Dusseldorf
24 - 27 Feb 2010
I went to Dusseldorf to meet James (my boyfriend) for the end of Depeche Mode's 'tour of the universe', which he has been working on for the past few months. I was interested to visit Germany again as the only other time I have spent there was back in the summer of 2005, when I spent some time in Munich. It was also an interesting visit for me to see the relationship the city shares with the Rhein (at university at the moment the focus of our main project is the river Thames and the relationship it shares with London and other settlements along it).
On the first morning i headed straight into the alt stadt which was very close to the hotel, and also runs along the edge of the river. The old town was quaint but the river edge was what i found interesting from a landscape perspective. The banks were wide and used as public space, the major use of the river for industry was apparent, but this didn't seem to stop the river being enjoyed by the general public, for leisure too. The Rhein is one of the major rivers in europe and is used in the area around Dusseldorf (lower Rhein) for transporting goods and industrial purposes, there are many plants and factories to be found on the banks around this area. Duisberg which is just up river from Dusseldorf has Europes biggest inland Port, acting as a hub for rotterdam, Anterp and Amsterdam sea ports. So you can see from the river edge a steady flow of goods carrying boats and barges on the river. The river edge still had the 'sea wall' type barriers and walls for flood prevention etc. which is what I felt so separated the town and the river at Gravesend (where the site is for my university project), however the use of wide spaces either side of the river for public use seemed to break down the 'barriers' and draw attention away from that boundary, so it almost was not a boundary any longer. There was a large stretch of the river which had restaurants and bars fronting straight onto it; this was fairly quiet when I went but I imagine gets very busy in better weather. This too draws people to the river and emphasises the fact that the river is something to be celebrated rather than hidden away.
One of the main things I noticed which was used in a few public squares and along walkways along the river was avenues of pleached trees. It is something that I haven't seen used in public space often before and the effect in some areas was really pleasant. It gave the feel that the space was well looked after and managed, and it also gave direction to linear spaces without creating too much of a barrier.
Above: a square in das altstadt
below: pleated trees along the river front. Above: pretty facades in das altstadt
The final two shows of the Tour of the Universe, where fairly epic. I have seen the show before at the 02 in London, and was impressed by the graphics, videos and lights the first time i saw it. It really hit me how much of an impact good design has on most aspects of modern life.
Photos from the last two shows of depecjed mode's Tour of the Universe, at the Espirit staduim in Dusseldorf.
