CRYING SHELTER

A shingle as a cladding element for garden arbors

My parents’ garden plot was already doomed by lignite mining at the start of their lease. However, this threatening aspect did not stop them from signing the contract. Nothing lasts forever. Everyone knows this saying. But how much are we actually aware of this truth? What do we want to leave our predecessor? Do we want to leave him or her anything at all that bears witness to us? In the case of arbours, they are usually lovingly furnished nests and thus predetermined through and through; the design freedom is very limited. Here, I would like to regain as much free space for creativity as possible and rethink the handling of temporary property.

video of Christoph’s presentation
student:Christoph Kortung
project:(con)temporary crust
year:2021
Location of inspiration:my father’s residential property
Material:
local soil material and wood chips
Method of manufacturing:press moulding


Temporal aspect:duration of the lease

full concept text

My father’s residential property, where I also set up my workshop, is located in the south of Leipzig near the Markkleeberger See, which is part of the Leipziger Neuseenland. When my parents leased this property in the late eighties, today’s lakes were still lignite mines and you could hear the squeaking of the gigantic excavators constantly. My parents were told that our garden property will fall victim to the brown coal also around the year 2030. Knowing that this property will be no more in the foreseeable future, my parents invested in it anyway.
This aspect inspired me to think about a building element, which exists only for a predetermined period. In addition, it should not leave any hazardous waste with its decay, which somebody would have to dispose of.



Based on this consideration, I created a shingle as an external cladding element for garden arbours. The shingles are simply hung onto a substructure of beams and battens. In its production and composition I took the lease period into account; the expiration date of the contract is virtually built in. At that point in time, the exterior cladding should be worn away by the weather and the next tenant takes over with the full range of design options. The design of the shingles is based on those popular wooden panels that supposedly every allotment gardener knows so well. They are to be used mainly in urban allotment gardens, where there is a constant fluctuation of tenants.