IFLA Conference, Zurich

I attended the IFLA conference at the end of term in Zurich, Scales of Nature. The conference was very interesting and eclectic. Amazing how many non-landscape architects attended! A huge emphasis on large scale: city, regional and country-wide planning, with a very strong focus on Green Infrastructure, ecosystem services and related matters. Particularly provocative was a keynote speaker who drew the conclusion that Switzerland was a fundamentally urban country!

The trouble was that the weather outside was sweltering and it was hard to stay indoors when the rest of the city seemed to be diving into lakes and rivers at every opportunity. Its a great city with a huge lake front and two rivers running out of the lake and through the city. All sorts of informal waterside spaces have been created and they were buzzing well into the night, with people combining swimming, diving and beer drinking in ways that would make the UK Health and Safety Executive's hair stand on end. Highlights for me were the riverside, the regeneration of the industrial westside including the huge and hardcore TurbinenPlatz, but above all the MFO (Machinen Fabriek Oerliken) Park which is an almost religious experience. A few snaps here to give some sense of the place.