Berliners aghast as ‘green’ makeover turns square into concrete desert

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1. For centuries the rulers of Berlin have used the Gendarmenmarkt, a grand square in the heart of the capital, as a canvas for their ideologies — from Frederick the Great’s monumental churches to the prefabricated concrete façades erected by the East German communist regime.

   After its latest renovation, which took two years and cost €21 million, Berliners were inevitably curious to find out what the “climate-adapted, heritage-friendly” makeover would say about their city’s vision of the future.

   The answer: an eight-acre expanse of regulation grey paving slabs, with barely a tree in sight.

   The reaction across the political spectrum, from conservative politicians to devout environmental activists, has been overwhelmingly negative.

   A square once hailed as one of the finest in Germany had been reduced to an “urban bald patch”, a “concrete desert from the 1970s” or a “stone-and-concrete horror”, according to some of the kinder assessments.

   There is particular bafflement at the near-total absence of greenery, beyond a handful of scraggly Japanese maples, not least as the project was overseen by a company called Grün Berlin (Green Berlin) and heavily influenced by the local branch of the Green party

2. To so many lawn-brained people, if they cant use their particular ornamental they won’t use anything at all. Native plants are adapted to local conditions but they’d rather have rock and concrete.

3. Crazy. Sounds like theft to me. Took the money and did paved it over.

4. I could have done it for only $20M 

5. My guess is someone would have suggested planting trees, but the local government didn’t want to pay for the ongoing pruning, leaf clearing etc.

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