UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1

UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior PhotographyUNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior PhotographyUNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior PhotographyUNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior PhotographyUNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - More Images+ 25

  • Landscape Architects: Topotek 1
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  60000
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2014
  • Photographs
    Photographs:Hanns Joosten
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UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior Photography
© Hanns Joosten

“Lorsch Abbey” in Southern Hesse was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1991. The first monastery on the site was the Altenmünster which dates from the reign of Pippin the Short. As the monastery gained spiritual and economic influence an abbey was built nearby on a huge glacial dune. The complex became an important centre for restoring the cultural memory/inheritance of antiquity.

UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior Photography
© Hanns Joosten
UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Image 28 of 30
Plan
UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior Photography
© Hanns Joosten

Parts of the area are the fragments of Lorsch Abbey’s complex with the famous Carolingian gate hall, the church ruins, and the traces of the preceding Altenmünster, which is mainly a large green space with very few remains. In 2009 an interdisciplinary competition aimed at redesigning the area by connecting landscape and architecture while strictly following the regulations of monument preservation.

UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior Photography
© Hanns Joosten
UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior Photography
© Hanns Joosten
UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior Photography
© Hanns Joosten

Our central idea was to render history visible as a landscape. Unlike former, often historicising visualisations, our design approach focused on the ground plane. With the help of careful and subtle topographic interventions, the spare remains were accentuated. Thus, we mainly provided a “stage” for the site to present itself. – The glacial sand dune where the Abbey was built, was remodelled.

UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior Photography
© Hanns Joosten

Lines of sight from the visitors’ different points of view were established as well as new paths and walkways to stroll between the Abbey and the Altenmünster. The footprint of the monastic building structures has been reshaped and covered with a lawn-like protective carpet. With these means, we succeeded in making the absence of the ancient monastery felt. The design has resulted in an unobtrusive layout that respects topography, architecture, and archaeological findings at the same time.

UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1 - Exterior Photography
© Hanns Joosten

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Project location

Address:Lorsch, Germany

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "UNESCO World Heritage Site Cloister Lorsch / Topotek 1" 29 May 2021. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/962241/unesco-world-heritage-site-cloister-lorsch-topotek-1> ISSN 0719-8884

© Hanns Joosten

Lorsch修道院,修复联合国教科文组织世界遗产 / Topotek 1

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