Saturday, July 6, 2013

Water, Wasser, L’eau


by Monica Peters


Looking through the twin lenses of water quality and water use in two European landscapes highlights a lengthy history of reshaping the environment.  
The German town of Freiburg (pop. 230,000) owns a network of narrow, shallow ‘baechle’ which cut through the cobbled streets. They are a mildly hazardous, distinctive feature of the town and an historic remnant of days when these diminutive urban canals were needed to provide water for drinking and quenching fires. Today, the waters are so clean that they are used to cool hot feet in the summer time, feed thirsty dogs and to sail specially designed miniature boats along. More

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Lithica Foundation

About 30 years ago a French architecture student Laetitia Lara decided to turn an abandoned sandstone quarry in Menorca into a post-industrial heritage park - the Lithica Foundation. Roads were opened and gardens were created in the oldest part of the ancient quarries, along with creating a range of labyrinthine spaces that were to become the settings for concerts and workshops with schools, artists, and visitors.