Here is my output of the two last weeks of the specialization course Edible Landscape by visual artist and landscape architect Marie Markmann, artist and urban gardener, Fritz Haeg and Birthe Urup Nygaard, landscape architect at Schonherr. The project included an on-site intervention with mirrors, string and stones, historical research,concept development for the future.
Finally a part of the proposal were made a on site intervention 1:1 on one of the paths that leads to the final choice of site. The intervention created a interesting dialog with the neighbour hood.
The idea of the proposal is to create common ground within the grid, based upon medieval structures and in dialog with the past city structures of the area.
By creating a void in Skjoldhøj, the opportunity of getting together are made possible for the inhabitants. The void will be defined by surrounded by appletrees and within there will be activities based upon recycling, such as hot composting, midsummer celebration, growing mushrooms, and picking wild berries.By opening up the water running underground, the opportunity for working atmospherically with the elements are made possible, a reconnection with water, earth and fire.
One of Skjoldhøjs issues today are a large amount of organic material and left overs from cutting grass and hedges, together with all the kitchen waste from the households. The proposal seeks to deal with these waste issues and generate activities by turning 'the inside out' and make waste both esthetically and beneficial,- to make it a resource for the community instead of a burden to be disposed. By using a hot composting method and designing with the macro consumers, such as beetles, the process of transformation and decay will be visible, and once completed stimulate growth in the public area and private gardens.
The 1:1 intervention supports the idea of a community in Skjoldhøj and opens up the hedges facing public paths and thereby create opportunities for encounters, both with neighbors and people passing by.
These in between spaces could contain low maintenance plants and thereby increase biodiversity in the area. The many hours of effort to maintain the huge areas of grass could be used in a more productive way.
