Ruralism by Vanessa Miriam Carlow Institute for Sustainable Urbanism ISU TU Braunschweig

Author:Vanessa Miriam Carlow, Institute for Sustainable Urbanism ISU, TU Braunschweig
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jovis Berlin
Published: 2019-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

The Interrelation of Architecture and Territorial Character in Northern Germany

Ines Lüder

This paper discusses the actual status of architecture, as well as challenges and potentials for the discipline in the territory on the basis of case studies in rural areas in Northern Germany. It will clarify the understanding of territory as an extensive basis and matrix in which architecture is embedded and to which it is related (Schröder et al. 2010). Territory in this sense is constituted by the distinction of an outside and by the specific and manifold relations between its elements—including the natural conditions, the human artifacts, as well as the actors and their designations.

For rural areas of Switzerland, the emergence of an urban culture that is determined by differences rather than by a distinctive character has been described, which is possibly true for village cultures in former times (Diener et al. 2005, 173). Furthermore, the presence of differences implies “an unexpected and multilayered urban dynamic” (Ibid., 116). Similar conditions were observed in Northern Germany as will be pointed out in the following text. The areas of examination, formerly classified as rural in the sense that they were sparsely populated and agrarian-orientated, are undergoing fundamental changes and developing into complex, ambiguous, and indeterminate rural-urban territories. The territorial character is undergoing a rapid transformation along with the process of urbanization and globalization. Simultaneously, the regional identity as expressed and sustained through a characteristic cultural landscape comes under scrutiny again as a possibly advantageous site in terms of competitiveness for both people and money (BMVBS/BBR 2006). These processes generate new questions for the field of architecture and settlement development (BMVBS 2013). Architecture is a relevant component of the cultural landscape in urban and rural areas. This is true for single objects, but also for the large-scale context and impact of architecture in the territory as will be emphasized in the following sections. This paper addresses the question of how architecture can contribute to establishing a sense of place, to create regional identity and character, and by doing so add to a sustainable development of livable territories (BMVBS 2006; BfN 2010).

Historical and contemporary spatial manifestations will be described from the findings gained from the analysis of the community of Dornum, located in East Frisia on the North Sea, by using a method which analyzes the built elements of a territory within a contextual system of relations. The case study elements will be evaluated regarding their capability for the development of the cultural landscape and regarding their consequences for architectural practice and the establishment of a regional building culture.

Differences and the Cultural Landscape

The following description of the case study of Dornum will show how the built environment changes along with the manifold needs and actors, along with changes in the economy, culture, and also craftsmanship and building techniques. Apart from natural elements—which are to a great extent cultivated by humans—built elements are relevant parts of a cultural landscape: they can be buildings of different functions and materials; they can be infrastructure elements or

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