we were asked to develop a scenario for brunau / au that provided for an increase of households and of agricultural territory including new public space. we worked in three groups and designed a short term, a middle term, and a long term vision.

the first step was an infill strategy, in the second phase new typologies of houses were developed, that made it possible for cows and people to cohabitate, and finally, in a third step, the housing would back out into the hill, leaving the flat land to the cows.

in order to avoid building on potentially productive land in the first phase, a set of rules to identify possible sites for new living substance was defined. we declared four different types of sites: in the shadow of existing buildings, around noisy industrial buildings, on narrow sites between houses and a street, and between existing houses. because these sites are usually undesirable, as an incentive the clients were allowed to follow alternative building rules going beyond the existing laws.

during the development, already built areas become more dense, while the spaces between remain untouched and can be used for agriculture. as an option, this process could be iterated to use the vacant lots more effectively. by dismantling the old substance, new public places are created in the middle of the newly built houses.