Natur Park Schöneberger Südgelände and Berlin’s Urban Nature
public conference on the awarded place and Carlo Scarpa Prize Ceremony
The 32nd edition of the International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens is dedicated to the Natur Park Schöneberger Südgelände and the formation of an “Berlin’s urban nature” that it represents.
Today the area has become a large public space and has thus been instrumental in redefining the concept of an inner-city park. Its abandoned railway structures, vast expanses of vegetation, which have for the most part been left to grow wild, and art installations which make a visit to the park even more enjoyable, emphasise the dialogue between signs of human presence and ever-evolving nature.
Two public events are planned for Saturday 14 May: the international conference dedicated to the place and themes of this edition of the Prize and the ceremony with the awarding of the Prize.
9.30 am-1.30 pm
Treviso, Spazi Bomben
The conference, introduced by Luigi Latini and coordinated by Patrizia Boschiero, includes the following talks:
Thilo Folkerts, Berlin: the emergence of an urban nature;
Ingo Kowarik, Natur Park Südgelände: the discovery of urban nature in Berlin and its use as the backbone of novel parks;
Rita Suhrhoff, Natur Park Südgelände: design, maintenance, development;
Klaus Duschat, The role of the art of ODIOUS in Natur Park Südgelände;
Anna Lambertini, Hybrid, cosmopolitan, inventive. Nature of “urban wilderness”;
Norbert Kühn, The contribution of spontaneous vegetation in today’s and future cities. The case of Berlin;
Juan Manuel Palerm, The wild nature of the wastelands. On Berlin: “urban nature”, architecture, art and the void as project material.
from 5 pm
Treviso, Teatro Comunale Mario Del Monaco
The ceremony, introduced and coordinated by Luigi Latini (chairman of the Scientific Committee and director of the Foundation), includes the screening of the documentary film Natur Park Südgelände directed by Davide Gambino, and, after the presentation and jury’s statement, the awarding of the Prize, in the form of the seal designed by Carlo Scarpa, to the three persons who today, collectively, in respect of Natur Park Südgelände, are most representative of the sense of shared experience, the coming together of different knowledge and the great ability to listen: Klaus Duschat, sculptor (ODIOUS), Ingo Kowarik, ecologist and landscape planner, Rita Suhrhoff (park manager, Grün Berlin). Testimonials of an institutional nature follow, ending with a musical performance by the violinist Claudio Rado.