment” or “enhancement” mean right here, in this street, in this residential area? From the perspective of the Town of Schlieren and Metron AG, the urban planning objectives of the urban development concept of 2005 have largely been achieved. New housing has been built in the former industrial areas and the transformation of the town centre is underway. However, examination of the photographs and sound recordings taken in these areas also created room for a controversial discussion of these developments, in particular their appearance and atmosphere. The newly built-up areas were described on the one hand as structured, well-designed, and thanks to the additional living space, enhanced - in a positive sense. Contrary to their expectations, however, the workshop participants found these recently completed new building projects to have less variety and to be more uniform than the interim state of the previous years. The random and fragmented juxtaposition of commercial, residual agricultural and residential properties, the temporary uses, the presence of users in the public space - for example the second-hand car dealers with their hand-painted signs - the industrial wastelands with their native vegetation, the haptic qualities of different states of preservation, the width and openness of the urban landscape as observed at the beginning of documentation – all of the above issues arose during comparison with the latest photographs of the new urban areas and settlements, but were no longer simply viewed as negatives but increasingly as specific qualities of the agglomeration area. The continuation of the long-term observation will show how these new residential areas come to life and how they will be used. Another point discussed critically was the relationship between the new builds and the existing housing stock. Photographs from the centre of Schlieren prompted discussion of whether the focus on the importance of the former village centres for the identity of a municipality remains pertinent, or whether other types of area should be identified, such as the gasworks area in Schlieren. series with varying degrees of change made the relationship between dynamism and stagnation clear. A new town is springing up on the plain along the east-west axis that is barely connected to the rural residential areas on the hillside.

The experiences in the workshops have made it clear that an assessment of developments at a given location, as enabled by the photographs and sound recordings in the form of perception dispositifs, may differ from an assessment on the basis of plans and statistical data. This has resulted in the realisation that it was important to systematise and develop the existing methods for dealing with a particular location (such as site visits) within the planning process. The discussion of the changes in Schlieren has enabled the identification of issues that are relevant to further planning in the Limmat Valley. How can the variety of sensory experience opportunities that arise from the coexistence of different uses characteristic of agglomeration areas be retained during gentrification and densification processes? How can the relationship of width/openness and closeness be deliberately shaped as a specific quality of suburban areas? How can the uniformity of new development areas be reduced by deliberate retention of the existing housing stock, and how can the visibility of different layers of time be promoted? Which “places with a surplus in significance” are important for the identity of a municipality or a region?

Evaluation of the urban development of Schlieren 2005-2013

In 2013/14, Schlieren’s Building and Planning Departement carried out a comprehensive evaluation of urban development since 2005 in conjunction with ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and Planpartner AG. Components 3 and 5 of this evaluation used images from the photographic long-term observation. The final report with a summary of all the components of the evaluation (statistical analysis, spatial monitoring, population survey, stakeholder survey, photographic long-term observation, socio-geographical perspectives) can be viewed online at http://www.schlieren.ch/dl.php/de/5405ccf153463/140313_Schlussbericht_V1.pdf

The interim reports can be downloaded from the website of the Town of Schlieren at „Publikationen“: https://secure.i-web.ch/gemweb/schlieren/de/bauenwohnen/bauen/vorhabenmain/satzungen/

Component 3: Survey of the population by the Institute for Environmental Decisions (UNS) at ETH Zurich.

The UNS at the ETH Zurich carried out a written survey of the population on behalf of Stadt Schlieren. This was part of the “Sustainable Urban Patterns” (NRP 65) research project at ETH Zurich. A questionnaire was sent to 3,000 adult residents of Schlieren and subsequently evaluated. The questions focussed on local attachment and the quality of urban life. To assess the visual perception of urban change, ETH Zurich/UNS included five selected image series from the long-term observation in the questionnaire, which were evaluated using the semantic differential method.
PDF interim report, component 3: http://www.schlieren.ch/dl.php/de/5405dd209626f/Baustein3_Bevolkerungsbefragung.pdf

Component 5: Analysis of image sequences by Schlieren’s Building and Planning Departement

Component 5 of the evaluation consisted of the analysis of 25 selected image series from the long-term observation by Barbara Meyer, project manager for urban development, and her colleague Nathalie Stumm. Based on their experiences in the project “Visual and auditory perception dispositifs”, and with reference to the semantic differential method used by ETH Zurich/UNS for the population survey, they developed a grid of evaluation criteria for the image series. As already shown in the workshops organised as part of the “Visual and auditory perception dispositifs” project, in contrast to the analysis of statistical data, the evaluation of images does not provide any explicit results but opens up room for a controversial perception of change.
PDF interim report, component 5: http://www.schlieren.ch/dl.php/de/5405cb473b4e3/Baustein5_Langzeitbeobachtung.pdf

Exhibition of the results of the evaluation in Schlieren town hall

In September 2014, the exhibition “Schlieren im Wandel” (Schlieren in Transition) made the results of the evaluation of the urban development project accessible to the population. The entire image archive of overall views from the long-term observation was displayed as an installation on monitors in the foyer of the town hall. This made the photographic long-term observation available to population groups including those who rarely visit museums or who are not addressed by the German-language media.

Project: “Schlieren Transformation Biographies”

How do local residents experience the changes in Schlieren in their everyday life? How do they perceive the transformation of their habitat? These questions were the starting point for the project “Schlieren Transformation Biographies,” which was conducted in 2016 in association with the University of Zurich’s Institute for Social Anthropology and Empirical Cultural Studies ISEK. In this project-based seminar, MA students created ethnographic video portraits that present different perspectives on transformation: long-time residents and new arrivals, residents and commuters, Swiss nationals and foreigners. The Long-term photographic observation was the starting point for the choice of interview partners. Based on image series selected from the archive, the participating students searched for people who either lived or worked at the location shown and were willing to share their experiences in Schlieren. Interviews were based on ethnographic interview guidelines developed during the seminar. The 14 detailed video interviews were condensed on average into three to six-minute portraits and assembled into the film “8952 Schlieren im Wandel.” Without claiming to be exhaustive, these short portraits depict spatial transformation processes in the urban conglomeration from the internal perspective of local residents. Interviewees discuss a range of issues from their individual point of view: urban development, such as inward densification, dealing with green spaces, traffic, neighbourhood relations, identity and belonging in the force field between urban and village life, change as loss or gain.

Faculty:
Thomas Hengartner, Artan Hajrullahu, University of Zürich/ISEK
Ulrich Görlich, Meret Wandeler, Zurich University of the Arts /IFCAR, MFA

Students:
Natalie Sabrina Borsy, Curdin Capol, Lisa Fotsch, Sara Lo Frano, Melissa Ann Kaul, Pauline Lüthi, Ana Luisa Baumann-Santiago Martinez, Maria Rifuggio, Yvonne Simmen, Gabriella Sontheim, Philip Zsifkovits.

Final evaluation

The final evaluation of the Photographic Long-Term Observation Schlieren will be published in the two-volume book publication "Stadtwerdung im Zeitraffer", which will be published by Scheidegger & Spiess, Zurich in a German and English edition in early 2023. In addition to a comprehensive visual presentation and evaluation of the image archive from an artistic-photographic perspective, the urban development of Schlieren and the potential of the method of photographic long-term observation are analyzed and discussed in an interdisciplinary manner from various perspectives of spatial research and photography.

coming soon ...
book titel in english ...

Image concept:
Meret Wandeler, Ulrich Görlich

Author:s:
Anne Brandl, Marcel Jäggi, Claudia Moll, Markus Nollert with Giovanni Di Carlo and Roman Streit, Caspar Schärer, Thomas Seelig, Meret Wandeler, Reto Westermann

Design:
Elektrosmog

Editors:
Meret Wandeler, Ulrich Görlich, Caspar Schärer

www.scheidegger-spiess.ch

zhdk

metron

stadt schlieren