Who are we?

URBAN PASSIONATES


Geographer, Berlin

Architect and Activist, Copenhagen

Art Director, Berlin

Architect, Brussels

Architect, Berlin

Artist and Activist, Copenhagen

Filmmaker and Photographer, Berlin

Architect, Urbanist

Journalist and Human Rights Activist

Social Innovation Consultant, Copenhagen

 Artist, Istanbul

Art Therapist and Human Rights Activist

Media Consultant, Berlin

Urban Development, Berlin

Architect, Berlin





Dr. Martin Schwegmann
Architect, Urbanist

I work in the realm of urbanism: That is to my definition somehow the intersection between space, society, politics and economy. I am educated as an architect and urban designer. In my PhD I explored methods of qualitative social research.

In my work (workshops, lectures, surveys, competitions, planning, philantropy) I am interested in creating a diverse and authentic city. I am convinced that the expansion of the current tool kit of planners towards an incorporation of communication (participation) and urban research is inevitable if we want to find sustainable and inclusive answers to the challenges our cities are facing today.

Currently I am program manager for "Actors of Urban Change", a pilot program by the Robert Bosch Foundation and MitOst e.V. The program aims at a sustainable urban development through culture, focussing on cross-sector collaboration and participation.  

I taught at the royal danish academy of fine arts, school of architecture, art academy helsinki and university of the arts in berlin.

PhD Project: 

"Istanbul and the Grassroots?"
Civil Society Organizations, Local Politics 
and Gecekondu Development  download

phd supervisors: Prof. Peter Herrle,  Prof. Sonja Nebel
(Habitat Unit, TU Berlin)                  (RWTH Aachen; GUtech, Oman)

I was coordinator of the graduate studies group of the Georg Simmel Center for Metropolitan Studies at Humboldt-University Berlin. www.graduatesstudiesgroup.blogspot.com.

I am member of the urban research group of the Georg Simmel Center, currently working on a publication on urban commons. www.urbanresearchgroup.blogspot.de

I founded urban passion in 2008

I work and live in Berlin








Peter Bjerg
Social Innovation Consultant

I'm doing and supporting democratic action inside, outside and in between the ordinary democratic institutions and expectations.

Equally I believe in good governance and spontaneous action. For a living, I coordinate workshops and facilitate network cooperation with NGOs, academic institutions, communities and businesses - (community involvement, participatory social action, CSR, social entrepreneurship, social issues in city planning and more).

I'm active in different groups working with urban development through social and creative means: SUPERTANKER (supertanker.info) and not the least URBAN PASSION (urbanpassion.org).  I am founder of KBH Projekthus in Copenhagen.

I live and work in Copenhagen

www.kph-projects.dk 
www.supertanker.info

peter.bjerg@urbanpassion.org








Marcus Müller-Witte
Filmmaker and Photographer

I do documentaries, animation films and corporate films.

I taught Camerawork, Editing and Television Engineering for University of Arts Berlin, L4 Institute for Digital Media Berlin, Advanced Training Academy Berlin.

Currently I work on different projects in Africa and China

I live in Berlin

www.mueller-witte.de

http://ubuntu-tanzdeslebens.blogspot.com
www.chinasmusicunderground.blogspot.com

marcus.mueller-witte@urbanpassion.org






Johanna Kuna
Architect

My work comprises the planning and design of buildings, urban structures and the spaces in-between them.
In the last years for a living I redevelop, remodel and improve stations of public transport. It is mostly about converting existing structures designated for public use. With that I design or redesign public space around transport nodal points in German cities.
Besides I have a share in urban projects and competitions with friendly architects.
I started my dissertation on "The architect's responsibility towards society".

I work and live in Berlin.

johanna.kuna@urbanpassion.org




Tore Dobberstein
Urban Development


complizen Planungsbüro Berlin

I practice communication and urban development with complizen Planungsbüro since 2003.
We consult municipal administrations and other organizations through processes of urban change.
In cooperation with architects and landscape architects we create a dialogue with individuals and public groups.
Main topics are: sustainable strategies for structural change and shrinking in post industrial regions, leisure orientation of public and private spaces, the sportification of urban space, and contemporary culture.

Project participation: sportification, shrinking cities, International Building Exhibition (IBA) Urban Redevelopment Saxony-Anhalt 2010, Experimental Housing and Urban Development (ExWoSt).

I have a degree in Business Administration and Economics.

I teach at the Institute for European Urban Studies (IfEU) of the Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany

I am visiting Professor 2011 (Junior) for "Public space, urban culture and markets: Economy and innovation" at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Urban Culture and Public Space (SKuOR) at the Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Vienna University of Technology.


www.complizen.de

tore.dobberstein@urbanpassion.org





Mads Peter Laursen
Artist and Urban Activist.

He is member of Bureau Detours.

Mads Peter works and lives in Copenhagen.





Benny Jepsen
Architect and Urban Activist.

He is member of Bureau Detours.

Benny works and lives in Copenhagen.

www.detours.biz

benny.jepsen@urbanpassion.org




Carlos Kräusslein
Art Director

Carlos worked for different advertising agencies in Berlin. His own agency is called lhamar.

At the moment he prefers sailing.

He works and lives in Berlin

www.lhamar.com

carlos.kraeusslein@urbanpassion.org




Grégoire Fettweis
angry Architect

works as architect in Liege for FHW architects, an office specialized in passive and energy efficient buildings

studied architecture at St Luc Liège, Belgium and at the TU/Eindhoven, the Netherlands

worked for complizen Planungsbüro

since january 2009 member of urban passion

involved in Bocal Mostard, a skater and bmx'rider collective working on urban integration for their sports

works and lives in brussels


gregoire.fettweis@urbanpassion.org





Benjamin Kohlstadt
Geographer

The focus of my work and passion lies on a variety of urban issues and their interdependence, especially on creative industries, spatial analysis, subculture, temporal use, bottom-up-strategies of urban development and city images.

I organized the urban passion micro congress 2009.

Currently I live and work in Berlin.


benjamin.kohlstadt@urbanpassion.org




Seçil Yaylali
Artist

I work on multidisciplinary projects especially on the field of participatory arts.

The long term projects are with different social groups in diverse specific locations like disadvantaged areas with immigrant youth workers (Diyarbakir, Istanbul/Turkey), psychiatric hospital with patients (Novara/Italy), informal youth centres with adolescent teenagers (Alexandria/Egypt; Berlin/Germany). In each project I try to create an environment that supports collaborative production according to the specific needs/wills of participants.

I believe that art, design and creation are everywhere and everyone has to enjoy them! I think today's contemporary art can be produced only by the participation.

I have a city planning, industrial design, and applied arts background that I try to combine in my daily practice.

I am currently working on my dissertation about "Temporary Public Art Projects in Berlin & Istanbul".

I live and work in Turin, Berlin and Istanbul

www.secilyaylali.com
www.pasajist.wordpress.com 

secil.yaylali@urbanpassion.org





Yves Mikelsons-Roloff
Architect

Yves is an expert in the creation of site specific spatial and programmatic interventions. One of his main focuses lies in temporary architecture plus music which he applied in many projects e.g.

www.myspace.com/spreekind
www.architekt-mikelsons.de
www.trippingtriangle.de

Lately he is working in the field of neighbourhood management (Soldiner Straße) in Berlin working on participatory tools and activating spatial interventions.

He studied architecture at the university of the arts in Berlin. He is a member of the chamber of architects in Berlin.

Further he worked for:

DB-Bahnhofsagentur, Sauer und Gränitz Architekten, Welter+Welter Architekten, Carola Schäfers Architekten, Von Bothmer Architekten, Drees&Sommer Projektmanagement und Tisch Gerüstbau GmbH.

yves.mikelsons-roloff@urbanpassion.org




Susina Lange
Media consultant and political scientist

Susina works as editor for public and private german television (ZDF, ARD, RTL2).

She works also as a Filmmaker making cooperate movies (Verein Berliner Kaufleute und Industrielle, Rias Jugendorchester, Audi, Jugendchorakademie)

Susina is DJing and works together with Yves Mikelsons-Roloff with their event agency Tripping Triangle.

www.trippingtriangle.de

susina.lange@urbanpassion.org





Mehmet Bakir

I am a freelance journalist since 1996. My topics were initially environment, women, labor, trade unions and social policy, later I was more interested into art. My activities were diverse: research, articles, comments threads, photographing and making documentaries, interviews, presentations and organizing events and festivals was as important as writing.

Since early 2000, I have dealt mainly with the arts. Some years later I was director and chief editor of a city magazine,
Gürpinar Postasi, and most recently an art magazine, Güney, in Istanbul.

Currently I live in Berlin. I am
less active as journalist than before. Film, Photo and art in general are still my interest. In Berlin, I am concerned rather with the human rights work and am a member and activist of a human rights organization.

I engage in the topic "living with dignity" when dealing with slums, eviction and displacement.  So that is why I am at Urban Passion.



mehmet.bakir@urbanpassion.org
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Sinje Kätsch
Art Therapist and Human Rights Activist

Since 2000 I engage in social and eco-political issues in the non-parliamentary field. I come orginally from Hamburg but live and work since 2010 in Berlin. I work as a Art Therapist and I am a member and activist of a human rights organization.


sinje.kaetsch@urbanpassion.org