“landscapes of trauma”
An interesting idea from the “No Man’s Land” that separated the two Germanys, from a different epoch. A landscape architect wants to reclaim abandoned spaces and help them become places of contemplation and recreation for Berliners.
On what was formerly called the “Death Strip”, Joyce van den Berg wants to encourage new plant life. Her plan would see the barren strips of sand moved at regular intervals in order to encourage new plant life to take root as well as the ongoing formation of the “mega-dunes” that are already evolving naturally in the German woods.
And,
Van den Berg, who first became interested in the former border areas when she studied in Berlin 10 years ago, would like to see the death strips — which she calls “landscapes of trauma” — turned into recreational areas. The landscape architect who has worked on similar urban projects in Utrecht and Amsterdam in places like a former military airport. She feels she benefitted from having an outsider’s perspective during the project, and says her goal is to respect the history of the areas and preserve any remnants of the former border area while generally beautifying the land, replanting and landscaping, as well as facilitating additional opportunities for such pastimes as cycling, walking and other sports.
Van den Berg is starting with an art exhibit to bring her ideas to Berliners, and to try and spark debate and discussion. After that, she is hoping there will grow an interest and some momentum to put her ideas into action…
For more details, go here. (Thanks to Land8Lounge for leading us to this story.)
