We were asked to think up a masterplan for the old watermill in Mönchmühle near Berlin. The building had been lovingly restored yet the whole had not yet a concept which would bring the historical substance to life, imbue it with new meaning for future, tie it into the needs of the local community such as space for exhibitions, concerts, special events and groups, and attract interest from outside. We learnt that with sophisticated technology, the Cistercian monks who came to this low lying area in the 13th century, were able to generate considerable power from a little falling water, and to put it to all manner of uses. To ween ourselves off fossil fuels, we today need to rediscover such resourcefulness, and our idea for Mönchmühle is to turn it into both a cosy community centre, a museum and an interactive experimentation space for clean energies.

In assoc. with Schrickel + Partner Landschaftsarchitekten and Studio klv.