A few days ago, I chatted with Jakob Tigges, an architect who proposed building a 3000-feet mountain on the site of the airfield of the former city airport Tempelhof, which was closed down last fall. His proposal was a competition entry on what to do with the vast green space the size of Central Park.

His idea, in my opinion, beats most others, including just using the site to develop more housing (as if there’s any demand for that here). But the Senate of Berlin was quick to shoot it down: Not feasible. Right they may be. I have no idea if Berlin’s muddy foundations would even be able to support that kind of weight. Or where to get enough rocks (I don’t think the leftover concrete from the Berlin wall would be enough). Or what to do about those districts doomed to perpetual shade.

But it turns out the architect was misunderstood all along. What he merely proposes is to create the myth of a mountain. In people’s heads, but also in official communications, city guides, event calendars, weather reports, postcards and snow globes.

I’m very fond of this idea. For one thing, it saves us from any mediocre, short-sighted ideas of “what to do with the space.” Says Tigges: “If you don’t have an idea, maybe it’s better to do nothing.” For another, I think there’s something about the mysticism of an invisible, intangible mountain, the stories that are bound to evolve, the tourists trying to get a photo of the attraction. It matches the spirit of the city much better than any half-assed, actual project might, because much of Berlin’s appeal is due to its intellectual capital, the music and artsy stuff, the ephemeral night life spots.

The idea also has practical advantages: It’s bottom-up. No centralized decisions are neccessary – people can simply start creating. A pen, Photoshop, an Internet and a devoted community is all it takes to create a parallel universe. Compare to the appeal and mythology of ‘Lost’.

And it’s cheap. Which is always good. Especially here (my favorite for official city slogan: “Berlin. It’s cheap!”), a place that wants to be a real city, but lacks the economic engine, the business climate, the jobs, to attract real money.