W1 Fribourg: Rethinking the Road as Surface

Fribourg opened the first cycle of Infrastructural Baukultur with a workshop dedicated to rethinking the cantonale road as more than a transit corridor. Over three days, we gathered researchers, designers, city officials, students, and residents to examine the road as a surface — not just a technical layer, but a social and ecological space in constant negotiation.

Our working sessions included:

• Exploratory walks along transitional road segments, focusing on surface qualities, materiality, and usage
• A mapping exercise using printed satellite imagery, tracing flows, friction points, and overlooked zones
• Co-design activities with students from EPFL and residents of nearby neighborhoods
• A roundtable on maintenance as design, featuring local infrastructure managers

This first workshop was not about building solutions, but about questioning assumptions:
Who uses the road? What remains invisible in standard planning processes? How do surface treatments shape movement, comfort, or exclusion?