The gravestone label receives the award for outstanding product design in 2019.A sign of change in German cemetery culture, hopes Managing Director Alexander Hanel. The family business Rokstyle from Middle Franconia has played a key role in shaping the cemetery image in recent years: Managing Director Alexander Hanel has recognized the need for individuality and designed gravestones with Swarovski stones or glass inlays. The stonemason also develops […]

The gravestone label receives the award for outstanding product design in 2019.A sign of change in German cemetery culture, hopes Managing Director Alexander Hanel.

The family business Rokstyle from Middle Franconia has played a key role in shaping the cemetery image in recent years: Managing Director Alexander Hanel has recognized the need for individuality and designed gravestones with Swarovski stones or glass inlays. The third-generation stonemason also develops designs for grave jewelry manufacturers. He won the German Design Award for one of these: The “Magic Stars” grave light combines stainless steel with Swarovski crystals and ornate bronze relief plates.

The Rokstyle brand is now available internationally and from over 450 retailers. Hanel says: “When it comes to the cemetery, many still have a dreary gray in mind. However, the image of the cemetery has changed dramatically in recent years.” He wants to contribute to further change with his creations. German cemetery culture is too rigid and dreary for him. Hanel’s gravestone designs are therefore also inspired by other cultures in which the culture of death celebrates the deceased. Hanel also wants to modernize the gravestone design process itself: For example, his customers can use an online configurator to put together their desired gravestone.

The Association of German Landscape Architects (bdla) has two new assessors. Bdla President Prof. Stephan Lenzen appointed landscape architects Prof. Dr. Antje Backhaus and Martina Gaebler to the bdla Executive Committee at the end of March 2023. On March 31, the two new assessors were welcomed at the bdla advisory board meeting in Mainz.

The Association of German Landscape Architects (bdla) has two new assessors. Bdla President Prof. Stephan Lenzen appointed landscape architects Prof. Dr. Antje Backhaus and Martina Gaebler to the bdla Executive Committee at the end of March 2023. On March 31, the two new assessors were welcomed at the bdla advisory board meeting in Mainz.

Antje Backhaus studied landscape use and nature conservation at the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNE) and worked at gruppe F in Berlin for several years before becoming co-owner of the office in 2013. At gruppe F, she works on a wide variety of projects in the fields of rainwater management, large-scale concepts, landscape architecture and participation. She also gives lectures and acts as a judge. From 2008 to 2018, she was also an Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen, focusing on research and teaching in the field of urban stormwater management and climate adaptation. Her doctoral thesis entitled “Urban Stormwater Management – Values and Design” was awarded the Peter Stahre Scholarship for outstanding research in the field of stormwater management in 2012. In October 2022, Antje Backhaus took over the professorship for Green Technologies in Landscape Architecture at the University of Hanover. This is what Antje Backhaus says about the role of her profession: “As landscape architects, we play a central role in the overdue climate adaptation of our cities. Our expertise in areas such as planning communication, green development and sustainable drainage is required. We must courageously and emphatically face up to challenges such as the adaptation of regulations and standards. Above all, however, we must clearly demonstrate the opportunities that lie in the transformation.”

Martina Gaebler studied landscape development at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. She has been working for Kortemeier Brokmann Landschafsarchitekten in Herford since 2001. In 2014, she became part of the management team. Her work focuses on project management, environmental contributions, particularly in the areas of infrastructure planning, regional and urban land-use planning, landscape planning and species protection. Martina Gaebler has also completed training as a mediator in the field of planning and construction. She summarizes her motivation as a new bdla assessor as follows: “I would like to bring the topics that I deal with on a daily basis in my professional life into the association’s work: Nature conservation law, species protection, the expansion of renewable energies…, but also precisely the interfaces between open space and landscape planning. After all, we have the common goal of making the cities and landscapes of tomorrow resilient to the effects of climate change.”

bdla presidium
President: Prof. Stephan Lenzen, freelance landscape architect, Bonn
Vice President: Gudrun Rentsch, freelance landscape architect, Kitzingen
Vice President: Timo Herrmann, freelance landscape architect, Berlin
Treasurer: Jens Henningsen, freelance landscape architect, Berlin
Assessors:
Prof. Dr. Antje Backhaus, freelance landscape architect, Berlin
Martina Gaebler, freelance landscape architect, Herde
Franz Reschke, freelance landscape architect, Berlin
(Status: 1.4.2023)

Essentials for climate adaptation: Read the 20 requirements formulated by the bdla for a consistent climate adaptation policy here.