Brandlhuber b&k+ + Büro für Konstruktivismus
www.brandlhuber.com / www.buerofuerkonstruktivismus.de
The Hambach mine is the biggest open cast mine in Germany, encompassing a total area of 8.500 hectares. Most probably in 2045 there will be a 40 square kilometer wide and 400 meter deep hole in the ground because of the removed brown coal. The plan is to fill the Hambach hole with water and turn it into a lake, making it, by volume, the second largest inland sea in the country. The original concept for the structure and shape of the lake followed basic operational considerations, like the most efficient driving patterns for the giant excavators, and does not adequately take the local communities into account. The new plan is to restructure the contours of the lake in relation to the surrounding villages such as Elsdorf, which would then become Elsdorf-am-See (Elsdorf-on-Sea), and allow them to profit from the lake’s proximity in terms of nature, tourism, and economy. He proposes to redesign the driving routes of the excavators so that the future lake can be shaped in favour of the surrounding area whilst not interfering with the operations of the mine itself.
Arno Brandlhuber is the founder of b&k+ brandlhuber (Berlin, since 2006). Since 2003 he holds the chair of architecture and urban research at the Akademie der Künste Nürnberg. Büro für Konstruktivismus was founded by a Sandra Bartoli and Silvan Linden in 2006. The office works in the area of architecture, art and journalism. Recent projects include the magazine „Die Planung / A Terv“ (co-editors) and the conversion of the gallery carlier | gebauer in Berlin.
