About
The Institute of Cartopology practices, teaches and researches cartopology and other human-centered mapping practices to reveal and navigate the spatial complexities behind today’s challenges.
By merging cartography with lived experience, the Institute of Cartopology helps communities and institutions understand space more deeply, so they can work toward more inclusive places. And that work begins at home: in Berghut Halverwege, where founders Marlies and Remy host researchers, guests and neighbours in a working, cooking, thinking, map-filled household halfway the Vaalserberg. Here, cartopology is not only taught or studied: it is lived.
Rooted in the unique setting of Berghut Halverwege — part hut, part home, part field station — our work is shaped by the casualties of everyday life. As hut keepers, researchers and hosts, Marlies and Remy bring together guests, students, locals, colleagues and the passing wanderer. The result: a warm, unconventional environment where maps are drawn at the kitchen table, research unfolds between cups of coffee, and conversations stretch into the evening. It’s a place where knowledge grows through presence, participation and hospitality.
Guiding Lines
The work of the Institute of Cartopology is structured around three guiding lines that form the conceptual and methodological core of the institute. All research activities, collaborative practices, and public programs are situated within one or more of these lines. Together, they provide a coherent framework for sustained, long-term inquiry and ensure that workshops, experiments, and participatory activities contribute meaningfully to broader research trajectories rather than standing alone as isolated events.
1. Democracy through cartoliteracy
We aim to cultivate awareness of how everyone engages with maps. Maps are typically created with a specific purpose or perspective in mind, yet their influence extends far beyond their immediate function. Recognizing the power of maps, and the ways they shape our understanding of the world, is essential. While anyone can produce a map, it is equally crucial that everyone approaches maps critically, reflecting on the intentions embedded within them and the perspectives they convey.
2. Lowland mountain studies
What if we approached our surroundings with the same attention and wonder that we devote to the high mountains? Through a series of artistic and research projects, we render the Vaalserberg increasingly ‘mountainous’ in perception, training ourselves to recognise elevation and terrain in unexpected places. This practice is not about transporting everyone to the mountains, but about understanding that the more accessible mountains become, the greater the pressures on their existence. By learning to see mountains everywhere, we develop sensitivity to both landscape and human impact.
3. Unfolding sources
In the landscape surrounding Berghut Halverwege, where water has shaped the terrain, sources are never far away: they are vital both for life and for material culture. For instance, von Clermont utilised the soft waters of the Gau spring for textile dyeing, illustrating the importance of material resources. Maps, in turn, function as essential sources of knowledge: tools for safe navigation, policy-making, and the generation of insight. Just as natural sources sustain physical life, cartographic sources sustain intellectual exploration and understanding of place.
Rooted in the unique setting of Berghut Halverwege — part hut, part home, part field station — our work is shaped by the casualties of everyday life. As hut keepers, researchers and hosts, Marlies and Remy bring together guests, students, locals, colleagues and the passing wanderer. The result: a warm, unconventional environment where maps are drawn at the kitchen table, research unfolds between cups of coffee, and conversations stretch into the evening. It’s a place where knowledge grows through presence, participation and hospitality.
Rooted in the unique setting of Berghut Halverwege — part hut, part home, part field station — our work is shaped by the casualties of everyday life. As hut keepers, researchers and hosts, Marlies and Remy bring together guests, students, locals, colleagues and the passing wanderer. The result: a warm, unconventional environment where maps are drawn at the kitchen table, research unfolds between cups of coffee, and conversations stretch into the evening. It’s a place where knowledge grows through presence, participation and hospitality.
Rooted in the unique setting of Berghut Halverwege — part hut, part home, part field station — our work is shaped by the casualties of everyday life. As hut keepers, researchers and hosts, Marlies and Remy bring together guests, students, locals, colleagues and the passing wanderer. The result: a warm, unconventional environment where maps are drawn at the kitchen table, research unfolds between cups of coffee, and conversations stretch into the evening. It’s a place where knowledge grows through presence, participation and hospitality.