Peace Work
The creation of peaceful spaces.
Many years ago I was given the task of transforming a place with a very difficult history. Gardens were and are my passion.
At that time, the aim was to renovate and recultivate an area of around 20,000 square meters with three buildings to create a place of contact. It was a plot of land with three large derelict buildings, with forest and pasture areas. The plot was on the outskirts of a Bronze Age rampart and fortress complex, and there were myths about a dragon that lived in the crevices in the rocks deep below and had to devour virgins to be appeased.
The Nazi regime and the GDR’s state security have also left a local mark on the property.
When I first made contact with the property, everything was buried under a peaceful blanket of white snow. Only when the snow thawed did I understand the true extent of the contamination on a material level. Mountains of rubbish, rubble, animal remains, scrap and debris of all kinds. But with every piece of cleared land, a new problem arose on a different level. With authorities, with suppliers, with the building structure, with my immediate neighbours and with myself. I doubted the sense of it all and was frustrated by the resistance from outside.
At some point I understood that energies can be bound in one place and show themselves partly materialised, partly atmospheric. Places are occupied by themes, tasks that need to be solved. Abuse of power, ideology and injustice accompanied the project on various levels.
In the end, I created the approximately 7,000 square meter garden against my own inner resistance. The reconstruction of the buildings generated incredible resistance at the administrative level, but the plants thrived wonderfully in the sometimes difficult soil. A small paradise emerged almost effortlessly, without soil replacement, fertiliser or machines.
The plants had apparently taken on the task of freeing the area, which only succeeded after 10 years.
The property was ultimately acquired by a company that set up a foundation to invest in places for peaceful coexistence. A place for projects and meetings. That was the idea at the beginning of the project, though not immediately foreseeable.
I design resting places, contact gardens, meditation spaces, places for personal rituals and reflection. I would be happy to transform difficult areas or small, uncomfortable areas of property into harmonious areas for you.
I focus on holistic garden design. Always with an eye on the naturalness and closeness to nature of the design, as well as the personality of the user.
I look forward to every inquiry.
