Zen Gardens „DOKO EN“
The Garden “DOKO EN” covers an area of 200 square metres between two office buildings at the KROHNE headquarters in Germany.
The Ryoan-ji gardens in Kyoto design by a monk and Artist build in 11th and 12th centuries. A lot of known artist from all over the world have been inspired from Ryon-ji- garden. So if you look the works from Yves Klein you understand that he was there an took the essential Spirit with him to Europe. Rilke, the poet, once said to himself when looking at a painting, “You need to change your life”.

Japanese gardens are based on the principle of Kanso or simplicity and an abstract vision of the elements of Nature. Making a Japanese garden is called ishi wo tatsu or setting stones. The garden is a dry landscape with no flowing water or flowering plants to distract the mind from the pursuit of deeper knowledge. The white, raked gravel of a Japanese garden represents the sea. The stones symbolize ships, boats and even islands where moss and lichens represent the coastline. The actual dimensions of a Zen garden are of little importance. The effect of a garden owes more to balanced composition and the meaningful use of relatively small surfaces and spaces.

Japanese gardens exude peace and tranquility and their mysterious, enigmatic beauty is a source of constant fascination. We are still not sure today if Zen Buddhist monks consciously followed a deliberate pattern when setting out the stones. Most probably they followed an instinctive approach developed from the experience of meditating a stone composition in a tense state. The refined proportions, the dynamics and the stillness of the stones come together in a composition that draws in the observer’s subconscious.