The courtyards in Berlin provide unique spaces for quiet in the middle of the city. Strolling the streets, we poke our head in and suddenly find a space cutoff from the hustle and bustle of the city and walk into a new territory. Sometimes we find clues about their history, sometimes we see old signs from a past, which may be indecipherable to us. We might hear the muffled voices of the inhabitants of the buildings, surrounding the courtyard, the sounds of the wind, and the birds. I find the courtyards enchanting spaces, providing a temporary hub of quiet, out in the open, where silence meets the sounds that are mostly inaudible in the cacophony of the city.
As spaces that provide instant isolation from the rush of daily life, courtyards allow a perfect glimpse of what urban silence can be. I would like to contribute to the upcoming 48 Stunden Neukölln with a wall installation of a short poem that makes use of the urban quiet these spaces offer.
