atelier le balto

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Installation view of "Passage," 2016, courtesy atelier le balto, photo: Timo Ohler

Founded in 2001
Véronique Faucheur * 1963 in Oran, DZ, lives and works in Berlin
Marc Pouzol * 1966 in Bourg-la-Reine, FR, lives and works in Berlin
Marc Vatinel * 1967 in Lille, FR, lives and works in Le Havre, FR

As the center of Berlin becomes crammed with development projects, fenced-off lots, cranes, and condos, the precise and unpretentious aesthetics of the landscape architect group atelier le balto renew the dialogue between the human-made city and its own fragile natural ecologies. The courtyard of KW Institute for Contemporary Art has been transformed by atelier le balto to contain a series of parallel rectangular volumes of vegetation at the entrance. Framed by a rough wooden fence, the shapes function as green filters that visitors must pass through when entering from the street. The plants that define these volumes include invasive and pioneer vegetation like birch and staghorn sumac, which provide a natural but non-native garden for the clusters of people passing through.

List of works

Passage, 2016

Mixed media
Courtesy atelier le balto
Commissioned and produced by Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art
With kind support from Lorberg Baumschulerzeugnisse