Turley Barracks, Mannheim, Germany

The new urban district “Home Run Turley” of Mannheim has the motto “creating spaces for everything and everyone.” To support this motto, open spaces that will provide future residents with a wide range of activities are conceived. These spaces are developed in the form of a square, which seems particularly suitable for the new quarter as the square is a repeating motif within the urban structure and the architecture of the buildings. A square is clear and well defined, and the side lengths are always equal, the order of the shape commanded by its right angles. According to the American Mel Bartholomew, the founder of the Square Foot Gardening Movement, people need many squares to support their needs.

Many small beds with a wide range of plants provide a lush diversity and more joy than a large bed of a single species planted wide apart. In Turley, square hedges frame the residences. The square-shaped hedges are divided into number of smaller squares, each of which is designed differently. In some spaces, residents can snack on fruit trees or berry bushes, while others create small private gardens. Alternatively, residents can meet around a table in the courtyard around and celebrate together.