urban occupation : berlin

Here’s the pdf of the short lecture about the history of RLP on last friday. It comes with two remarks:

On the occasion of the 60ieth anniversary of the Federal Republic of Germany, there is a manifestation against state, nation and capitalism on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (May 23rd, 6 pm). Motto: “Something better than the nation. Against the rule of the wrong freedom”. If you want to expirience the political atmosphere of the place, I guess this is your chance…

Info (german)

If you like it a bit more peaceful, on the first of June (Yes, the day we occupy the Cube and will probably be busy, but anyway) there is a guided tour through the Scheunenviertel following the track of Alfred Döblin and Joseph Roth, starting at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz at 2pm (fee: 7€, probably only interesting if your german is decent).

Info and registration (german)

I tried to get in touch with the institution in charge of the 3D model of Berlin, and, as expected, so far I didn’t get any response. I fear that the chances are slim to come by the actual data of the model before the semester is over. BUT a studio member who doesn’t want to be named has somehow managed to get .dxf-files of all of Berlin (from a source he doesn’t want to name).
Maybe for those of you who are busy creating/finding a 3D model of Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, it is an acceptable alternative to take the .dxf-file and simply extrude the relevant buildings (happily, the number of storeys is written on every building).

The actual data can be found under ‘resources’ in a post protected with the usual password!

The design studio on thursday will only run from 1.00pm - 4.00pm, means there is no class in the morning; everyone will present his/her individual research within 10 minutes, max 15 minutes. The complete documentation of the whole research will have to be on the blog by latest Monday, May 16.

We established a new category for another level of engagement, researching on the political, historical, social, cultural, build and legal/illegal conditions of Rosa Luxemburg Platz. Resources is a collection of individual research shared with the whole studio team.

AAAARG is a conversation platform - at different times it performs as a school, or a reading group, or a journal. AAAARG was created with the intention of developing critical discourse outside of an institutional framework. But rather than thinking of it like a new building, imagine scaffolding that attaches onto existing buildings and creates new architectures between them. Weblink

a workshop and design studio at the Architecture Design Innovation Program (ADIP), TU Berlin

One of the essential characteristics of urbanity is public space. Freely accessible for everyone at any given time it is as much an aesthetic and architectural space as it is a political and social place. Public space is threatened through commercialization and privatization, often driven by the lack of public financial resources. These conditions have transformed public space from a political space and place of community and identity to either abandoned or commercialized anonymous non-places.

The design proposal within this studio deals with aesthetic and architectural qualities as much as it interrogates the political and social conditions. We want to create a space that allows for political ownership, as well as for adaptation and change in order to create a place with multiple identities, and a diversity of urban life and active inhabitation.

The studio emphasizes process as a crucial part in the development of design proposals. We share our observations through documentation of the given scenario, analysis, discussion and reflection on the given condition. Installations, events and provocations reflect our ideas and create a new engagement with the place. Design Scenarios are developed through collages and lead to design proposals that prioritize the experience of a place, the creation of identity, and individual and collective occupation.

Co-operation partner:
Volksbühne Berlin

Guests:
NGBK - Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst
Mathias Heyden, ISPARA
Schwarzmarktarchiv / mobile academy / Hannah Hurtzig