Mauerpark Berlin: balancing the edge of a park between urban vibrancy and commemoration

Abstract

Mauerpark Berlin was opened in 1994 on the former Death Strip of the Berlin Wall. Designed by renowned German landscape architect Gustav Lange, the park became soon a vibrant and freespirited urban place. Today, Mauerpark is considered a Gesamtkunstwerk and protected by copyright. In the fall of 2020 Mauerpark will double its grounds with a Lange-authored design that commensurate with the 1994 park. Mauerpark is also located adjacent to the terminus of the 1.4 km Berlin Wall Memorial that commemorates and illustrates the history of Germany's division. In January 2018, two artifacts from the time of the separation of East and West were found during construction of an underground retention tank at the southern entrance of Mauerpark. One artifact is the entrance of a 1963 escape tunnel, the other one is a vehicle barrier from the former fortifications. Consensus amongst historians and stakeholders of Mauerpark is that both are significant artifacts and should be integrated into Mauerpark as part of the Berlin Wall Memorial. This will change the perception and use of Mauerpark at one of the most active entrances. Another relevant factor that is going to impact Mauerpark in the future is related to the intensive use of the park. Recent administrative directives recommend limiting activities at the edges of the park. How can a park as a Gesamtkunstwerk with a character and mission that is diverging from the educational goal of commemoration integrate artifacts of a memorial? How will the recent directive of lowering intensive activities at the edges of Mauerpark define the gateway and what is are the anticipated qualitative changes from formal-artistic and social-perceptive perspectives? Finally, how does this relate to consequences of reconstructing historic parks. The paper compares the design qualities of the previous entry situation until 2018 with the new design that considerate the planned display of the artifacts of the memorial and the recent guidelines that discourage activities at the edges of Mauerpark. This study touches on revealing Gustav Lange’s layered design concept through personal conversations and exploring his philosophy and design language. Findings are that the planned design integrates the memorial-related interventions and provides an invitational gesture through a new tree-grid that begins at the edge of the street and dissolves into the park. From another perspective, the new edge of Mauerpark dilutes Lange’s concern for clarity. It teaches us the importance of identifying, conserving and maintaining our landmark pieces of landscape architecture like Mauerpark as they are an expression of their time and any reconstruction will always result in shortcomings of authenticity and potentially social-cultural values.