Park Killesberg- ‘Green Joint‘

As the ‘Green Joint‘ the Park Killesberg expansion serves as the green heart of the newly constructed district, and continues the long history of the area as a garden show site with a contemporary expression of landscape architecture and as a model for interconnected green spaces. Two themes that characterise Killesberg are the starting point for the design: a soft, near-natural landscape, and man-made quarries as hard topographies. The hard forms of a typical quarry topography change over time, morphing from sharply broken materials into a softer landscape of green regrowth. This process of change has been interpreted at Park Killesberg by bringing vast quantities of soil into the former quarry areas and exhibition grounds, simulating the long natural process of smoothing out irregularities by creating a new topography of lawn 'cushions' between path systems. A new landscape arises, and it tells a story. The underlying theme of the design is based on skewing the perception of human scale and reinterpreting familiar perspectives by raising the topography to eye height and setting up a sunken path network between. The skilful illusion of the new topography intensifies the feeling of being completely absorbed in the landscape and generates a surprisingly playful experience for the park user - a new sensation. The layout of paths is inspired by the quarries' irregularities, as well as by the gentle winding pattern taken as one climbs the ascent on either side of the street which bisects the park. The concept of sustainable and ecological development is an underlying theme. Rain water from the roofs of the new development is collected in an underground cistern from where it is piped to a new lake and returned to the water cycle. With their individual microclimatic conditions, the park's meadow cushions are biotopes for various types of flora and fauna.