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Live Cast
followed by VIGIL SERVICE at 7:00pm all at St
memorials are suggested to Heart Heroes or Talia Krumbach Memorial Scholarship Fund care of Methodist Hospital Foundation
To view live broadcasts of the Vigil Service and Mass, please visit www.heafeyheafey.com and click the “View Live Cast” button at the top of the home page
passed away peacefully after her lengthy battle with CHD (congenital heart disease) on Monday
Talia was born to Brent Krumbach and Jill Lund on May 5
she looked forward to this fall when she would attend Millard West as a freshman and cheerleader
Though Talia had battled with heart irregularities since before birth
From experimental surgery in-utero to six open-heart surgeries
she became a superhero to all who knew her
with an unforgettable smile and a love of bacon
She was also a member of Heart Heroes where she found an honorary family among children with similar heart conditions
May God’s blessings be with you all
8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness
will award to me on that day—and not only to me
but also to all who have longed for his appearing
Our deepest sympathy and prayers are with you and your family
Beautiful memories will continue to live on of sweet Talia
May you hold those memories close to you and continue to share with everyone close to you
Talia still lived a full live with her family
A heartwarming story that is surely filled with warm memories
Sending you all prayers for peace and comfort
Talia’s smile and joy was infectious.May you hold the best memories close to your heart
Porter and families… our sincere condolences 💐 as you journey the loss of Talia
RIP Talia… heaven gained a sweet angel 👼… prayers and hugs 🫂 for all
Her smile was so infectious and will be missed
Our thoughts and prayers are with Your entire family
Gentle heart hugs from one chd family to another
She has a contagious smile that I will never forget
Jill and families you are all in my prayers
So blessed to have so many happy memories with Talia
Our hearts break 💔 at the loss of sweet Talia and remain so blessed to have the time we did have with her
Those around her supported her in living her best life
She loved so many things and always wanted to have “Fun”
Talia is such a beautiful spirit and inspiration to all who met her
Thalia will always be a princess in my heart
She was a heart princess but also a perseverance princess as she faced so many challenges she remained a positive and smiling girl
I am happy I had the chance to see her shine
What a beautiful soul with a contagious smile
My heart goes out to everyone who loves her
Talia was a special young lady who was so dearly loved and shared an incredible bond with her Aunt Bridget
I was lucky enough to start each morning of Talia’s 6th grade year with her
Thankful to have experienced her kind and sweet personality
Taila is an inspiration and always will be
She was a special little gal that touched so many lives
You will remain in our thoughts and prayers
Talia touched so many family and friends who will keep her memory and spirit alive
My thoughts and prayers go out to all of her family and friends
I will never forget Talia’s beautiful smile and sweet raspy voice
Talia you will always be remembered as a hero
Talia lived her best life and we were privileged to be a part of it
loving and brave girl who was beautiful inside and out
somewhere along the way….Talia’s grandma
My deepest sympathies to your family and May God Bless You
Talia’s legacy will live on in the hearts of all who knew her
I will never forget her big smile and blonde hair
There are no words to take away your pain today; but know that memories will sustain your love forever
Miss Talia truly touched so many lives in her short time here with us
She should be an inspiration to us all as how to live life without any complaints and always a smile
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the most famous son of Krumbach was Franz Tausend
his process for extracting gold from base metals attracted the attention of the Nazi Party as it sought to increase its wealth
Hitler’s inner circle invested heavily in the mining operation
as did several residents in the sleepy Bavarian town
only for the project to collapse when Tausend absconded to a lavish castle bought in his wife’s name in northern Italy
It is perhaps no surprise then that there are no monuments to him
but some claim Tuchel also vanished without a trace
“One of his former classmates said it’s like he never lived here,” says Florian Eisele
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When the German starts to get more musical and the words start to lose letters but gain S’s
you know you’re in the south west of the country
Some of the train stops on the way to Krumbach
a small town in the Bavarian part of Swabia
are so small they have no more than a concrete bus shelter to accompany the sign
Some are places only stopped at if requested
For a coach who went to London via Dortmund and Paris
Thomas Tuchel’s hometown feels like a different planet
Krumbach’s downtown area has the familiar idyll of many small German towns — buildings of different colours huddled together in a patchwork manner around a timber-frame town hall and baroque churches
and a narrow flow of water that residents somewhat generously refer to as a river
Krumbach has grown in size in recent years
largely thanks to an influx of people from the Bavarian city of Augsburg looking for more affordable living space
this is not the kind of place where “people put their elbows out” to those who are not from the area
Perhaps this conviviality is also the result of a community reliant on restaurant business
There must be more than 20 in the tiny downtown
ranging from Bavarian specialities to China Town and Da Piero
The abundance of options is not untypical for Bavaria
a region that prides itself on good food and beer gardens
Linus Walter and some friends are making benches to replace the broken concrete stand
With the Friday night match called off due to too many COVID-19 cases in the away team
they had plenty of time to touch up the ground
Walter was born in Krumbach and lives around the corner from the ground
other than when I’m with my girlfriend,” he says
which is technically the ninth division of German football but it is far more complicated than that due to regional subdivisions
where his father Rudolf was his first coach
helping his team win the German Schools Championship in Berlin in 1987
Yet despite the club’s connections with the European Cup-winning manager, there are no reminders of Tuchel’s time at TSV Krumbach. Inside the club house, there is no sign of Tuchel on the wall. There are no words of pride for the Chelsea manager among the team’s players
the Krumbach players take part in a training session
Afterwards they order food and drink from Inge
the woman who has run the club house for 30-odd years and without whom the post-training Schnitzel and beer wouldn’t exist
“Why would I go anywhere when it’s so beautiful here,” she says
bringing with it phrases like “move the ball wide” and the classic German “klatschen lassen” (literally translated as clap back
usually back to the initial passer of the ball)
The conversation then moves onto the Bundesliga
how difficult it is to properly go out on a Friday night in Krumbach
and how proud they are the club is now going strong despite having been virtually on the floor five years ago
Everything about the evening is emblematic of local club football in Germany
Perhaps that is what makes it hard to believe that Tuchel was born and lived here
My hotel receptionist proudly announced the “FIFA Coach of the Year” was from this town
but when asked for more details about Tuchel
it doesn’t feel like a place deeply connected to Tuchel
which is perhaps unsurprising given he was already out of town playing for Augsburg’s youth teams aged 15
although his parents still have links to the town
is on the town council and does an enormous amount of social work
it feels much more like her town than her son’s
Jurgen Klopp’s hometown of Glatten also boasts rolling fields
but Krumbach is effectively a teeming metropolis compared to this village 161km further west
The closest train station is in Dornstetten
a slightly larger town two miles further up the valley
There are no taxis here and the bus service is sporadic at best
It is amusing to think Klopp’s dissertation was on power walking
because reaching his hometown without a car requires a great deal of that
a path through the thick of the Black Forest looms
Accompanied only by a quiet brook and the stillness of the forest
the road to Glatten is somewhat magical if also intimidatingly isolated
That appears to be a conscious choice though as
the tiny village emerges like a cloud in the valley
many of whom are out are in their gardens or allotments tending to plants or trees
Easter decorations are on sale on a quiet street corner
The prices are attached but no one is around to buy or sell them
but the River Glatt softly runs through an area with a roundabout and a bakery
so the bar in the other corner will be open at some point
but probably not before the football starts at three
my wife asked me what it was like and I said
I joke we’re closer to the 2010s,” Tore-Derek Pfeifer
the mayor of Glatten for the last 20 years
a far cry from the raucous atmosphere of Anfield or the Westfalenstadion
But there is much more to this little village than meets the eye
It’s just a village but this is Klopp City,” Pfeifer tells me
Pfeifer explains this small farming town has become an industrial hotspot
Glatten is now home to the worldwide leader in vacuum technology and has a production plant for one of the leading manufacturers of injection systems for large diesel engines
It also has speedy broadband connection that some cities in Germany can only dream of
a modern-looking restaurant and shisha bar are under construction
a spot where young people used to have travel to the big city for has now come to them
Behind the veil of tranquility lies a busy productivity
Klopp’s first club is busy getting ready for training on a picturesque field that is bordered by the edge of the forest and the river
there’s not much time to hang around and chat about the past
Perhaps there’s an element of fatigue in the voice of the player on the front step of the club house
“It’s nice to see you but be sure not to hinder the work,” Pfeifer jokes
young people have a different lifestyle and way of approaching things
but at the end of it all everything must be done and if possible perfectly.”
“To toil day and night is a big part of being Swabian”
says former Green party politician Rezzo Schlauch
It is easy to see the origins of some of Klopp’s character through the village
they stick at something they have committed to
and they find great unity in sharing those values
Klopp’s father Norbert played in SV Glatten’s seniors’ football team until he was forty
coached the first team for a season and served as a board member
Jurgen joined the youth team of SV Glatten when he was six years old
his former coach Ulrich Rath said: “Jurgen was a decent tennis player
but in his head he was always a footballer
even if one or two flew wide and high over the goal
I played him as a sweeper but that wasn’t his position
Klopp played for SV Glatten until he switched in his late teens to TuS Ergenzingen
It wasn’t until he was 23 that he signed for Mainz 05
“What moulded him [Klopp] was this feeling of unity
this social togetherness that he still has today.” Pfeifer says
using that wonderful German word Wir-Gefühl (literally translated as “we feeling”)
It’s why there’s a photo of him during his Dortmund days in the club house and, when he won the title with Borussia Dortmund in 2011
Klopp went on stage to make a speech before mixing with the people of Glatten
It’s why he still feels a connection to this village when he visits family and friends here
Blake Krumbach was born and raised in South Dakota but has never spent a summer here
July and August in a camper with his family while they harvested wheat in Oklahoma
he continues the tradition with his wife and toddler daughter — leaving around Memorial Day and returning around Labor Day
"I've always enjoyed being out in the fields and driving the machinery
I don't know anything different," Krumbach
says as he stands next to a combine at the family farm
Three generations of Krumbachs have labored to get the wheat harvested in four states
They make an initial run down to Kansas just to haul the equipment
who has been the chief cook on the harvest trail for 33 years
Blake is the third generation to go on the harvesting trail
"He started the custom harvesting business in 1965 with one machine
one truck and a lot of ambition," says Leigh
And that was before there were luxury campers equipped with satellite TV
Lee Krumbach still lives on the quarter-section where he was born 72 years ago
he was looking to rent some land but couldn't find any
A neighbor had a combine and was going harvesting down south
"I enjoy harvesting and had done a lot of harvesting around home," Lee says
and Krumbach started building his own business
Taking care of their kids on the road was tough — at 6 years
30-foot trailer they hauled behind a pickup
We had a 5-gallon jug of water that we used for baths
and didn't have running water (at the farm) in Parker
they were harvesting with one other man and started hiring others
and the kids started helping as they got old enough
started on the harvest trail when he was 5
He goes harvesting till fall and hauls grain and fertilizer the rest of the time
a jack-of-all trades if you want to stay in this kind of business."
Meeting new people and re-connecting with old friends is one of the best things about the job
He helped raise hisfour children on the harvest trail
Now they're all grown and starting their own families
Living in close quarters during the summer has been a blessing
You learn how to settle disputes quickly because you live in each other's pockets for three months
It's a sentiment that is repeated often by the rest of the harvesting team
Founder Lee doesn't go on the trail anymore — he retired about six years ago — but still farms on his birthplace
spent the summer of her 16th year on the harvest trail to find out if that way of life suited her
'You have to go along for one whole summer
Interacting with new people was a highlight of the journey
and to spend three months away from my family was hard
she married Bruce and was inducted into the harvesting family at age 17
"Our honeymoon was the harvest trail," Bruce says
Leigh hasn't grown weary of the annual trek
She has learned how to cook in large quantities
how to pack — "it's amazing what you can live without," she says — and how to make and appreciate friends
Meeting new people and connecting with old ones continues to be a treasured part of her harvest summers
Harvesting in the same towns for three decades has created a second family
we are cutting the second generation of families
Our kids have grown up together; we've all stayed friends
People wave; you know people in the churches," Leigh says
Between three and seven hired men with their own stocked "bunkhouse" camper go along to help with the harvest
then work from sunup until 9 or 10 at night
cook big meals heavy on stick-to-your-ribs casseroles
The women ferry the food to the field twice a day from their campers
which might be parked on the farmer's land
at the local fairgrounds or at some other designated spot
To commemorate a lifetime of shared summers
Leigh put together the book "A Harvest Journey" two years ago
The compilation of recipes and harvesting memories is available at Twigs and Treasures
but many food supplies are purchased on the road because there is little storage in the campers
but the grocery store didn't always have what I needed
"I wing it." That means food shopping nearly every day
she spends most of her time immersed in food buying
"It's a good thing I like to cook," Leigh jokes
there were no summer baseball leagues or pool outings for Blake
He grew up on the harvest trails and started driving the equipment in the fields when he was 11 or 12
"When you ride around in a combine when you're little
But he insists his summers on the road were like most boys' summers
I would meet a lot of town kids and go over to their houses
ride bikes and do all the stuff little boys like to do."
Blake thought he might like to do something else
and there was no pressure to carry on the legacy
"We were OK with anything he wanted to do," says his dad
Blake earned a business degree from the University of South Dakota
"I realized I didn't want to sit in an office my whole life
We've been going to the same town in Oklahoma for 30 years
I have a lot of friends there that I met when I was younger," he says
Blake acquired mechanic skills from all those years as a kid helping his grandpa
Now I do most of our mechanic and repair work on the trucks and combines
She grew up on a farm and had some idea of what her life would be like as a traveling harvester
baby Briar was 6 months old when they went on the road
it takes a little bit of time to get adjusted
they've rigged up a permanent crib with storage underneath
but it's usually pretty enjoyable being around family," Blake says
Reach reporter Dorene Weinstein at 331-2315
The following recipes are used by the Krumbachs during their custom harvesting tour
• 1 package California Blend frozen veggies
Mix all in a Crock-Pot and cook for 6 hours on low
or bake in oven at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes
chicken broth and water until potatoes are done
Add cream (or half & half); simmer 5 minutes longer
Mix dressing well early in the day and refrigerate
• 1 (3 ounce) package Oriental Style Ramen
Toast sesame seeds and almonds in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden
Sprinkle marshmallows over cake and return to oven for 2-3 minutes
spread marshmallows over cake and return to oven for 2-3 minutes
butter and peanut butter in a small saucepan
austria (above) BUS:STOP sou fujimotoimage © 2014 adolf bereuter
‘our intention is to design a BUS:STOP where people can meet, enjoy the views, and that, furthermore, functions as a landmark in krumbach. both bus passengers and non-bus users can use this bus stop as a meeting point. everyone may climb the tower-like bus stop to enjoy panoramic views of krumbach. a transparent forest of columns can create interesting scenery in a site surrounded by nature.‘ — sou fujimoto
BUS:STOP DVVTimage © 2014 adolf bereuter
‘how it is possible that a simple idea of a roof originates from a constantly re-occurring vision of a sol lewitt drawing, and how that drawing was once positioned between doorbells and a light switch and how then, at one moment in the month of april, between winter and spring, white and colour made that drawing appear completely different and how then a bus stop had to be invented in that month of april.’ — architecten de vylder vinck taillieu of DVVT
BUS:STOP ensamble studioimage © 2014 adolf bereuter
BUS:STOP rintala eggertsonimage © 2014 adolf bereuter
BUS:STOP alexander brodskyimage © 2014 adolf bereuter
‘we tried to design a typical krumbach bus stop.‘ — alexander brodsky
BUS:STOP wang shuimage © 2014 adolf bereuter
BUS:STOP smiljan radicimage © 2014 adolf bereuter
‘I have seen a public space at peace in krumbach. urban exteriors seem to be the natural extension of small, protected interior spaces. zwing BUS:STOP seeks to express this domesticity. we have taken the ‘mould’ of a piece of a ‘stube’ and reproduced its beautiful height, its ceiling figures, and transformed its materiality to create a feeling of familiar estrangement.’ — smiljan radic
happening now! partnering with antonio citterio, AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function, but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style, context, and personal expression.
Joe Krumbach is now getting widower’s benefits from the United States Veteran’s Administration (VA) on behalf of his late husband, Gerald Hatcher, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War.
The email came as Joe Krumbach was stepping off a downtown bus. He had to stop moving, step to the side and take it all in.
“This can’t be real,” he remembered thinking. “What did I just do?”
Well, he finally got what he deserved: widower’s benefits from the United States Veteran’s Administration (VA) on behalf of his late husband, Gerald Hatcher, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War.
In the process, Krumbach, 49, became the first gay person in the state to receive veteran’s benefits as a widower.
“It was really a challenge, but it was something that needed to occur,” said Krumbach, a mortgage banker who lives on Vashon Island. “What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. I wanted to take it on.”
When gay marriage was legalized in this state three years ago, City Hall was packed with beaming couples. Names were changed, and the usual paperwork followed.
But some things, like survivor’s benefits, proved to be harder to suss out.
Krumbach and Hatcher didn’t wait for same-sex marriage to be legal here before throwing a lavish commitment ceremony in 2003. It was officiated by a rabbi and attended by some 200 family members and friends.
Five years later, in 2008, Hatcher died of liver disease, with Krumbach by his side. They had been together for 19 years.
In 2013, after same-sex marriage had been legalized here and in other states, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that denying federal benefits to same-sex married couples was unconstitutional.
So Krumbach applied for retroactive survivor’s benefits, or dependency and indemnity compensation, which is tax-free money paid to survivors of service members who die on duty or who were disabled from service-related causes. (Hatcher had been declared 100 percent disabled because of his post-traumatic stress disorder.)
That required getting the state to change Hatcher’s death certificate to list Krumbach as his spouse.
Krumbach submitted some 40 affidavits signed by those who attended their ceremony, and marriage certificate signed by two witnesses and the rabbi who had officiated.
But in August 2014, the VA rejected Krumbach’s claim for so-called dependency and indemnity compensation, saying that same-sex marriage had not be legal at the time of their union.
Krumbach appealed, and several weeks ago was awarded monthly benefits and a portion of the retroactive benefits — but not dating back to the time of Hatcher’s death, when same-sex marriage was not legal here. Krumbach is still hoping to receive that portion, he said.
Hatcher was drafted long before the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” days of the military. It didn’t matter that he was a gay man, Krumbach said.
“They took all warm bodies,” Krumbach. “And it was a different time.”
Hatcher was shot twice, and received two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars.
“This is a guy who did what he was supposed to for his country,” Krumbach said. “And while I hate the word ‘entitled,’ he’s earned this.”
It’s not clear how many more might be eligible for the benefit, according to his lawyer, David Ward of Legal Voice, who took the case pro bono, because it had “the potential to change the laws for LGBT people.”
“It’s one of those unknowable figures,” Ward said of others who may be eligible. But since Krumbach’s case was settled, he has heard from two people seeking to receive benefits after the passing of their same-sex partners.
The good news is that Washington is ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to issues like child custody, Ward said. Lambda Legal just sued the state of North Carolina for not recognizing two same-sex spouses as the legal parents of a child.
“We had good laws on the books,” Ward said. “It’s a matter of winning justice for people who were, in every way, a married couple.
“It’s nice to be able to win justice for folks who had been denied it.”
Krumbach will not take advantage of the VA’s medical benefits; he’s covered at work, he said, “and I don’t want to take it from someone who needs it more than I do.”
There’s some honor in that — but more in the fact that while Hatcher’s life choices weren’t recognized while he was in the military, they are after his death.
“Every month, I get affirmation of his life, of his service,” Krumbach said, “and everything he did.”
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Hufton + Crow's brilliant photography captures the inimitable originality and sensational quality of the uniquely crafted pavilions embedded within the Austrian landscape
Immerse yourself in Krumbach and check out the latest images after the break
If you have done all of this and still can't find the email
In an inspired move the village of Krumbach
invited seven international architecture firms for a week’s paid holiday in the region in exchange for designing what might be the world’s most innovative bus shelters
the results are a spectacular demonstration of what design can do to elevate banalities of life such as waiting for the bus
The shelters are currently in use in Krumbach
where public bus service operates on an hourly basis
and Jo Taillieu of dvvt created a folding triangular homage to Sol Lewitt and the acute angles of the Alps
Ensamble Studio from Spain was inspired by the rough
untreated oak planks stacked up and left to dry in timber workshops in the Bregenzerwald region
which the architects layered to create a semi-open structure
Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto designed an open structure made of thin
steel rods with a winding staircase that makes no pretense of offering protection against the elements
Inspired by the handicraft and traditions of the area
Chilean architect Smiljan Radic created an outdoor “parlor” consisting of a glass pavilion with a coffered black concrete ceiling
Rustic wooden chairs provide seating and a birdhouse provides distraction
Russian architect Alexander Brodsky built a wooden tower on the edge of a plot of land occupied by a single-family house
A table and bench provide a place to hang out if the bus is late
Pritzker prize–winners Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu from Hangzhou
a conical space that opens to the street and
and Vibeke Jenssen from Norway’s Rintala Eggertsson Architects created a bus shelter that doubles as a spectator stand for the neighboring tennis courts
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The funds for the project were mostly raised privately
which perhaps doesn’t make it the best model for (non-libertarian) city planners
But it does put the bus stops squarely in the tradition of follies—structures that split the difference between architecture and sculpture
The Krumbach bus stops are all the more winking because their conceptual flights of fancy are firmly grounded in quotidian purpose. Except perhaps for Sou Fujimoto’s open, grove-like structure (below), which doesn’t offer much in the way of shelter at all. But at least the bus won’t miss it.
Scroll down for the rest of the designs and statements about them from their architects.
Adolf Bereuter/BUS:STOP KrumbachSou Fujimoto, Japan: “Everyone may climb the tower-like bus stop to enjoy panoramic views of Krumbach. A transparent forest of columns can create interesting scenery in a site surrounded by nature.”
Adolf Bereuter/BUS:STOP KrumbachSmiljan Radic, Chile: “Urban exteriors seem to be the natural extension of small, protected interior spaces. Zwing BUS:STOP seeks to express this domesticity.”
Adolf Bereuter/BUS:STOP KrumbachEnsamble Studio, Spain: “Ensamble Studio’s BUS:STOP for Krumbach explores the appropriation of a local technique used to stack wood planks in the drying barns in the region.”
Adolf Bereuter/BUS:STOP KrumbachArchitekten de Vylder Vinck Taillieu, Belgium: “How it is possible that a simple idea of a roof originates from a constantly re-occurring vision of a Sol LeWitt drawing…”
Adolf Bereuter/BUS:STOP KrumbachRintalaEggertsson Architects, Norway: “The structure becomes the sum of these viewing activities, a gathering and organization of paths of attention.”
Adolf Bereuter/BUS:STOP KrumbachAmateur Architecture Studio, China: “It is like a 120 SLR folding camera that people can sit in.”
Senator Patty Murray honored Vashon resident Joe Krumbach with a Golden Tennis Shoe Award last week. Murray gives the awards every year to “everyday heroes,” people who make a difference in their communities.
Candidates can begin filing at 8 a.m. Monday (May 5) for more than 3,200 seats on city councils, county commissions, school boards, and special districts.
The book was produced by four classes of seventh graders supervised by English teacher Mandy Davis.
King County Sheriff’s Deputies found a deceased person in a car parked in the Mom’s Deli parking lot the afternoon…
The shelters are like magnets for garbage and bodily waste
And your payoff is... ridingon a public bus
But it's a whole other story in Krumbach, Austria, where passengers wait in some of the most stylish kiosks ever to pave the public transportation route
in return for a free vacation in the quaint European region
Architect: Sou Fujimoto (Japan)The offer piqued the architects' interests enough that each entered a design
and their unique bus stops have become a reality, with all seven now put to use
200 local builders and designers began constructing the stops last Summer
Architect: Ensamble Studio (Spain)Each is a sight to behold; from a mega camera and a spiky structure made out of rods to a metallic tent, the bus stops look more like avant-garde sculptures meant for a gallery than a place where people pee, spray graffiti
the town's new street architecture promotes a "successful connection of infrastructure and mobility for the rural area"
Architect: Vydler Vinck Taillieu (Belgium)Take a look at more images of the impressive structures below
and wang shu + lu wenyu (amateur architecture studio)
for additional information on the roadside structures, see designboom’s previous coverage of ‘project BUS:STOP.’
sou fujimoto’s bus stop elevates a staircase amongst a field of slender posts | image © hufton + crow main image: smiljan radic designs a glass-enclosed shelter | image © hufton + crow
taking very different compositional and experiential qualities
the bus stops all seek to relate to the landscape in diverse ways
while providing varying degrees of shelter from weather forces
the structures consistently consider framed views of the hilly context
while indicating with a strong presence where passers-by may catch the regional transit
visitors access the staircase for an improved view of the austrian landscape image © hufton + crow
rintala eggertsson architects compose their bus stop of two volumes with a dramatic cantilever image © hufton + crow
architecten de vylder vinck taillieu creates a folded steel structure to provide a small sheltered area image © hufton + crow
the form touches down at a sharp point on one side image © hufton + crow
wang shu + lu wenyu arrange a timber structure with a visually chaotic truss holding up the cantilevered roof image © hufton + crow
the structure is oriented to frame a view of the distant landscape image © hufton + crow
alexander brodsky has designed a ‘typical’ krumbach bus stop
composed as a wood tower image © hufton + crow
ensamble studio has stacked untreated wood planks to create a sheltered seating area image © hufton + crow
AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function
but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style
For the list of participating offices and to learn more about BUS:STOP, read on.
© Adolf BereuterThe seven international offices invited to participate in the project are:
1. Ensamble Studio Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa of Spain
2. Architecten de Vylder Vinck Taillieu of Belgium
3. Rintala Eggertsson Architects of Finland and Norway
4. Alexander Brodsky of Russia
5. Wang Shu of China
6. Sou Fujimoto of Japan
7. Smiljan Radic of Chile
The seven local architecture office from within Vorarlberg
the greater Austrian state that encompasses the Bregenzerwald region
1. Bechter Zaffignani Architekten
2. DI Thomas Mennel
3. Baumschlager Hutter Partners
4. Dietrich Untertrifaller Architekten
5. Architekt DI Bernardo Bader
6. Architekturwerkstatt Dworzak
7. Architekten Hermann Kaufmann
located at the point where three countries meet
offers visitors a surprisingly rich and dense range of culture
sport and leisure facilities for such a rural area
Architecture plays an important role in attracting around 30,000 tourists annually to the province and is a continuation of the craftsmanship and art that has shaped this region for centuries
© Adolf BereuterSite visits with the international architects have already taken place in Krumbach and their designs are awaited with great excitement. Accompanying the project will be a film and photo documentation, an exhibition and a publication. BUS:STOP Krumbach will hopefully create new impulses for tourism, business and craftsmanship that will have great impact beyond the immediate region.
© Adolf BereuterFor more information on the progress of the project, visit BUS:STOP's website here
Information in English can be found under the right-most tab
Read after the break to find out more about the seven designs.
These practices were chosen for the fact that, despite being well known in the architecture world, they were still "just small offices with sculptural interest." Working in collaboration with local architects
they have designed shelters using local materials and making "comparisons between different vocabularies and schools of thought
2014This article was published more than 10 years ago
Few people may have ever heard of Krumbach before
or be able to tell you a single thing about the tiny village in western Austria
But this month it's garnering international attention for a project that has given its 1,000 inhabitants unique bragging rights – they've got the best bus shelters in the world
invited seven architects from around the world to design and help build bus shelters for the area
although they would get a one-week holiday in the village
this is a group of world-renowned architects such as Japan's Sou Fujimoto
Chile's Smiljan Radic and Pritzker Prize-winners Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu
Few if any of their creations will be recognizable as bus shelters
Replacing all the former shelters in the village with these structures and their sculptural adventurousness will help not only rethink what's possible when it comes to public buildings
The bus shelters were unveiled earlier this month and are now in use
The international media attention the ambitiously whimsical project has garnered has already boosted the area's profile among prospective tourists
It's proof that you can make something as mundane as a bus shelter architecturally inspiring
director of the Architecture Centre Vienna
and Marina Hämmerle from the Vorarlberg Architecture Institute
said that each architect was chosen for a particular reason
"They should be interested in sustainability
local traditions and contexts and have shown their talent as outstanding architects with examples of 'sculptural' ambition," Steiner said in an e-mail
six of the architects visited the village to get a sense of the geography and culture
the architects worked with approximately 200 local craftspeople and architects to make their visions real
Spanish architects Antón Garcí-Abril and Débora Mesa of Ensamble Studio built a bus stop inspired by the stacks of untreated oak planks seen throughout workshops in the region
“From afar it looks like a sculptural object posed on the landscape
From a middle distance like a stack of wood planks recently cut and ready to be transported elsewhere
the interior of the space invites you to enter and experience it
to use it in different ways,” Mesa said in an e-mail
The area’s reputation for wooden architecture is what attracted the Norwegian architecture firm Rintala Eggertsson Architects
with the second floor facing away from the road so that people waiting for the bus can sit and watch a tennis match on the adjacent court
“To build out of wood in Vorarlberg is therefore an honour
It is like being invited to Italy to show how to make good pizza,” Sami Rintala said in an e-mail
Other architects were similarly inspired by the landscape
the bus stop designed by Belgian architects Jan de Vylder
Inge Vinck and Jo Taillieu of the firm dvvt
is a folded triangle inspired by a trip through the Alps on their way to the area
He was inspired more by the poetry of a bus stop than simple utility
“By climbing up the heights overlooking the distance
for your future or overlooking the destination of their own
It is a place for the fundamental act of waiting,” he said through a translator in an e-mail
most of them are more architecturally interesting to look at than they are practical
You could stare at them on a sunny day and be awed
And the novelty of the project no doubt helped to attract the high calibre of participants
an associate professor at Ryerson University’s Department of Architectur`al Science
“Small projects are interesting,” she says
pointing out that Winnipeg hosts an annual competition to design warming huts
structures where cross-country skiers can stop and take a break from the cold
used hundreds of pool noodles to create a geodesic dome
the creative freedom afforded the architects – they were told to build any bus shelter they wanted so long as it had a maximum footprint of six square metres and no energy demands – accounts for the project’s success
Don’t expect anything like these in large urban centres in North America
who is on the design review panel for Metrolinx
the government agency that helps oversee the Greater Toronto Area’s transit system
it would come with all sorts of pre-conditions,” she says
Krumbach’s cultural association plans to do more projects
but they are taking their time to decide what to tackle next
“The bus-stop project was such a great effort for all the voluntarily involved people
so they need some recreational time for the next project.”
Dave McGinn is a reporter for The Globe and Mail
He writes about fitness trends for the Life section and also reports for Globe Arts
covering topics from trying to eat Michael Phelps’ diet to why the Joker is the best villain in comics history
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Austria’s verdant Vorarlberg region is a pioneer in sustainable design
attracting legions of architects and curious visitors who draw inspiration from its breathtaking buildings
Communities in the westernmost state of the Alpine country have opted for beauty
comfort and a careful use of resources since the 1960s
They’re 35 years ahead of us,” said Pierre Leroy
deputy mayor of Puy-Saint-Andre and part of a French delegation of architects and officials on a study trip to Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg’s sustainable architecture is often referred to as “Baukultur” and crops up across the region – from collective housing projects to schools and factories
An exterior view of the community house (left) next to the church in Krumbach in the western Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg
There is a preference for local building materials: white pine and earth replace concrete whenever possible
Architecture in Vorarlberg is defined by its clear
the region’s carpenters and craftspeople enjoy great international recognition and are in high demand
Economy is a guiding principle of the “Vorarlberg school”
which does not shy away from using prefabricated parts to reduce costs – and prioritises energy efficiency
A lot of houses in the region are built to “passive house” standards
which denote buildings with minimal energy needs due to perfected insulation
and the installation of solar panels and heat pumps
A community house in the village of Krumbach makes use of massive triple glazing
while the local Metzler cheese factory was made entirely out of wood and is almost self-sufficient due to its geothermal and solar heating
The renovated Zwischenwasser town hall meanwhile has reduced its heating needs by a factor of four
with its 400,000 inhabitants and 150 architectural offices
Austria's verdant Vorarlberg region is a pioneer in sustainable design
The ingenuity of its people plays a big part too – they have a reputation for being down to earth and proactive
Residents in Krumbach also welcomed collective housing projects instead of separate houses without resistance
“What I’m most proud of is that people are united by a common sense,” said Arnold Hirschbuehl
a former mayor of Krumbach who championed the architecture
He praised the way people used “resources in the most sustainable way possible
Vorarlberg is not traditionally a bastion of the Greens: the majority of people in the westernmost region of Austria vote conservative
“This is a very conservative and Catholic region
People here are pragmatic: they sit down and do things,” said French architect Dominique Gauzin-Mueller
a specialist on Vorarlberg’s wooden architecture
“They are ecological because of their moral values and because they care about their children’s future,” she added
The state government has supported the ecological movement
with considerable subsidies for housing based on strict criteria since 2001
An exterior view of ‘Ernas Haus’
a student accommodation that was recently developed from an old building in Dornbirn
These include the quality of indoor air and usage of ecological materials
Some experts wonder whether the successes seen in Vorarlberg can be repeated elsewhere
The regional style has had an enormous influence on wooden architecture in Europe
Most architects working with wood in France today have visited Vorarlberg for inspiration
said: “It’s about working together
If we do not cooperate amid the climate crisis
But there are those who see flaws in the model.
Architect Clemens Quirin believes the economic boom in the largely agricultural state has driven up land prices in the lowlands to the extent that creativity and ecology have taken a back seat
the curator of the Vorarlberg Institute of Architecture in Dornbirn
said standards for housing have been relaxed in recent years
“Public buildings are still of high quality
but housing projects have been poor for the past 10 years: demand is so high that developers can sell anything.”
But Europe’s current energy crisis might help reverse that trend by putting ecology back at the centre of those projects
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