Hannover

Our last stop was Hannover, and the architecture school where our local hosts were based. It was a bit like trading places for one week-- our architecture school for theirs-- with the odd similarities and contrasts.

The building was not so different from ours, with a sort of faded appearence.


Being a public university, and our class being a short summer workshop, we didn't have access to the "mod cons" we are used to-- internet access was limited, as were scanners and printers. We made do-- this was my group's workspace for the week.


Hannover did not have Thomas Jefferson, but it does have its own baroque garden, a la Versailles, pretty much across the street from the architecture school. We had a guided tour with one of the local professors. The planted form included a lot of allees, hedges, and trees that had been heavily pruned. These forms extend out from the garden into the surrounding urban landscape, including this unbelievably long allee of lindens that led to the school.


I noticed how the hedges showed differing degrees of transparency-- letting light through, or blocking views, in different ways.


Also near school, another street with planted allee led to the Kleingartens, the local version of community gardens. Compared to ours, these gardens are more like "country homes," although the small sheds are meant for day-use and not overnight stays. I have the sense that the American model is more about cultivating a productive patch, so to me, the Kleingarten seemed very expressive of each individual's personality-- the details were more homey-- like more imaginative front lawns (if the lawns included a lot of plants). Unfortunately, my camera batteries gave out at this point, so I don't have a good image of these places.