Monday, July 31, 2006

landschaft park (industriekultur)

i now live in duisberg, an industrial city south of muenster, north of cologne. of this city one told me, he preferred this city to the others, it's a worker's city, everything is equaller.


duisberg and the cities that surround it are cities of the steel industry. a few mills operate to this day, but 1985 saw the end of many of the industrial parks. They were abandoned. and nature began to creep in. a cooperative effort turned the abandoned mills into monuments, in duisberg stands the landschaftspark. this is a view from the top of the high oven, where heat and gas caused a chemical reaction that turns the raw ore into steel.


from the top of this oven gives a stunning view of the duisberg landscape and an operating mill across the way


across the park, nature has returned.


from here comes the river of hot steel from the high oven. this oven worked 24 hours a day 365 days a year.


entrance sign day bunker and hot oven
entrance to hoch ofen


high oven as seen from barracks where the raw materials were once stored.


the landschaft park now hosts sport. scuba diving in the gasometer, rock climbing in the ore bunker, and a bicycle route from mill to mill.


or simply walking around.. we climbed the steps up the oven.


extreme perspektiv


from the top of the high oven looking outwards.


towers. landscape

from the top looking down at bicyclers and the bunkers.. filled with rock climbers


from the top of the ore bunkers.



from the top. duisberg


duisberg and landschaftpark


looking upwards from the bottom of the hoch offen


exit

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Muenster

for the last two weeks muenster has been my residence. here i visit st. georg sozialwerk, an organianization that helps individuals with mental illness and/or disability. from muenster i travel daily to ascheberg, a small town perhaps 25 kilometers to the south.

muenster is a beautiful town, but i will remember it as the bunny and bicycle city. the bouncy criters thrive in every patch of grass, and bicycles rule the streets. Bike lanes, with bike traffic signals, the city is famous throughout germany as the "fahrrad stadt". in the nw we also pride ourselves for bike friendliness, though bikeness is taken to a new level here. perhaps the bikes traded freedom of movement for a higher priority or ranking. meaning that while the bikes have accesss, there are also rules. red means stop (as opposed to yield in portland) and red is respected, even in the middle of the night at a quiet street.


this house.. or perhaps chateau i encountered while walking back from the aasee. muenster has some beautiful sights.. though they escaped my camera. perhaps my favorite is an astounding old clock in the main cathedral from 1540, that is adorned with hand-painted zodiac symbols, which traces the movement of the planets, and plays a Glockenspiel tune every noon.


my version of the aasee. made for a good morning run.



behind the university schloss is a botanical garden with stunning trees. this park became my second office.. as the dorm where i lived was unbearably warm until approx ten in the evening. this tree in particular caught my eye.

perhaps this sketch caught it.

eyes seem to grow from the trunk of this tree.


paths and allee throughout the garten.

my penpal (who coincidentally lives in the area!) and i encountered these geese behind a restaurant located in the woods.

sky as seen from a lake near Haltern am See.


here is the bauernhof, a 80.000 quadrat meter (20 acre) farm in ascheberg were individuals with handicaps work side by side with staff members. they have built for themselves an intergenerational community that actively participates in the local milieu by hosting visits, celebrations, selling produce, and being friendly neighbors.


weeping willow and drwarf. standing from horse corral looking towards where we gathered for barbecue (grillfest)


willow as seen from underneath


every thursday they sell their goods. bacon, eggs, vegetables.

miniature horses are raised here!


goose. next to the fishing pond. neighbors visit often with children to interact with the farm animals.


garden. twice a week they eat from the land.


miniature foal.


falling trees as necessary.


"here we are all equal," my guide tells me, "and perhaps as business manager, i am a bit equaller."

chickens. these i am told, we should definitely have at oatfield estates!


the wagon. earlier this day visiting elders took a wagon tour. residents watched over them, helping them out as needed. not because if was their job (they were actually on vacation at the time) but because they wanted to.. as hosts. stunning.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Hamburg Take One

a week in hamburg to experience a snapshot of the work of alsterdorf assistenz nord. their landmark project is the alsterdorf market... where a former institution for handicapped people was transformed into a retail center. walking to work each day.. i crossed the street to the campus.. where categories of understanding are dissolved as clients, customers, staff members, and business employees walk side by side. alsterdorf is a neighborhood in the northern part of hamburg. once in the middle of the land.. the city grew to meet it as time passed. the asterdorf market has turned itself into THE retail center of this neighborhood.


once the kitchen of the centralized institution, the alte küche is now the center point for service oriented work for handicapped clients throughout the neighborhood.


the old wash house now hosts a restaurant, 2nd handstore and anitque book store.


to the right of this tower stands an art studio and galerie where people with handicaps create art. the work is shown worldwide, including the metropolitan museum of modern art in new york city. the gallery does not use handicapped status to gain attention, instead the art stands on its own, outside of charitable viewing that may result should the exhibitions focus on the artists' handicap. The gallery leader is always looking for new uses for the art. the latest concept comes with participation of a fashion designer in italy. the artwork is transformed to fabric, and will be used to make clothes. the art is also transferred to furniture, the three dementional transformation is truly quite stunning.


above the old kitchen lies a print press. in the latest project, the print press works with the school located on campus to create a children's book. the children write the story, the print press illustrates. The school by the way, stands out on its own, as it is integrated in grade levels and abilities, both physical and mental, creating an opportunity where individuals can learn to help one another. as with the gallery, the print press does not use handicapped status of the craftsmen to gain attention. the work is also exhibited throughout the world.


The market as seen from below the art press.

this market is not a 'project' or a 'program'. real businesses locate themselves here and hire people from the neighborhood and clients as they wish.

the standard market picture.

around the turn of the last century, hamburg had (and i would guess still has) a lot of money, and many citizens travelled throughout the world, bringing back plant life, resulting in a city filled with international trees. truly stunning! i found this old house cute.. could be in NW portland.


hamburg is home to the 2nd largest cemetary in the world. it's the size of new york's central park, and is a wonderful peaceful place to visit. my friend tells me that it's truly interesting when the family names sound familiar.. and you can see how families will come and go, as they are buried together, and for many, around the middle of the last century the family members are simply not burried there any more. we discussed this while reviewing obituaries, a well known citizen had just died, many had posted their condolences.. it was a moment.

from the friedhoff (cemetary).. they closed the gate on my way out.. luckily for me a bicycler showed me another entrance.

i lived on bebelalle.. throughout my stay in Hamburg i could not pronounce the name right, i kept putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable. regardless, i like the sign. it's supposed to indicate men at work, but its orientation suggests man under fir tree.


i came to hamburg on the last day of the world cup. 'we all became soccor fans during the world cup,' a colleague tells me, 'now it is over, and the depression begins.' hamburg was truly an international party during this time, everyone proudly carrying flags of their nations, painted in appropriate colors. what i'm standing under here is a 'goal' and these are located throughout the city on the tops of buildings. through the night a laser beams through them. stunning. at this location stands a restaurant that greets and says goodbye to every ship that passes on the Elb. on christmas they hold a party and communicate by radio with ships across the world.