YOUR FORUM FOR PLAY, SPORTS UND LEISURE AREAS
Two years after its successful premiere, over 100 participants gathered on the Messe Berlin exhibition grounds for the latest edition of "Zukunft Stadt@GRÜNBAU BERLIN." The forum for urban development provided information on a comprehensive range of subjects: from design possibilities for inclusive playgrounds and green- and open spaces in the city of the future through sustainable wood procurement and certification options to the networking of rainwater management and lighting in the urban environment. The editor at the Berlin daily taz and author Uwe Rada hosted the event, which was organised by Messe Berlin in conjunction with the trade publications Garten+Landschaft and Playground@Landscape.
"Every playground and every movement offering promotes inclusion," said Ute Eckardt, head of planning at the office for urban green space and waste management at Dresden city council, in her address at the start of the forum. The key principle, she said, is barrier-free accessibility. For planning she mentioned five further key aspects: the involvement of all potential users, a variety of offerings, consideration of the entire neighbourhood, a change in the perspective of the planner and the fostering of togetherness.
Next, the Essen-based landscape architect Martina Hoff presented a number of exceptional inclusive playgrounds including the Generations Park in Witten and the Heidhof forest playground in Kirchhellen. She mentioned requirements for such play spaces including outstanding and unique facilities which are close to homes, barrier-free infrastructure, the usability of existing paths and structures and supporting services such as a website and maps. She added that it must be possible to keep standards consistently high in the long term.
Peter Menke, President of the DIE GRÜNE STADT foundation, spoke about green and open spaces in the city of the future. Michael Kutschke, LegalSource lead auditor covering Germany, Austria and Switzerland at the certification body NEPCon, provided information on sustainable wood procurement and certification options. Dieter Grau, Executive Partner and Managing Director of Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl, discussed the functional and aesthetic networking of rainwater management in his presentation.
"Artistic illuminations contribute to the culture of public space, create character and thanks to their cutting-edge lighting technology help to enhance aesthetics and improve energy efficiency." This guiding principle is the starting point for the lighting projects funded by the "Lebendige Stadt" Foundation, which were discussed by Gerhard Fuchs, a member of the Foundation's Executive Committee. Martin Rein-Cano, Managing Director of the TOPOTEK 1 landscape architects' firm, presented exceptional and unusual street furniture in his concluding address. In addition to function, the most important initial consideration in planning is attractiveness, so that the urban space in question is accepted by people.
At GRÜNBAU BERLIN, part of the bautec exhibition, manufacturers, service providers and merchants, landscape architects and planners and representatives of the housing and waste management sectors will be able to continue to exchange experiences and views from 20 to 23 February 2018.
