Raitenhaslach monastery, 2019 artouro award nomination. Photo: Alfons Lautenschlager
Design in context Munich-based landscape architects Keller Damm Kollegen work from the inside out, and from content to form. The creative concept always follows the inherent historical, geological and socio-economic context of the location.
continued on the outside, reaching into the surroundings with the help of wall segments, extensive earth shaping and path systems.
TEXT: CORNELIA BRELOWSKI I PHOTOS: KELLER DAMM KOLLEGEN, ALFONS LAUTENSCHLAGER, JÖRG KOOPMANN
This conceptual idea involves the usage of materials and plants that correspond with a specific place or form as part of its history. In times of dramatically parched parks due to the urban summer droughts brought on by climate change, Keller Damm Kollegen is also at the forefront of creating economic water-preserving solutions: for the trees of cities, for example. From theatre to landscaping Regine Keller developed a fascination for landscape design after several years of working in the world of theatre. After training with a landscape gardener, she broadened her knowledge with a degree in landscape architecture, leading to founding a one-woman office in 1998. Competition wins supported swift growth through to the team of 30 that the office is 96 | Issue 82 | January 2020
comprised of today. And thanks to a professorial post at the Technische Universität München, her colleague Franz Damm joined the leadership team in 2005. Connecting with local conditions For the revitalisation of the Raitenhaslach monastery’s outer areas, Keller Damm Kollegen worked with locally available materials like granite and nagelfluh (natural concrete). They also used natural stones and local plants linked to the site’s historical context, such as yew tree balls. Landscaping and archaeology UNESCO World Heritage Site Grube Messel, near Darmstadt, is a famous fossil site. The direct surroundings of the visitor centre mirror its theme of layered oil shales. The design typology is
Prehistoric connections between human and animal are the theme at the ‘Vogelherd Archäopark’: Visitors tall and small get to be hunters and explorers with the help of calcified animal footprints, frequently sprayed scents and lifesized mammoth outlines, as well as patches of plants and herbs which are believed to have grown in the time portrayed. Thus, archaeology becomes landscape! Keller Damm Kollegen enjoys working with planning partners and clients who mirror its goal of planning and building with a long-term, sustainable view – overseeing the changing conditions of our environment for decades to come. Office: www.keller-damm-kollegen.com Faculty: www.lao.ar.tum.de