The initiative STADT-NEUDENKEN (Rethink the city - of Berlin) has drafted a position paper which wants to promote a new way of dealing with public owned real estate in Berlin (Liegenschaften).
At the moment and for the last 10 years, the Liegenschaftsfond Berlin is the institution administrating and marketing the city owned real estate properties. So far the policy was to sell everything for the highest prize possible. After ten years it realzied 2.6 billion Euros in selling city owned properties. But Berlin has some 62 billon Euro depts. So it seems not realistic that the selling of the city owned real estate can contribute significantly to any substantial debt relief of the city. Under this circumstances especially it becomes obvious that a more farsighted and sustainable policy is urgently needed, which looks at use concepts for public real estates which are local and long lasting, interesting, experimental and thus can develop something which cannot be foreseen. We strongly support this position paper and want to encourage the new city government to go for a daring city policy and local approach which would possibly maintain the special character of the city better than any "Be Berlin" campaign!
Urban Passion, October 2011
participatory youth project initiated by nomadisch grün/prinzessinnen gärten
07-11.2010
Stadtsafari 2010 was a participatory youth project within the framework of the ExWoSt scheme of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development. The project was conceptualized and initiated by nomadisch grün (g)Gmbh - the makers of Prinzessinnengärten, a well known urban gardening project in Berlin, Kreuzberg.
The idea was to find a way of involving young grown-ups actively into the shaping of their neighborhood, their city - to show that the city is something they can involve in actively. The catalysator or tool for interaction and involvement was a mobile youth club in the shape of a self build container made in the measurements of a standard office container made out of a wooden frame structure.
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| photo: m.clausen |
Summer School , April 5th to April 23rd 2010 in Mumbai, India
still from the reportage (martin schwegmann, rangvir singh) 
urbanistic survey in the framework of the research program for Experimental Housing and Urban Development (ExWoSt) of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (BMVBS)
comissioned by: district of Friedrichshain/Kreuzberg, Berlin
organized by: tx-architekten, berlin
type: urbanistic survey, invited competition
date: october - november 2008
content: transforming a former engine shed into a cultural center
status: completed, 3rd place - adjacent buildings are torn down, engine shed remains unrenovated and empty (27.01.2010)
work group: johanna kuna, martin schwegmann
The engine shed lies in a brownfield, the former wriezener bahnhof in Berlin Friedrichshain/Kreuzberg, next to the well know club Berghain. The former railway area is getting converted into a community park. Through the federal ExWOSt program a participatory design process is financed, in which the reformed engine shed is to play a crucial role. Momentarily the fallow area of the park, the so-called wriezener freiraum labor (wriezener freespace lab), comprises different uses: BMX Bumptrack, School Garden, Basketball Cage, Freifunkhain (W-Lan Accesspoints)
The engine shed was meant to form a meeting point for the locals in the near by quarter. The meeting point had to meet the needs of people of all generations and be able to enhance the communication between young and old.
The greatest challenge was the very tight budget in connection with the potentially high adaptation cost of the old industrial building to its new use. Therefore we proposed a very soft intervention with only the renovation of the lower part of the building, an annex for office and toilets and a staircase plus terrace, which would connect the lower with the upper part of the building, securing a fire exit and yet forming an attractive outdoor space, we called it sun set peer, which would potentially attract people from inside and outside the close surrounding.
The transformation of the building was to take part in different phases in order to acquire potentially more budget over time, involve the people in the area and find somebody to run the place. In a third, optional phase, we proposed to renovate the adjacent buildings, which the building authority wanted to be torn down. In order to run the place effectively we thought the extra space would be very important to have. On top of that, one of the buildings, which was mainly financed by the district (Bezirksamt) just some years ago, had strong potentials as a venue for sports, culture and meetings.
a Midsummer ´Night´s Dream (new staircase could serve as an outdoor stage)
The upper part of the building was to be rebuild walk-able sculpture in order to keep the insulation regulation at minimum.
The suns set pier, the terrace were old and young could meet and enjoy the spectacular view
We were asked to look for sustainable ways of dealing with electricity, heating and water. Given the fact, that next to the engine shed a huge wholesale is situated, our idea was to use a heat pump, in order to use the heat produces from the cooling of the wholesale. The use of rain and sun for water and electricity was obvious.
above you see the potential sports hall, mentioned above, which is now torn down
urbanistic survey for former berlin wall area,
commissioned by the district Berlin Mitte
type: urbanistic survey, invited competition
date: april to october 2008
content: development of a strategy and possible housing typology for a new quarter on the former no man´s land of the Berlin wall in Berlin Mitte (Centre) in the area of alte Jakobstraße and Alexandrienen Straße (near Metro Spittelmarkt)
status: completed, 3rd place
workgroup: KUNSTrePUBLIK, Urban Passion, ifau
In an urbanistic survey, commissioned by the municipality of Berlin/Mitte, we were invited to develop a new utilization and building concept for an area within the margins of the former death strip of the berlin wall between alte Jakob Straße, Alexandrinen- and Stallschreiber Straße. Within an interdisciplinary team of artists and architects we first organized interviews and talks with local inhabitants and external experts in an specially created vehicle. These talks formed a decisive basis of our proposal.
invited experts:
Klaus Overmeyer, landscape architect, urban catalyst studio, expert for bottom up planning
Horst Pfander, stattbau.de & Selbstbau Kreuzberg, expert for self-organized building
Winfried Härtel, Wohnprojekte-Berlin.info, expert for house builder groups
Berthold Becker, JonesLang LaSalle - Asset Management, expert for real estate development
Ralf Chille, TPA-berlin.de, Agentur für Quartiersmarketing, expert for place branding
Dr. Michael LaFont, id22, institute for creative sustainability, expert for alternative urban development
Christophe Kotanyi, AG-Kleinstlandwirtschaft und Gärten in Stadt und Land, expert for guerilla gardening and temporary uses
Alex Toland, Wrietzener Freiraumlabor Berlin, expert for guerilla gardening and temporary uses
The expert talks with their fruitful discussions created substantial input for our concepts.
Our key concepts:
-development in phases, small parcels,
-openness of identity = the possibility of experiments
-necessity of a program jump start, an initial spark
-connected, and accessible green spaces with individual use
The mix of "formal" and "informal" uses should be given in order to start right away with a diverse multiplicity of players in order to give the place a rather unique profile.
What do we mean by formal and informal uses? Formal once are those which are rather permanent and need high investment such as housing. Less permanent and less investment intensive uses like gardening, temporary workspaces, cultural venues we see as informal uses. Less permanent refers to the character of the spacial intervention following the use. Nevertheless we regard these uses as very important to shape the original character of the quarter.
In order to give smaller investors the chance to build and
also to get a better mix of users, our concept foresees relatively small parcels and the development in phases, in order to avoid a permanent building site. The aim is, to complete intact parts. That makes a long development phase bearable.
Concerning a possible architecture for the area we developed relatively flexible floor plan solutions which facilitate multi family uses. We try to keep the green spaces as big, connected and accessible as possible within the tight framework of the task.
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