That was probably one of the questions participants of the „Malenter Runde“ asked themselves after seeing the programme with the announcement of Weatherpark’s lecture. Following the invitation of the Federation of German Landscape Architects (bdla) to an exchange of know-how in November in Bad Malente, Germany, landscape architects accordingly showed great interest. Executive director Simon Tschannett answered this question promptly: plants and water substantially influence quality of life of human beings. When properly placed around buildings, in cities and, of course, in rural areas as well, trees, water fountains etc. help to perceive wind and solar radiation as pleasant. Because they reduce – among others – wind speed, provide shade and improve air quality. Weatherpark explained the complex methodology underlying their studies and advisory services and presented numerous examples of successful implementations.
With this lecture Weatherpark fitted superbly in the programme „Wind.Weather.Water“ which focused on climate change, climate protection and urban climate. „The spirit of Malente“ revealed itself not only among soccer players (following training camps in Bad Malente, the German National Soccer Team won the world championships in 1976 and 1990), the 50 participants benefited from the intensive know-how exchange in an open-minded atmosphere. Simon Tschannett concludes: “Landscape architects have learned that there is an important interface between human beings and meteorology also in their field. We at Weatherpark were particularly impressed by the extent to which landscape architects in Germany are involved in the planning process of new buildings and urban districts. This is what we hope for in Austria as well.”
Tip:
The technical University Dresden has established a database with woody plants which lists trees and shrubs for the urban space – after selecting site-specific criteria:
CITREE (in German)
Further links:
bdla
bdla Landesgruppe Schleswig-Holstein: Malenter Runde (in German)