CAYENNE

TERRITORY

The documented occupation of Grunewald has been recorded since the 16^th century, the name derives from the hunting lodge of Grunewald erected in 1543 by order of Elector Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg and named Zum Gruenen Wald. Later in the 19^th century, the area would become populated by upper-class ‘mansion colonies’ promoted by Otto von Bismarck.

The territory surrounding the site is mostly considered a nature reserve, however many of the distinguishing features that have become synonymous with the region are products of industry and war.

Most striking is the “Teufelsberg”. The constructed hill stands at 120.1m making it the highest elevation in Berlin, between 1950 until 1972 approximately 26 million cubic meters of excavated war debris and construction waste were deposited.

Another site of interest is “Sandgrube im Jagen 86 des Grunewaldes” a biotope near the site. The site is a product of sand mining for the construction industry of west Berlin between the 19^th and 20^th centuries. The excavation of 18 hectares dropping between 15 to 25m is below the water table, creating shallow waterholes and providing a rich diversity of flora enriching the quality of varied habitats available to many species of wildlife.

LEGACY

A legacy spawns a new generation with hope, the Cayenne Stories future, retro-speculative settlement hopes to become a model that can explore methods of generative, circular economies with humankind and kin. A model for dwelling within ones means where the space occupied is not to the detriment of the soil and species who inhabit a similar vector.

The processes of habitation, once no longer useful to the citizens leave only traces of occupation in the most archaic forms. Composted to the mere reference of dwelling, the site leaves behind more than it removed.

As an intervention on the land, the blurred boundaries of the edge, in combination with the careful negotiation between the mycelium symbiotics provided the settlement with a basis for understanding nourishment.

Nourishment does not stop at the lips of the hungry; the active participation in nourishing the land is implicit in the process. The ability to directly observe and partake in the activity of nourishment is critical to the story.