Sehwege (Sight Paths) - 2000

Competition for Schlosspark Ahrendsburg, 1st prize
Brick chippings, box trees, approx. 25 m2 each

The landscaped park at Schloss Ahrensburg is divided into three large green areas, the island with the house on it and the two lawns between the house and the town centre. In the park’s current state, the cohesion of these three sections has all but vanished. There are no prominent lines of sight to landmarks such as the church, as is customary in classical English landscape gardens, nor is there a coherent system of paths of the kind that feature in the original Baroque plans and realization of Schloss Ahrensburg. The “Sehwege” project takes this situation as its cue, dividing the three park areas by means of three path/hedge units. Each unit consists of a path made of reddish gravel and knee-high box or yew bushes. The units mark and highlight specific lines of sight across the lake, pointing on the one hand to each other, linking the three sections of the park with the house and, on the other, pointing beyond the park to nearby landmarks: the church with the alms houses, for example, and the site of the former vineyards. The shape of the three path/hedge units is related to the design of the park and the shapes of town squares in 18th-century Ahrensburg, with a reduction caused by the use of just two materials and a clear inner form with no added ornamentation. By adapting to their setting in terms of colour, materials and dimensions, the path/hedge units incorporate themselves into the park landscape while asserting themselves as independent “objects”. Materials: Knee-high box or yew hedges (approx. 40 cm), gravel paths, e.g. brick chippings (colour of the stately home’s roof, cheerful shade of orange-red), gravel surfaces edged with metal bands (clear outlines, standard practice for lawns).