Development aid for the first world

摘要

In the second row Raiffeisenplatz in Feldkirch is a special place. A stone's throw from Katzenturm, Herrengasse and the Domplatz, it occupies a very central position and yet is in a kind of backyard situation, in the slipstream of Palais Liechtenstein. Here you feel nothing of the bustle of the inner-city pedestrian zones: the square is hidden in the second row, so to speak. The route that crosses it spreads at the middle to form a group of benches, tall mature sycamores cast their shadows across an area of lawn that is raised around 30 cm and surrounded by a stone wall. It is, in part, very wide and hollowed somewhat so that water collects there. There is no fountain. "If you see Raiffeisenplatz from an aerial view, you might think that it looks like a really nice place to spend time", says architect Martin Mackowitz, whose office ma_ma is a workspace for interactive architecture.