City Commons: A Common Tale of Two Cities

CITY COMMONS A Common Tale of Two Cities: Leipzig and Prague

MA_ARCH THESIS WS 2016 First Advisor: Prof. Ivan Kucina Second Advisor: Prof. Dr. Regina Bittner Student: Charlotte Qian Yi Choo Matriculation No: 4061106

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INTRODUCTION : A COMMON TALE OF TWO CITIES

Leipzig and Prague are two fascinating cities with Soviet backgrounds. Although with different cultural backgrounds, both cities have successfully overcome the economic and population decline since the fall of the Soviet rule. Another interesting aspect is the economic, social and cultural growth of these cities. These are cities with a big potential. People are fed up with overcrowded and expensive cities such as Berlin, Paris or London. Cities such as Leipzig and Prague have now become the new cultural centers for the young and enthusiastic.

However, the remnants left by the decline of industrialisation and communism is evident in the urban fabric. We see several abandoned sites and buildings throughout the city, rotting through time as the city is moving forward a new direction headed by capitalist ventures.

Assuming low budget and minimal cost, the commons could be a suitable economic solution through collective ownership and collective exchange, without capitalist or private interference. Commoning is a bottom to top initiative which allow people a gradual and steady inhabitation of sites which are deemed “unprofitable� in the eyes of the capitalist.

The IG Fortuna, a former GDR youth cinema in Leipzig and the Karlin Barracks a former military barracks are both monuments of the cities’ past which the people hve mixed feelings about. The challenge of this research is to harness a context in which the locals can relate to and be enthisiastic about.

This project has also led me to examine the role of the architect today. The aim is for this research to be a mode for other commons and also provide a sustainable framework for running these commons. The result of the project is not a final product, but a simulation of situations, opportunities and possibilities allowing freedom of artistic creativity, resourceful productivity, and social activity.

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LEIPZIG COMMONS WELCOME TO THE PRODUCTIVE CINEMA

Mediating between three major themes of ‘Ostalgie’, Commoning and Adaptable Architecture, the forgotten IG Fortuna cinema and its former gasworks site is given new life. Through a process of spontaneous and informal usage by community participation, the site becomes a productive commodity and a catalyst for regeneration through commoning.

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The districts located within Leipzig Ost along Eisenbaahnstrasse include Neustadt, Volkmarsdorf & Sellerhausen. The history of these districts go all the way back to the late 1200s when they were once agricultural farming land. The inhabitants in these districts were once suppliers of local produce such as vegetables and grains to the more developed Leipzig city.

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NEUSTADT

VOLKMARSDORF

SELLERHAUSEN

Eventually these districts developed into industrial zones, which led to the significance of Eisenbahnstrasse, where a railroad was once located.

Two world wars left their mark in East Leipzig, however Eisenbahnstraße was barely destroyed and was able to flourish as the new ‘Business Corridor’. Immediately after the war, Eisenbahnstraße was known as the „Broadway“ of Leipzig.

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PHASE 1

PHASE 2

RESTORE IG FORTUNA STRUCTURE

ESTABLISH COMMUNITY GARDEN AND GREEN HOUSE

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PHASE 3

PHASE 4

INHABIT GASOMETERS

INHABIT WHOLE FORMER INDUSTRIAL SITE

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The site is established as an industrial factory complex for Leipzig-Ost Gasworks .

The site is established as an industrial factory complex for Leipzig-Ost Gasworks .

After several years of disuse, one of the buildings facing the main road, Eisenbahnstrase is converted into a cinema named the Lichtspieltheater “Fortuna Spiele”.

After several years of disuse, one of the buildings facing the main road, Eisenbahnstrase is converted into a cinema named the Lichtspieltheater “Fortuna Spiele”.

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1946

The cinema is known as “Kino D Jugend”, a GDR Youth Cinema.

Plans of expanding the stage are 1946 order.

The cinema is known as “Kino D Jugend”, a GDR Youth Cinema.

Plans of expanding the stage are order.

The cinema’s false front facade is designed according to the Art Deco style.

The Youth Cinema in use 80’s

The cinema’s false front facade is designed according to the Art Deco style.

The Youth Cinema in use 80’s

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The lot has been subdivided. One of the buildings facing Wurzner Strasse is sold. The remaining site including the former cinema belongs to the city of Leipzig. The former The lot has been subdivided. One of the cinema building is listed under protection. buildings facing Wurzner Strasse is sold. The remaining site including the former cinema belongs to the city of Leipzig. The former cinema building is listed under protection.

al years of disuse, one of the buildings e main road, Eisenbahnstrase is into a cinema named the eater “Fortuna Spiele”. al years of disuse, one of the buildings main road, Eisenbahnstrase is into a cinema named the eater “Fortuna Spiele”.

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1946

1946

The cinema is known as “Kino Der Jugend”, a GDR Youth Cinema.

Plans of expanding the stage are in 1946 order.

The cinema is known as “Kino Der Jugend”, a GDR Youth Cinema.

Plans of expanding the stage are in order.

1987

The cinema is permanently closed 3 years before the German Reunification 1987

The cinema is permanently closed 3 years before the German Reunification

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2015

The former cinema is now left derelict and the site currently functions as a storage site for the city’s street lamps.

The former cinema is now left derelict and the site currently functions as a storage site for the city’s street lamps.

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The Youth Cinema in use during the end of the 80’s

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The Youth Cinema in use during the end of the 80’s

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CEDRIC PRICE

Price’s most notable design was the “Fun Palace”, a theater with an ever-changing environment. Ahead of his time, he had a vision for this “laboratory of fun” to feature moving walls and floors, with interactive panels and an inflatable coference centre. With its lack of doors to control entry and no solid roof, the Fun Palace became referred to as an “anti-building”, designed to be dismantled and re-assembled to fulfil different needs.

The concept of permanent flexibility was reflected in Price’s second project “Potteries Thinkbelt”, a new form of university based on the idea of reviving a post-industrial region by transporting places of learning on rail. He portrayed using disused railways with carriages as classromms with fold out workspaces and inflatable lecture theaters.

“architecture should not determine human behaviour but rather enable possibility” Cedric Price saw the city not as a cohesive structure but instead as an unstable series of systems, in continual transformation, constantly reorganizing and rearranging itself through processes of both expansion and retraction. Price supported the idea of the “anticipatory architect” in which the general public could determine, control and shape their own surroundings.

The major premise behind Non-Plan was when ‘professionals’ were designing communities they should think before telling other people how they should live because everyone had their own preferences and ideas. Non-Plan explored ways of involving people in the design of their environments by circumventing planning bureaucracy and letting the people shape the environment they want to live and work in.

“The activities designed for the site should be experimental, the place itself expendable and changeable. The organisation of space and the objects occupying it should, on the one hand, challenge participants’ mental and physical dexterity and, on the other, allow for a flow of space and time, in which passive and active pleasures is provoked” (Cedric Price, “A Laboratory of Fun”, New Scientist, 14 May 1964)

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NOSTALGIA

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„KINO DER JUGEND“

I chose a site within Leipzig-Ost which had very interesting layers of history- an abandoned GDR youth cinema within a former gasworks complex. The cinema is facing threats of demolition within the next two years due to disuse and extreme decay. There is an organisation which is trying to prevent the demolition and its members are merely doing this out of passion for what the cinema once was, and what the cinema could be.

The urgency of the situation and the passion of the people from the organisation made this site more appealing to me, as it gave me a deeper sense of purpose.

After selecting the site, I started to delve into the history of the IG Fortuna and which made me ponder about the community’s opinion on their GDR past. Is there some nostalgia for the GDR times? Or is the nostalgia confined to their experience in the cinema, eg: a young man watching his first movie in the IG Fortuna, or a young couple experiencing their first kiss in this cinema?

I had the opportunity to listen to the stories from various stakeholders of the cinema, (neighbourhood residents, politicians, former IG Fortuna cinema goers) thus adding to my collection of information. The organisation also facilitated me with technical drawings of the cinema and information about its structural conditions, as the cinema is no longer accesible.

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SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

PHYSICAL FACTORS

HERITAGE BUILDING RESTORATION

URBAN FARMING

LEIPZIG COMMONS

Commoning advice Investment & Funding advice Formal Education: workshops & lectures Informal Education: information & knowledge sharing

COMMONING Historical collections

CULTURAL FACTORS

URBAN REGENERATION

COOPERATIVE LIVING & WORKING

IG FORTUNA

BOTTOM-UP INTERVENTION

Community Gardening Ceremonies & Events Art Exhibitions Movies / Concerts

CREATIVE ARTS & DESIGN Food & Beverage

SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS

FACTORS

NETWORKING

Casual Meetings

CULTURAL & HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS

Exchange Programmes

TOPICS

ACTIVITIES/PROGRAMME

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NEIGHBOURHOOD RESIDENTS

CONFERENCE & MEETING ROOMS

COMMONING ENTHUSIASTS

OFFICES

GARDENING ENTHUSIASTS

PERMANENT EXHIBITION SPACE

IG FORTUNA NOSTALGICS

TEMPORARY EXHIBITION SPACE

ARTISTS & CREATIVE MINDS

FLEXIBLE ARTIST STUDIOS

RESEARCHERS & EXPERTS

INFORMAL MEETING SPACES

ENTREPENEURS

RESTORED CINEMA

VISITORS

COMMUNITY GARDEN

CINEMA GOERS

LIBRARY

INVESTORS

CAFE

USER GROUPS

SPACES

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PRAGUE COMMONS ‚SVEJKING‘ OUR WAY TOWARDS THE CARNIVAL OF THE COMMONS

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In its early days, KarlĂ­n was a very pleasant place to live; later on, industries began to move in, making it a less fancy place to live in. Then, Communism froze KarlĂ­n in a grey and melancholic timewarp, and it continued to decline.Today, its prime location near the center makes it very attractive to real estate firms, who have invested huge sums in transforming the area.

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KARLĂ?N PRAGUE 8 The thriving story of a once declining neighbourhood

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“Jan’s father used to live in Karlin in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was not a great neighborhood back then.

Living just opposite “U Zabranskych” pub, where the Czechoslovak Communist Party was founded in 1924 and which, later in the 90s, used to be a place frequented by Neo-Nazis in a district known for a large Roma population, the place was rough.

Jan & Zuzi are Prague locals who run a food tour „Taste of Prague“

But then, Karlin was nearly destroyed during the 2002 floods. And the flood seems to have flushed most of the bad things away.”

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The past decade has been a decade of dramatic growth and renewal for Karlin, with developers coming in, eager to fill in the gaps left behind the buildings that needed to be torn down.

In the 1990s we would have never thought we would want to live in Karlin, but the leafy streets (Karlin is the only Prague district with a grid layout) near the centre seem more and more attractive each year.

Karlin is cool because it is both hipster and raw at the same time: some people say that one more cool place opening in Karlin will tip the balance and the whole district will - just like Atlantis - sink into the ground, and people will only sing songs about how great it was. Well, only time will tell.

Image & text source: http://www.tasteofprague.com „Prague Off the Beaten Path: Karlin District“

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KARLÍNSKÁ KASÁRNA The Karlin Barracks and a series of unfortunate events

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20th century

The main building of the Karlin Barracks was built for military purposes for the Austro Hungarian Empire.

The building was renamed the Jan Žižka Barracks in honor of the great Bohemian military leader.

Housed a variety of services and installations for the governments of Czechoslovak then Czech Republic, with heavy use by the police.

Its original name was the Ferdinand Barracks.

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today

The barracks are damaged by the 2002 floods

The Griva Art company with plans to turn the complex into a university campus makes a bid for almost 600 million crown to purchase the barracks but the offer is rejected due to political issues.

The UNESCO listed monument continues to serve the local police, but is only used partially, leaving majority of the building in a state of slow and steady decay.

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Source: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=svejking

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CEDRIC PRICE An actual Svejker?

“Price was like a grain of sand that irritates the oyster - the oyster in his case being the architectural profession. He was always provoking thought and response within the profession..“

Mandy Marvin, Curator of the Cedric Price exhibition in Cambridge, 2014

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/cedric-price-the-most-influential-architect-youve-never-heard-of-9852200.html

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Collage depicting the return of the flood at Karlin

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IMPERMANENCE

In the event of another flooding, would the barracks be able to survive the damages and implications? Would Karlin (according to Jan and Zuzi), “sink into the ground” like a “fallen Atlantis?”

Cedric Price designed around the philosophy of impermanence, and said that buildings should serve the needs of those that use them and be either transformed or demolished when they no longer served their purpose.

The Karlin barracks is a place which can allow the said transformation. Imagine a place with no rules- a place where we could easily bring objects of our desire to inhabit, to tear apart when we no longer desire it, and maybe put it together again as something new. And this process shall repeat itself.

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PHASE 1

PHASE 2

ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAMME:

RECYCLING DEPOT PROGRAMME:

- EXHIBITION SPACES - EXPERIMENTAL STUDIOS - OFFICE SPACES - CAFE / RESTAURANT - EXERCISE SPACE - FOOD LAB - WORKSHOPS - EDUCATIONAL CLASSROOMS - LIBRARY - COMMUNITY GARDENING

- MATERIALS COLLECTION - MATERIALS SORTING - MATERIALS REPURPOSING - MATERIALS ASSEMBLY - FABRICATION LAB

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PHASE 3

PHASE 4

COURTYARD INHABITATION PROCESS

COURTYARD COLONISATION

- MODULES FROM RECYCLED MATERIALS - IMPORTED OBJECTS - REPURPOSED BUILDINGS FROM ABANDONED SITES

INCORPORATION OF MODULES BASED ON FUTURE GROWTH AND PROGRAMME

- LARGE SCALE COMMUNITY GARDEN - HYDROPONIC GARDENI - WEEKLY MARKET - ORGANIC SHOP - OUTDOOR CINEMA/THEATER

- MODULES FROM RECYCLED ATERIALS - IMPORTED OBJECTS - REPURPOSED BUILDINGS FROM ABANDONED SITES

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„Post Studio Tales“ by Something Fantastic, Berlin, 2012

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PRAGUE COMMONS Part 1: Svejking up the Karlin Barracks

In the spirit of “The Good Soldier Svejk”, the Karlin Barracks is itelf a serious monument waiting to be annoyed, maybe even frustrated. Once a stately military complex, the barracks is now ageing and decaying along with its promise of miitary sovereignty and power.

Karlin Barracks should be, like the adventures of Svejk, a place for random occurences within a rigid system.

Svejk’s Anti-War attitude in line with Cedric Price’s Anti-Architecture and Non-Plan, is a fun and satirical way of dealing with the series of unfortunate events that has occurred to the barracks.

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NECESSITIES With the provision of main services such as an elevator core, washrooms and pantry, access and comfort of the users can be ensured. This also allows the main spaces to be changed over time depending on the needs of the user with the availability of these services in each wing of the barracks.

6.5 x 6 meters module

6.5 x 5.3 meters module

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We realized that many artists today work with conceptual projects that demand much more than a studio and being left alone. What we did build was artist studios, with good space, good height to the ceiling and a light coming from the north, only to discover that the main part of the artists did not need a studio anyway, they preferred to bring their lap top and to hang out with us in the BAC office space. excerpt from “Prague’s Independent Art Spaces”

by Vyara Mlechevska

The RE-TOOLING RESIDENCIES project is addressed to both arts communities and art institutions looking to create arts residency centers in Eastern Europe and to cooperate with existing centers of this kind.

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ARTIST STUDIOS

Artist residence module (14 x 13 meters) I love this movie!

Maybe I should make one of my own.

20 x 13 meters module

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Optional variations to the artists studio module. (20 x 13 meters)

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DANCE STUDIOS I never understood modern dance. Call me old-fashioned but I much prefer ballet.

28 x 13 meters module

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CAFE & KITCHEN

I heard the chef is a total drama queen, but makes the best tomato soup in town.

Fetch me more tomatoes from the community garden! Now!!

20 x 13 meters module

6.5 x 6 meters module

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FOOD LAB

When I asked you to bring your produce to the food lab, I didn’t mean the entire cart!

28 x 13 meters module

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LIBRARY

28 x 13 meters module

Between you and me, I love to come to this library because I get to have that amazing tomato soup for lunch at the cafe.

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CLASSROOMS

Why isn’t anyone here?

Perhaps I got the wrong date? or time?

14 x 13 meters module

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WORKSHOPS

20 x 13 meters module

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OFFICES

20 x 13 meters module

28 x 13 meters module

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RECYCLING DEPOT What happened at Rohanský ostrov...

Look! We can salvage the steel trusses from here for the Depot at the barracks.

We used the steel trusses from an abandoned building in Rohanský ostrov to construct this roof at the Depot.

„ONE MAN’S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE“ A local neighbourhood facility for collection of recyclable waste. The commons participants sort the waste and lay objects in demand along the conveyor belt, which are then distributed to individual production studios to be reappropriated as building materials for various projects within the commons.

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CONVEYOR BELT

Usable and clean objects are then placed on the conveyor belt to be transported around the site. Much like a sushi conveyor, users can pick up which items they want to use. An additional structure can be added to the depot once the collection grows.

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Collage of the Carnival of Commons

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PRAGUE COMMONS Part 2: The Carnival of the Commons

The courtyard of the Karlin Barracks is where the Carnival of the Commons can be established, allowing the users to freely inhabit, colonise and take over.

The next level of colonisation at the Karlin Barracks is a juxtaposition against the rigid background of its former military past. Once the barracks has been occupied, and new modules have been created from the depot collection programme, it is inevitable for activity to spill out to the courtyard.

The other courtyards in the neighbourhood seem to be where the inhabitants express themselves, by building informal structures, or growing their gardens, to fulfill additional needs.

The formation of the Commons Carnival at the courtyard is a physical and social resistance against capitalism and planned architecture which has often failed the masses.

By participating in the commons at Karlin barracks, we are able to slowly collect the resources needed for the colonisation process.

The Carnival of the Commons is acollection of everyday objects- donated, found, or salvaged.

With impermanence in mind, these objects can be transported to site, adapted to suit the needs of the user, and also can be taken down whenever the user sees fit.

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ROHANSKÝ OSTROV..

Lots of abandoned buildings and materials here! Come get them before the new developers bulldoze the entire place!

KARLÍNSKÁ KASÁRNA

Artists and builders in need of more materials!

A former industrial site which now sits derelict by the river Vlata is located only 3 kilometres away from the Karlin Barracks. At the time of construction of the Prague metro, Rohanský ostrov served as a dumping ground for storing material from excavations. In the year 1999 an extensive cleaning work for the recovery of the island was launched and the site has been a target for many new developments due to its strategic location.

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Look! We can salvage the steel trusses from here for the Depot at the barracks.

There is some glass and steel frame I found which I am sure could be repurposed into something useful..

These sheds are in mint condition! I’m sure we can find some use for them.

A series of industrial buildings in the site which await demolition by future developers

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A niche found in the streets of Karlin

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I don’t believe in God, but I believe in my morning coffee...

It is said that only 19% of Czechs believe in God. Perhaps these niches could be used for something else

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I always find inspiration when I am surrounded by decay. I find it utterly beautiful.

The fall of industrialisation and the Soviet Union has left Czech Republic with several abandoned sites. A partially damaged structure could find new ways of usage.

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Cedric Price: “why should people always have to look up?�

The Carnival of Commons would not be complete without a Ferriss Wheel to complete the courtyard

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I love running around, so my parents found a way to put my hyperactivity to good use.

The energy carousel produces and stores enough energy to power lights during the night

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Anybody smoothie?

Maximum output per bicycle: 300 Watts, These Dynamo bicycles could be used to power anything small.

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I’ve been working on my “Chata” for more than 10 years. It’s a project I enjoy working on with my brother

Many Prague residents have a small cottage outside the city. These cottages, called „Chata“ are treasured both as getaways and ongoing projects. Each reflects its owners‘ character, as most of them were built by unorthodox methods. Chata owners used the typically Czech „it‘s whom you know“ chain of supply to scrounge materials and services. This barter system worked extremely well, and still does today.

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I made this hydroponic planter out of used pipes.

This entire thing cost me almost nothing!

Hydroponic planting, an alternative cultivation method without earth but uses water instead.

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Water towers are extremely useful as elevated structures. Here‘s one combined with the „Chata“.

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Czech Republic is renowned for their spa towns. The participants of the commons should not be deprived of such a relaxing activity after a hard day‘s work

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This 5 x 5 module is imported from Leipzig Commons at the IG Fortuna.

Anyone can modify it with scaffolding to create a mezannine.

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An outdoor bar constructed with scaffolding. People should always have access to a good draught of Czech beer on a sunny day.

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Another module constructed with scaffolding. This time, with recycled windows from the Barracks itself.

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The Carnival of the Commons takes whatever it can get.

Everyday objects are more than welcome.

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LIST OF REFERENCES 1. Cedric Price, Re:CP, edited by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Birkhauser (2003) 2. Elinor Rostrom ‘Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action’, 1990 Cambridge University Press 3. Ivan Kucina, Commoning of the Uncommonness: Developing Urban Commons in Post Socialist City (2015) 4. Sheila R. Foster, Collective Action and the Urban Commons, Fordham University School of Law (2011) 5. Prof. Dr. Regina Bittner, Elective Lectures from “Architecture of the Everyday”, 2015-16 6. http://www.metamute.org/editorial/articles/non-planningchange 7. http://www.czechjournal.cz/karlin-barracks-repeatedly-failsto-sell/ 8. http://www.re-tooling-residencies.org/resources/research/ pragues-independent-art-spaces-by-vyara-mlechevska 9. http://www.archdaily.com/486943/energy-carouseldordrecht-ecosistema-urbano-architects/?utm_ source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_ campaign=Feed%3A+ArchDaily+%28ArchDaily%29 10. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/the-good-soldiervejk-jaroslav-haeks-comic-masterpiece/ 11. http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/czech-culture/lostbuildings-of-prague/ 12. https://www.private-prague-guide.com/article/life-duringthe-communist-era-in-czechoslovakia 13. Re-Imagining the Karlín Viaduct: From Paris to Vienna and now Prague, city viaducts are becoming cultural centers: http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/art/re-imagining-thekarlin-viaduct/

I Dessau International Architecture School Anhalt University Department 3 Š 2016