Schenna — Saba Seighali

State Analysis

The current-state analysis of the Settlement Department begins with the landscape: the framework, resource, and identity of the village, and the foundation for quality of life, climate resilience, and sustainable development.

Schenna already has a well-developed ecological network. The plan strengthens it and weaves it into the urban fabric by expanding green infrastructure.

Internal growth comes before outward expansion: vacant properties are activated, densification uses resource-efficient construction, and existing structures are reused. New areas are developed only where there is a demonstrable need and added value for the community.

Natural hazards are part of the planning, with construction that respects the dynamics of slopes, water, and soil: safety rather than risk. Squares, paths, neighbourhood meeting points, and nearby landscapes form one network of short distances and a high quality of life.

Aerial-style map of South Tyrol with Schenna / Scena marked — Schenna / Scena in South TyrolSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Outline map of South Tyrol's municipalities with Schenna highlighted in green and the central places and their areas of integration marked — Schenna among South Tyrol's central placesSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Settlement Development

Until the nineteenth century, Schenna developed as a dispersed agricultural settlement, with farmsteads spread along the slopes. The acquisition of Schenna Castle by Archduke Johann of Austria in 1845 brought new cultural, administrative, and infrastructural impulses.

After the Second World War, agricultural mechanisation and the rise of tourism transformed the village into one of the region’s major holiday destinations while retaining its historically evolved settlement structure.

Historical land and settlement map of Schenna in 1858, with insets of Verdins and the village core — 1858Saba Seighali with LIA Collective

Black-and-white aerial composite of Schenna in 1945, with insets of Verdins and the village core — 1945Saba Seighali with LIA Collective

Black-and-white aerial composite of Schenna in 1982, with insets of Verdins and the village core — 1982Saba Seighali with LIA Collective

Colour aerial photograph of Schenna today, with insets of Verdins and the village core — TodaySaba Seighali with LIA Collective

The available orthophotos do not allow an analysis at regular time intervals.

Settlement Structure and Urban Development of Schenna

Schenna today combines a compact historic core around the church and castle with large residential and tourist structures. Hotels, guesthouses, and holiday apartments occupy the hillside in terraces with wide views over the valley.

Hamlets and scattered farmsteads such as Verdins and Prenn are connected by a network of access roads.

Six municipal-scale maps ask where the village has grown, what limits building, and where people live and building is suitable.

Map of land consumption across Schenna and its surrounding municipalities — Land consumptionSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Map highlighting the development of Schenna's settlement between 1858 and 2023 — Settlement development · 1858–2023Saba Seighali with LIA Collective

Map showing areas considered unsuitable for building in Schenna — Areas unsuitable for buildingSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Map of statutory protection buffer zones across Schenna — Protection buffer zonesSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Map of population distribution across Schenna and nearby settlements — Population distributionSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Suitability map distinguishing suitable, unsuitable, and neutral land in Schenna — Settlement suitabilitySaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Land Use Intensity

Three linked readings move from the inhabited hillside to densification potential and the structure of local circulation.

Panoramic aerial view of Schenna with a dashed square and a dashed circle marking two areas across the hillside — Land-use intensitySaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Aerial photograph of Schenna's existing built fabric, with open ground between houses identified for densification — Existing built fabric · densification potentialSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Axonometric sketch of buildings over an aerial photograph, with red arrows and a dashed green line showing circulation and spatial structure — Circulation and spatial structureSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

New Joint in Between Centralities to Connect Flow

A new joint is proposed between the centralities to connect movement flows along the hillside. The detail plan draws the centre itself: the historic core, Dorfplatz, and the new green space Moarwiese.

Linear settlement diagram linking Schenna's centralities with a new movement flow — Connecting the centralitiesSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Detail plan of Schenna's centre: the historic core with Dorfplatz and Rathaus, Schloss Schenna, the parish church, Seniorenheim, Vereinshaus and Bibliothek, the Schnuggenbach stream, the new green space Moarwiese and the development reserve Praierwiese — The centre in detailSource of the plan not stated in supplied portfolio

Development Proposal Sketches for the New Center

Selected Proposals

Sketching tested how buildings, green space, access, and public ground can be arranged on the same sloping site. Eight arrangements were tried and compared.

Three of them, circled and numbered, were picked and explored further, each as a site plan and a hillside section.

Eight plan sketches exploring building and landscape arrangements for Schenna's new centre, with three circled and numbered 1, 2 and 3 — Eight sketches; the circled 1, 2 and 3 were pickedSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Alternative 1
Residential continuity
- Focuses on residential use.
- Treats the connecting street as a simple connection with intimate public and green space.
- Places mixed uses along the promenade and toward the centres.
Residential continuity: planSaba Seighali with LIA Collective
Residential continuity: sectionSaba Seighali with LIA Collective
Alternative 2
Views and public interaction
- Focuses on the view and on public spaces for interaction.
- Activates the new green space through mixed use.
- Tests a more urban design with diverse green coverage.
Views and public interaction: planSaba Seighali with LIA Collective
Views and public interaction: sectionSaba Seighali with LIA Collective
Alternative 3
Structured public realm
- Builds different spaces with multiple qualities, broken down by hierarchy.
- Protects an undisturbed view and open space.
- Creates a central, structured public space, with less focus on residential use and more on public use.
Structured public realm: planSaba Seighali with LIA Collective
Structured public realm: sectionSaba Seighali with LIA Collective

Credits

Urban and landscape planning: LIA Collective
Graphics: Saba Seighali with LIA Collective; the portfolio identifies page 9 as team-work material
Status: Work in progress
Source: Supplied portfolio PDF, pages 8–10 (printed pages 14, 16, and 18), plus the supplied Schenna project folder

Residential continuity

Views and public interaction

Structured public realm