Marlena Rether - A Lasting Place

A lasting place.

How a shrinking village could endure and activate landscape development.

Marlena Rether | Landscape architecture | Master | 2021

Marlena Rether Willem Arntszkade 1 3511AG Utrecht marlena_ret@yahoo.com

Academie van Bouwkunst Amsterdam Master Landscapearchitecture Juni 2021

Commission:

Mirjam Koevoet (mentor) Ira Koers Berrie van Elderen

Commission members Tentamen 4 Saline Verhoeven Marc van Nolden with special thanks to:

Anton van Alebeek, Jonas Papenborn, Hank van Tilborg, Ida Pedersen, Landesarchief Magdeburg, evangelische Landesbibliothek Magdeburg, the inhabitants of Vietzen and all other supporters

© 2021, Marlena Rether Nothing in this publication may be duplicated, stored in a computerised data file or made public in any form or manner whatsoever, be it electronic, mechanical, in photocopies, recordings or in any other way without prior written permission by Marlena Rether

Introduction

Living in a village was a formative experience.

Maybe it’s just because the period was in the first years of my life, but the spatial freedom I enjoyed then as a child are a precious memory. It was a calm village with hardly any traffic, a little shop, a kindergarten and a school.

A special memory about this freedom is the adventures in the abandoned allotment gardens. My sisters and I were spending a lot of time there to stroll through them and discover treasures, like bird nests, old fruit trees and forgotten perennials between the decayed sheds.

Now and also then already, many of these smaller villages in remote regions shrink. Infrastructure and the space used by the village community disappears. Also, the landscape around them is changing due to global warming and a decreasing biodiversity. Could a village even disappear? It is possible.

A map of disappeared and existing villages in the Altmark proves it (p.12-13).

From my professional perspective, a village is a landscape element. It contributes to the diversity in the landscape and has an ecological value. But from a personal, I also see the social and cultural value of a village community. People have space and freedom to do their own projects but if anyone needs a helping hand or just human interaction, the community is there for them.

This motivated me to research and design the future of a shrinking village. As a project location I chose a village in an extremer setting than the one I grew up in. It is situated in the, in my opinion very idyllic, but remote region “Altmark”, in the middle of North Germany and is called Vietzen.

How could such a village endure through shrinkage and even contribute to the landscape development?

About the project Shrinkage and growth are a process; therefore, the project sketches a future development for this village as a process taking place in a long period of time, compared to our contemporary project timeframes. The frames are chosen to reflect the state of the nature development and the probable development of Vietzens population. Therefore, I used the theoretical years 2040: The intervention is placed, 2060: an in between situation, 2100: The village could be uninhabited and 2120: when people could move to the village again. It is an exemplary design to approach such villages in general but adapted to the specific project location.

The concept and the actual design are just the initiator of this process.

By placing simple interventions with local material, it aims to respect the genius loci of such a remote, calm place. This process is integral, it contributes to the village community and to its surrounding, taking in account the ecological network, the farmers interests and the interests of the inhabitants in the village.

Reading guide The book is structured in the chapters research, concept and design. All these chapters address the present and the future of the village. Just the last chapter zooms in on the different situations in the development.

Research The Location A need for the city, a longing for the countryside The timecapsule The structure The human the farming and the wild Materials around the village Concept Elements of a lasting place Design The intervention The design through different timeframes Results

6

Research

7

The Location

Stills of a village - the project location Vietzen 8

9

A need for the city, a longing for the countryside

“The village is considered as a place of the “good” life, of tradition, of preservation.” Rural life was already since ancient times something people longed for. In the antiques there was a longing for the locus amoenus (the lovely place) and arcadia, which had a revival in the renaissance. Later, in the 18th century the manmade landscape became the ideal and farming culture was romanticized. Since this period and until today there has been a longing to conserve the traditional farm- and village life.1

shrinks.

This idea of the traditional village is far from the contemporary situation of the village. More than half of the people, who live on the countryside have a job that is not related to agriculture. Today, a growing majority of the world’s population is living in cities to access work possibilities, be close to their social network, cultural programs and better mobility. As a result, villages are shrinking and are surrounded by conventional agriculture on a large scale. The villages have problems to keep or attract service facilities and the inhabitants have to move away to reach higher education, with the consequence, that younger people move away, social weaker are left behind and the village layout becomes even more unattractive and deserted.

Another development in the German countryside is the increasing spatial need for agricultural area.

The ongoing loss of agricultural area in Germany due to infrastructure projects and building sites sets pressure on untouched, natural areas with extensive maintenance, like for example gardens with hedges ore moister areas, which are ecological valuable.

By renting out the gardens to the famer not just the population of the village shrinks, but also the surface, the space used by the village community

But there is not just the movement from the village to the city. Some people still wish to live in the countryside and are moving back to it, attracted by: Affordable space to live Possibilities to build up an own, agriculture related business/environment Remote working possibilities.

Especially the last reason is a hope for many shrinking villages to grow again.3

10

Shrinkage is not a new phenomenon. The map on the left page shows existing villages and disappeared villages in the region around the village Vietzen mapped around 1909. These villages were abandoned due to regional battles and deserted land, especially during the 13th and 14th century2 and by looking some of the old locations, these places are mainly farmland now.

The longing for the tradition and preservation in the countryside is the attachment to an idea, that creates a blindness to the real developments in the countryside. People are moving back to the countryside to realize their own projects and spatial needs. To make the village a lasting landscape element it needs to become independent from these ideas, spatially and create an own dynamic in its layout as well as in its relation to the surrounding landscape.

where people would like to live

where people do live

rural environment/ vllage/ small town 33% city and city edges 39% rural environment/ vllage/ small town 61%

Where Germans wish to live

https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1181238/umfrage/gewuenschter-wohnort-der-deutschen/#:~:text=Umfrage%20zum%20gew%C3%BCnschten%20Wohnort%20der%20Deutschen%202020&te xt=Mit%2034%20Prozent%20gab%20der,wollten%20gerne%20am%20Stadtrand%20leben. 09.05.2021

city and city edges 77 %

Where Germans do live

https://www.deutschland.de/de/topic/leben/stadt-und-land-fakten-zu-urbanisierung-und-landflucht#:~:text=77%20Prozent%20der%20Menschen%20leben,Wir%20haben%20eine%20urbanisierte%20Gesellscha ft. 09.05.2021

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Deserted and existing villages in the Altmark (Detail: region around Vietzen) 12

13

The village as a time capsule The first villages were founded, when agriculture was invented. People began to push back the wilderness and start to farm. Therefore, they had to settle, and created villages.4 The first mentioning of Vietzen was in 1285 as an ancestral seat of the family “von Visne” 5 When Vietzen was created farmers weren’t farming their own land but rented the land of an aristocrat. Just in 1850, because of the secularization it was possible for the farmers to buy their own land. They farmed their own land for just a hundred years, until after the 2nd world war. Already before the GDR was founded (1949) a cooperative system was introduced, and farmers expropriated.

This system led to the immense size of the farms around Vietzen. After “Die Wende”, the end of the GDR, many people didn’t get or wanted their land back and the cooperative became an agricultural company.6 These time periods are visible in the village layout. Each period is represented in different buildings and shows its historical development since its foundation. These historical marks reflect the identity of the village, but also makes the urban tissue stiff. The process of transformation should add new layers, in a flexible, freeway. For example, could old building material be reused in new projects.

1780-1860 Romantic shapes image of nature by urban citizens

1800 Start industrialisation Wilderness

1285 Founding Vietzen to farm

Architectural witnesses in the villages 14

Inhabitants of the village farm the ground of aristocrats with manual labor

1849 Farmers get ownership of the land they maintained

The longing for rural life appears on and on

1990 Large farmlands of LPGs become privatized and Agriculture Gmbhs

2020 Private gardening and hobby farming

1960 - 1989 Land owned cooperative LPG concept

15

The village structure

There are several different layouts of villages in the region, like villages in a round shape (“Rundlinge”), where the farms were built in a circle around the village square, villages in an oval shape (“Angerdorf ”) where the buildings were built along an oval shaped village square or villages with a bit of a random layout, so called “Haufendörfer”. Vietzen is one of the most common village types, a simple street village.8 The street shapes the axis with a symmetrical buildup of the village; the berm of the street, then the old farmsteads or houses and the outer belt of the village are gardens and meadows, abut to the fields. The houses are often built in a row and form a close row, with facades along the street.

Several roads are attached to the main street, one leads to the church, which is not placed in the center and then to the nearby forest. The other roads, except one, connects the village to the fields. One is the connection to a neighboring village. The junctions in the layout are highlights, driving through the place. These are the places, where someone could be met from another direction.

Every movement on the street is a highlight. All the houses face the main street, what creates, in combination with the overall quiet an uncomfortable, controlled feeling when walking through the village, the result of this feeling is high fences and closed windows along the street. In contrast to this effect several of the gardens at the outer edge of the village aren’t in use and are just lawn. Also are several neglected spaces located along the edge of the village.

High fences along the street indicate a greater need for privacy 16

Scheme of the village structure

The naighboring streetvillage Gussefeld

The naighboring streetvillage Siepe

The naighboring streetvillage Kahrstedt 17

The human, the farm and the wild The human – the shrinking village Vietzen “It is always like now, just quiet.

You just hear the birds and everyone is doing his thing”

“A village is a rural settlement with a rustic character” 7 Administratively Vietzen is a part of Kahrstedt, but spatially it is an independent village; “a rural settlement with a rustic character”. Vietzen is a small street village: with one main street where all the 96 inhabitants live along.

inhabitant

Visiting the place as a stranger, the first remark I got from an inhabitant was the question if I would belong to the municipality and check if the village street is maintained and neat.

Once I explained my intentions, it was easy to get in contact with the residents. People are curious to meet someone new and to share the village’s history and thoughts of its future. In general, all the inhabitants who have been interviewed were happy to live in the village. They enjoyed the peace and quiet of the surrounding and the closeness to the forest. The future of the village was obviously a more sensitive topic, where people were of different opinions. Some were enthusiastic about the future, whereas others believed, that the village would become abandoned.

The village community is not very active, the community house is mainly used for birthday parties or similar. Everything, that happens in the village depends on decisions of the municipality or the landowners. For example, the plan of an orchard, as compensation measurements for more windmills in the surrounding. This top-down decision making is not activating the village community. Looking at the development of inhabitants, the trend shows, that the village really could be deserted by the end of the century.

In the village meet three worlds: human (red), the farming(yellow) and the wild (green).

18

inhabitants 200 “Ah there will be always new people, like these just on the opposite site of the street, they just moved i, really young people”

150

inhabitant

100 50

“The villages bleed out” Local farmer

1740

1840

1940

2040

Vietzen is shrinking.

“We as the farmers are the scapegoats of politicians”

year

“Here are just fields and forrest, you don’t move here because of the landscape. The main reason is the quiet”

Local farmer

“Work is always at least a 30min. ride”

inhabitant

inhabitant

““I would say the village will be deserted one day” “There is just nothing else than gardening”

inhabitant

inhabitant

“All the older (people) will die soon ” inhabitant

“I thought you are from the municipality and control if everything is neat” inhabitant

Mixed opinions of the inhabitants 19

fire department

The map of Vietzen 1:2000.

20

community building horse stable

church

21

The city The street connects the people to the city. When the village was found, the inhabitants were working as farmers. Today, just a few people work as farmers, that is why the residents of the village depend more on the nearby cities. The city needs to provide work and social as well as cultural services.

The closest city to Vietzen is Kalbe. Kalbe is with it’s just 7.309 inhabitants an official city and administrative core but struggles to keep its population and services too. To really be able to visit a museum, theatre or just to go shopping, the closest city would be Stendal (39.000 inhabitants) or Magdeburg (237.565 inhabitants).

Some of the inhabitants of the village work for local companies, but most have to drive at least 30min – 45min to work. 9 This makes the street the essential lifeline of the village. All public activities focus on the village street.

Empty house in the local town and the centre of the local town 22

Movements today: People move from the countryside to the city

Possible movements in future:

1km

1. More people move to the city and the village will shrink

5km Stendal 40 km 10km

2. More people move to the countryside

Kalbe 10km

Magdeburg 90 km

The village in relation to the cities

The development of the relation between village and city

23

The farm Vietzen is located on a higher “island” between stream valleys of the ice age. While the stream valleys are mainly used as pasture for cattle. The higher part, as a remain of the ice age has sandy soil with rocks, which is used for agriculture and forestry. Due to the mediocre soil, the farmers need to invest in several production directions and produce not just field fruits, but also milk, meat, energy out of biomass and provide space for windmills.

Spatially the agricultural part is dominant. Big fields are shaping the landscape with crops like rye, wheat, corn or rapeseed. One farmer on the “island” maintains around 700-1000 ha of land.

This land is maintained by conventional agriculture, monoculture with crops like rye, wheat and corn. Conventional agriculture has several effects on the environment, for example does the use of mechanical soil processing upset the soil life and the buildup of a humus layer.10 Also does the use of pesticides decrease the insect populations.11

change in general threatens agriculture in Germany too. Decreasing biodiversity and more appearing weather extremes are threatening the future of the current agricultural system, by erosions and drought. The contemporary farming methods are especially vulnerable to these effects. Not just new technologies are needed, but also a new agricultural system.

An intact humus layer can store a great amount of CO2 and contribute with more diversity in the field fruits, this is possible by a permanently overgrown soil, a conserving agriculture,13 it provides a covered soil layer, keeps the soil moist and improves biodiversity. With the help of robotic weed pickers and machines, which recognize the plant species, a switch to a more diverse and soil protecting agriculture might be easier.

Increasingly better technologies ease effects on the environment and the technical advancements of agriculture will lead to precision agriculture. This means the use of “key technologies e.g., satellite navigation systems, earth observation, sensors, robotics, data collection and (big) data science” will be able to define the exact circumstances for each individual plant.12 These new technologies, not only optimize the production but will help also to approach other goals for agriculture: ensuring a more sustainable management. A more sustainable agriculture would contribute significantly to the European Green Deal to fight climate change by increasing biodiversity and store CO2. Climate

24

Impression of the fields and Cornfield for biogas plants in combination with wind energy.

The village in relation to the agricultural area

Overview of the development of conventional agriculture

25

The wild The spaces around the village, which are not used for living, gardening, agriculture or streets, are for the wild. The wild is meant as an almost uncontrolled space. These spaces are mainly found in edges, for example along paths and streets and along the village. Many of these places are collections, like a heap of fieldstones, dry wood, building rests or compost heaps.

In these spaces indigenous and nonindigenous species find their living space and they are important spaces for the flora and fauna in the area with wild plants, undisturbed habitats and hiding places for larger mammals.14Around the village are several of these spaces, especially at the edge.

These uncontrolled non-spaces are an important element in the landscape and stimulate the ecological and the esthetical value of the area.

An abandonned site turns into a wild area.

Mapped wild area with traces of it’s inhabitants.

26

Wild life today:

Future: shrinking populations

Future: forest damage by drought and weatherextremes

The village and it’s connection to the wild structure.

Overview - Biodiversity in danger.

27

Material in and around the village

28

29

30

Concept

31

Elements of a lasting place

The research about the development of villages in general and in particular the situation around Vietzen is the base for the design, an experimental vision on the village itself and each of its spatial components: The living area, its edge, the agricultural space around it and the street. To approach the design are for all these spatial components different rules or interventions defined to activate the development of a lasting place, that influences the future agricultural development.

I. Freedom

32

II. An edge

III. Connecting

IV. Wild space

V. Activation of the centre

VI. A lasting village

33

A free space Today Vietzen is limited by a rigid building structure and unused properties, because the village depends on developments, which are decided by the city, the isolated community has no right to organize their own developments/projects.

To stimulate a slow transformation of the outdated village structure, the village itself becomes a free space. The community itself can decide what happens spatially in their village. The demolition of a building and the change of function for an inhabitant or inhabitants should not be a problem.

To increase flexibility a due date could be introduced before a building could become reused or demolished. After this due date, for example after 5 years, the building is owned by the village community. This community can decide about the next step of the building.

This strengthens the community and could transform the village layout to a more modern use.

34

1. Village profile today

field

garden and meadows

2. Village becomes a free zone

field

house and stables (empty)

garden and meadows

field

ne Free zo ne o z e Fre

ne Free zo

Options of the development in the

old farmstead

village area is indepentant of spatial planning /planning from the city

field

ne Free zo ne village Free zospace

year 2060

field

old farmstead

development of abandonned space into wildernis

field

year 2100

field

farmstead, empty

use of space to create energy/ to farm

field year 2140

field

rediscovered land becomes home for new settelers

development of abandonned space into wildernis

field

Schematic illustration of the free space concept.

35

An edge The edge will define the lasting place and brings the three worlds of farming, human and the wild close together. For the human the increased speed of transformation due to more freedom will also erase relics of the past. The edge will become a library of these relics from the whole village. In this way history will be stored and reused by new projects. But not just building material can be stored.

The edge works also as a storage for garden waste such as compost and branches. For the agriculture around the village the edge will serve as a water storage to decrease erosion and drought. For the wild, the edge of the village becomes a corridor, which connects to the existing corridors in the area.

Corridors are important habitats for the wild.

To increase the surface of the corridor, itis only including currently used spaces of the village. The unused spaces will be used to activate the connection between farmland and village. A path is introduced around the village to keep the edge accessible and create a walkable space, a connection point between village, wilderness and agriculture.

ca. 60 000 m2

meadows for cattle

lawn/ unused space

agricultural use

Use of the meadows and free materials in the village.

heightline

potential waterstorage

waterflow

Parts of the edge can be used as waterstorage.

36

abiotic material

biotic material

1. Defining the edge of the village age main vill ng the i n fi De

ace stsp Re

field

ace - unused meadows stsp pace Reests R

ain villagee g the main villag

nin the m garden Deefi fining D

farmstead

house and stables (empty)

farmstead

abiotic material

garden

meadows - unused

field

2. Deposit of produced material to the edge

field

restspace

storage

biotic material

storage

restspace

field

storage

restspace

field

3. Reuse of material in the village new housing

field

restspace

storage

biotic /abioticmaterial

biotic /abioticmaterial

Schematic concept of the edge in time frames.

37

Activation The unused space (ca. 6ha) shall be shared between farmer and the inhabitants of the village. The farmer is in need to farm even more environmentally friendly. That’s why he should try to cover the soil layer all the time and switch to a conserving agriculture system. This saves a lot of CO2 and increases biodiversity. To make this switch, the farmer shares the surface of 6 ha. with the village. He can experiment with a more layered planting system and doesn’t need to switch right away all machines and systems and the village could get the crops he is experimenting with, like potatoes, beans or similar.

The experimental land will add more strokes to the farmland, which increase the diversity of the field too. These strokes are accessible from the village and take the tracks of the farming machines in account. The future technological development of the machines will ease the maintenance of the whole used land for agriculture.

Communal agriculture; peas and potatoes.

38

From conventional to conserving agriculture

reducing use of pesticides by techical improvement

use of pesticides

sowing in mulch/ follow up crops

harvesting fruits and straw

harvesting fruits and straw

sowing in mechanical prepared soil

follow up crops/ green manure

sowing follow up crops

plowing/ mechanical processing of the soil

Circular scheme of conventional field management.

Proposal scheme for a soil protecting field management.

strenghtening biodiversity and microclimate

humus layer build up and CO2 storage

Profile: Advantages of conserving agriculture and a layered crop system.

39

edge of the village

communal field

conventional agricultural use

storage space

Scheme making a layered field by adding the unused village space to the field.

40

pedestrian pathway

tractor track

Scheme: Accessibility of the communal fields and tracks of agriculture machines.

41

More wilderness Along the material library is a corridor for the wild.

Taking into account the radius of farming machines and the accessibility of the library the stroke continues along the whole edge and connects to the existing edges. The corridor will overgrow by succession. It will take ca. 100 years until the climax of this succession is reached. The emerging plants will differ due to their location. The biotic, abiotic, moist or dry underground offer different habitats for insects, smaller mammals and amphibia.

Also, in the village the wilderness will move. Unused space with biotic or abiotic material will overgrow and offer (temporary) habitats for different species.

1.

Lichens and moss

in the year 2040

2.

Farn Brennesseln Efeu

in the year 2060

3.

Brombeere Himbeere Holunder Eiche

In the year 2100

42

Succession on an abiotical base - gravel, bricks etc.

1.

Brennnessel Berufskraut Weidenroschen Adlerfarn

2040

2.

Brombeere Himbeere Holunder

2060

3.

Birke Aspe Vogelbeere Kiefer Eiche

2100

Succession on a biotical base - soil .

strengthening green along streets

wild edge - dry

wild edge - wet

existing wil space

Scheme: streghtening ecological connection and edge developments.

43

A lively centre The transforming village with the library and village fields will ease the current pressure on the village street. At the same time the street and special buildings, like the unused fire department or the church will function even more as a community center. The activity around the library and the sharing of the crops needs more organization and communication. The activities can be done alone, like collecting one’s compost and storing it in the edge, along with neighbors, like demolishing an old stable and storing the material in the edge and with the whole community, like sharing the harvested crops.

At the same time the material of the village could be used to transform. Even the street is a free element. Paths can be added to it and the street can be adjusted. Especially the second junction of the village could transform, through the years to a square.

To highlight the junctions, these can function as the place, where the bakery bus or the bus stops, and where eventually new developments could be added.

The edge connects the village community:

Placing materials in alignment with neighbors.

Individual task: collecting material.

Community task: distributing field products.

44

field

wild zone

library

deserted plot

village street

Using?

field : maintenance of farmer

wild zone

library: maintenance

ambitions

field

new projects

library: maintenance

wild zone

field : maintenance of farmer

ts th

s? toe ota ep

communal buildings store the crops and become central points Using? ng? ori St

Who ge ts th s? toe ota ep

Schematic concept of the effect of the intervention on the village centre.

wild zone

Who ge ts th

village street: informal organization g? ofUsinthe library Who ge

ng? ori St

Field: crops shared with the village community

library

s? toe ota ep

ng? ori St

garden

45

46

Design

47

The intervention

To start the development of this transformation the edge will be made by digging out the water retention areas (eventually adding a clay layer) and placing poles, which shape the structure for the library. In this way the edge will become a semi open border to its surrounding. The materials can be placed in between the poles and along the slopes of the water retention areas.

These areas are designed as a “aha” effect. The edge of the area on the village site is a steep one and the edge to the agricultural field less sharp in a way, that it is still possible to farm on them.

The poles will be wooden, ca 2,5 m long poles in double or single rows, in varying distances, according to its use. Probably after hundred years they have to be replaced or they aren’t necessary anymore, because the filled structure stands on its own, they mainly serve as an activator to start the development of this high/low edge.

Along this edge a path is introduced. Made by local gravel/ rubble, it needs low maintenance. Along this path is the wild corridor. The location of the path differs. Along the higher edge the path is located in between the library and the wild corridor, along the lower edge the path is on the edge between the field and the wild corridor. In this way intimate and open spaces and views alternate.

Intervention high:

Compost One row of poles

Dead wood

Double row of poles

Building material

Double row of poles

Overview of intervention and use

48

Intervention low:

Ecological value and use:

activating soil life

Divers flora and fauna

Divers flora and fauna

Low edge excavated

Divers flora and fauna, water retention

49

The built up of the edge depends on the present material, according to the local visit, the content of the library will mainly consist of biotical material form gardens and households, as wel as abiotical material of dismantled houses.

These are different possibilities to store this material, which will develop into different habitats:

50

The compost heap - intervention: Already now often located at the outer edge of a garden the compost heap consists of garden- and kitchen waste. It needs to be built up in layer so on a loosen up soil and the waste should be regularly covered with a thin soil layer. Therefore, double or single pole rows can be used.

The deadwood hedge - intervention: By collecting dead wood between two rows of poles a deadwood hedge develops. The deadwood could also be reused as firewood, or it will just be an ecological very valuable privacy screen.

The compost heap – ecological use: The processing of dead, organic material into fertile soil, activates the soil ecosystem. The processed new material can be reused in the garden.

The deadwood hedge – ecological use: The deadwood is very interesting for insects, spiders, small mammals, like hedge hocks, and amphibia, like blindworms and lizards. Insects use deadwood and stems as a building material.

The free-standing drywall - intervention: The poles can become a grid to store abiotical material.

Bricks, tiles, gravel can create a drywall. By an edge with the larger material, the smaller gravel can be stored in the middle.

The steep bank – intervention: A steep bank is just a wall of soil on the edge of the water retention areas. It can be transformed into a drywall.

The steep bank as a drywall - intervention: Along the steep bank a drywall from larger material can be built up. Therefore, even larger pieces need to be rammed into the bank, which carry the smaller material.

The drywall – ecological use: Because a drywall becomes quite warm in summer, it is often used as habitat for amphibia, like lizards and spiders, like the wolf spider. It offers also a great growing place for perennials like stonecrop.

The steep bank - ecological use: The steep bank offers a special habitat for special birds, like the sand martin. In combination with the shallow 1:10 bank on the other side of the indentation offers space for reed species and hiding places for birds and mammals.

The steep bank as a drywall – ecological use: Like the freestanding drywall the wall offers especially habitats for amphibia and spiders, as well as rock-loving perennials.

51

Textures of the edge 52

53

The design through different timeframes

The following pages show the plan and its details in different time layers. Every layer shows the overall development of the village, the design in detail and an impression of the location. Every detail is on a different location in the village, which gives an impression of the spatial quality and development in time.

Legenda Field:

Street:

Buildings: Conventional agriculture

High edge with poles Village street

Communal building

Collected material Conserving agriculture

Ruin, dismantled building

Nature development along streets

Communal arable

Inhabited house

Renewed street with local materials

Track of farm machines

Uninhabited house

1. state of succession

Edge: 2. state of succession

Location of dismantled buildings

3. state of succession

New building with new plot Low edge with a steep bank

54

Nature:

New meadow

2030

2180

Map of the intervention until the growthstate with surrounding and indicated accessibility to the fields.

55

2040

56

N

1:2000 57

2040 Events: • • • •

Village shrinks Intervention is placed, some people are still using land ouside the edge as meadows Farmer tries out different crop techniques Mosses and grass/herb layer has grown

Section 1 - 1:400

Section 2 - 1:400 58

Imp

ress ion

Section 1

Section 2

Detailkaart 1:400 59

2040

60

61

2060

62

N

1:2000 63

2060 Events: • • • •

Intervention grows. Biotical and abiotical material is collected Village shrinks, plots are transformed to meadows/ plots of renewable energy Farmer tries out different crop techniques Shrub layer is grown, insects live in the library

Section 1 / 1:400

Section 2 / 1:400 64

Im n sio

es pr

Section 1

Section 2

Detail 1:400 65

2060

66

67

2100

68

N

1:2000 69

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Village is almost abandoned Almost all plots are deserted, the wild takes over Farmer is changed to layered and conserving agriculture

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Village is growing again, new houses have been built, more individual plot layouts The junctions transformed to squares Library is completely grown, will be rediscovered by new inhabitants, materials are used for new buildings

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Results In landscape architecture answers to contemporary challenges are approached by working with natural processes. While villages were found to provide the inhabitants with a stable living condition and food, there is now plenty of food in the western world. But we face climate change and a mass extinction of our flora and fauna. In this project I tried to find a solution to this problem, while working with shrinkage and growth as a natural process.

In the past villages disappeared and appeared.

They transform even if it is just slowly. Whereas the longing for a rural life barely changes. The insufficient work possibilities in the rural areas just does make it currently difficult to manage a livelihood.

In the future villages should embrace their space and closeness to a rich nature. By being braver to let go of functional spaces and changing existing structures, villages can provide a significant difference to cities and create their own modern value.

By making special rules and providing room for interactions the community becomes more involved and even creates its own kind of village.

In this way a village could become a flexible and rich landscape element where the wild, human and farming interconnect. It becomes richer in an ecological point of view and activates transitions in the village and the agricultural area.

Even if Vietzen becomes a deserted place, it would contribute to the landscape as a habitat for the wild. By surrounding the village space with a permanent, strong structure, the village can always be rediscovered and provides a unique space for visitors and inhabitants to create its own identity.

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Endnotes 1 Neu, C. (2016, November 11).

2 p.205, P. Sültmann, H. S. (1924).

3 p.6 Urbane Dörfer, wie digitales arbeiten Städter aufs Land bringen kann 4 Volker Eklkofer / Sendung: Martin Trauner, Bayerischer Rundfunk. (2019, September 30).

5 p.216 P. Sültmann, H. S. (1924).

6 Müller, H. M. (2009).

7 Bibliographisches Institut GmbH. (2021).

8 urbs-mediaevalis.de - Stadttypologie: Straßendorf.

9 Interview with village inhabitants 10 Bodenbearbeitung. (2015, March 4).

11 Umweltbelastungen der Landwirtschaft. (2019, January 29).

12 Precisielandbouw. (n.d.). WUR 13 G.K.B. (2017). Konservierende Landwirtschaft.

14 Gottwald, F., & Stein-Bachinger, K. (2016).

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