Interview: Susan Einhorn

Near the centre of Chemnitz, you find the primary school “Südlicher Sonnenberg”. It is the first school in Chemnitz with a school yard and garden on top of the building. Susan Einhorn, an architect who works for the municipality of Chemnitz, was the main initiator of this project. Together with her team, she (re)develops urban buildings, especially schools and kindergartens. The project started in 2018. Susan and her team of architects and engineers were looking for a suitable location to develop a new school. They found a piece of land that seemed quite appropriate because of its position next to a park with public playgrounds and sports fields, though there was not enough space on the plot to develop a school, a two-field gym and a schoolyard. They came up with a solution: why not use the rooftop of the school as a schoolyard? On the roof there is space for teaching, gardening and playing. The idea is also to use the rooftop multifunctional for the kindergarten next to the school and to host events on it.

“There are a lot of higher buildings looking out on this rooftop, their view is a lot prettier now!”

Where did you get the inspiration from to use the rooftop as a school yard? Susan: “It was mostly because of the lack of space on this plot, without using the school roof, we would only have to build a small school yard and no school garden. But we also thought it would be a waste not to use the huge space on this roof. The height of the rooftop offers a perfect view over the area. Also, there are a lot of higher buildings looking out on this rooftop, their view is a lot prettier now!”

 

Susan hopes the roof will also be made accessible for people from the neighbourhood. “We also thought the rooftop could be a space where activities for the neighbourhood can be organised, such as sport classes or little concerts. Being on the rooftop offers a more peaceful, calm and safe space for these type of activities.” To make this possible, we will have to work together with the directors of the school and kindergarten to come up with some regulations to provide for a responsible use of this space and to avoid garbage and nuisance.”

“If we didn’t construct the school garden on the roof, we had to build it somewhere else, which would have costed money as well.”

Finances and challenges

How did you manage to finance the costs for the school garden? Susan: “Well, if we didn’t construct the school yard garden on the roof, we had to build it somewhere else, which would have costed money as well. On the roof it’s a bit more expensive, but we didn’t have to acquire land, so that also saved us a lot of money.” A worry of some of Susan’s colleagues at the municipality is maintenance, who is going to take care of the garden once it’s finished? Susan: “In my opinion, the school children, teachers and people from the neighbourhood can sponsor and take care of it, so we don’t need money for maintenance at all. In the new school there will be a school garden teacher, I hope she will embrace this project and take charge of the coordination of maintenance. But I’m also willing to take my part, because I really love this roof and I want to make it to a success so it can serve as an example for other projects.” Also Christin, who lives in Chemnitz and is also part of the ECRN project as a Nomad is willing to take her part in making this project into a success. Christin: “I want to organise a meeting where all involved stakeholders come together to discuss the future of this roof, I would like to come up with a watering plan for the summer for example.”

“You have to fight for it. Use the criticism of people to improve your project, but don’t give up because of it.”

What advice would you give others who also want to start a rooftop project? Susan: “You have to fight for it. Use the criticism of people to improve your project, but don’t give up because of it. I hope the roof will be used to give inspiring classes where children learn about greenery and sustainable energy systems.”

Susan is excited to transform more rooftops: “I’m working on a project for another school now. This is an extension to an old building, for this reason we cannot make the roof accessible due to the altitude levels, but we will create a green roof that will be visible from all of the classrooms.”

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