STUDY ABROAD
BERLI N ENDURING IMPERMANENCE
School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico
BERLIN: ENDURING IMPERMANENCE presents the findings of a research team composed of Professor Oscar Oliver-Didier and a group of students from the School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. Prof. Oliver has developed an initiative to investigate the complexities inherent to the contemporary cityscape named CUIDADLAB. This nonprofit collective addresses the modes and the representations that daily impact and inform our customs, identities and desires that are so greatly imbedded into our built enviorments. Since 2005 CIUDADLAB has researched on a diverse array of city contexts, such as: Orlando in Florida, Moscow in Russia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasilia in Brasil and Santiago in Chile; in order to develop investigations of their contemporary dynamics. All of this to serve us as a point of critical and reflexive reference of our local Puerto Rican context. Throughout its existence, CIUDADLAB has collaborated with the School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico.
16 students of the School of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico travelled to Berlin, Germany in order to evaluate a place whose crisis of permanence have been felt on all fronts: crisis with the built environment’s memory, with the way in which emptiness (physical, demographical and economical) is dealt with as a city strategy, and with a charged ideological and political realm that, although relatively common and widespread in other places, are aggravated here by the historical situations that constantly haunt this European Capital. The lessons were many –and the weight of the past is heavy– but it is our understanding that important urban paradigms of the future are being developed in Berlin. In face of the supposed impossibility of the master plan to attend to cities that have been left empty and with fragile economies, it looks as if the impermanent, the spontaneous and the urban intervention at a small scale have all become the new archetypes for urbanism inside the German Capital. In the handling of its diverse crisis, and the emptiness that has remained and has been conjured, concrete examples of this new emergent city scheme have been developed. The question is: considering such drastic measures in austerity and with the growing apparition of real estate speculation in Berlin, can these types of urban dynamics survive?
CONTENT
R es earch
Tri p Sch edu l e
I n t e r v i e ws / Co l l abo rato rs
RESEARCH
Berlin’s economy: the spread of gentrification
In today’s imaginary of Germany, the largest country in the European Union, it is rarely
exposed that the Germans are caught in an economical dilemma compared to its fellow European Union member states. A labor force of almost 39 million, including four million entrepreneurs, make the country the continent’s largest economy, with a gross domestic product of around 2.57 trillion Euros in 2011. On the one hand, you have Germany’s role in the European debt crisis, by being the world’s second largest exporter and the fifth largest economy in the world, the Germans made an example out of Greece by structuring solutions for countries such as Spain and Italy. The Germans traditionally are known to be the economic powerhouse of Europe, they have emerged from the recession in good shape and most significantly it has avoided the rapid raise in unemployment experienced now in many other countries. On the other hand, and at a smaller scale, we have the city of Berlin as an artistic and cultural city, known for its cheap rent, openness on temporary take over of spaces and a bohemian flair that has attracted students and the creative class. For years now Berlin has been known for being a good market environment for investing and a lot of the cheap places to live in have been bought; affordable rents of the past have slowly begun to disappear as the city continues to undergo a rapid post reunification transformation.
Now international investors have set their sights on the German capital as typically working class districts like Neukolin and Kreuzberg are now becoming gentrified. The real estate market keeps pressing and prices keep going up, this kind of change makes it difficult for artist/working class to retake spaces or get affordable studio space. The fight against rent increases, welfare cuts and
fivefold, in addition the price of heating, water,
poverty has established a tension were Berliners
garbage disposal and privatization policies of
demand more state involvement. They recognize
the Senate have also pushed up costs. Between
the government is not an obstacle, but it’s certain
2006-2011
that this economic pressure has made them
dependents on welfare had to move. This could
change, were there seemed to be no support
help explain the real and increasing problem
before. First we must understand that Berlin is
of unemployment that this city suffers; it has a
an indebted city were no new industries seem
negative effect on this well known artistic and
to be settling anymore. They also have a high
cultural city. Foreign capital investment is
percentage of people on welfare: approximately
displacing the consolidated art neighborhoods
600,000 people in Berlin are dependent on
and turning them into new speculative an
government relief. Areas around the Tempelhof airport,
expensive areas. The raises on real estate prices
that recently were converted into a park, are now
reinvent new modes of surviving. These minority
in the eyes of speculators that are accustomed to paying more money for less space in the more expensive cities where they come from. In the last two years the rate of rent increase has raised
more
than
3,292
household
are channeling the lower and middle classes to groups and the immigrant sectors have taken conscience of the mass mobilization of the areas and are trying to resist the ongoing gentrification process.
In the end, Germany has one of the
strongest economies in the world and the largest country in the EU has some serious problems. Berlin is an interesting case, the government is uninterested in becoming involved against rent increase, social marginalization and property value hikes. They need to understand that the communities need more social democracy and more tools to obtain this. Neighborhoods will need to share the burden of gentrification; were the only alternative for urbanity seems to be integration. The possibility of negotiating will bring them together with the involvement of the administration to deal with common interests. The only solution will be a more participative democracy with neighbors and communities to deal with these matters. jan millán
radamés soto
luis villanueva
A city that is comprised of identity
independent
districts,
in
which
a
strong
neighborhood character exists, radiates an image of local character, and along with other
Berlin: mosaic metropolis
Berlin stands as a contemporary
city that has been shaped by various urban development plans. The utilization of those plans, both from a theoretical or physical standpoint, influenced and gave character to its urban landscape. Yet, it is simply not enough to view it from an isolated urbanistic planning lens in order to grasp the complexities that make it up. When it comes to understanding the historical and contemporary urban topography: social, cultural, economic and political shaping factors have a crucial role within the urban planning equation.
sectors, enables the perception of a mosaic. The
architectural
languages
within
these
sectors have traits that lead to exclusion by filiation and at the same time are inclusive by the differences between them; however they manage to achieve a congruous reading as a whole that gives the city its distinctive image.
Several case studies arose as scenarios where
the
aforementioned
elements
have
existed or are still evident, one of those is The International Building Exhibition (IBA) held in 1987. The projects in this exhibition set out to create a continuous reading of the physical architectural language that existed in pre-war Berlin, following the principles of “critical reconstruction” and “careful urban renewal.” Critical reconstruction aimed to deal with “failed” urban plans through analysis and to
This ongoing process does not stem as a
intervene with intensive strategic incisions with
recent trend as it holds some historical roots. The hypothesis presented here enabled the
pre-war city. On the other hand, careful urban
creation of a platform to better understand and more clearly define an existing condition of the city; which displays a fragmented archipelago like structure when it comes to its urban composition. Prof. Pier Vittoro Aureli explains the term: “archipelago is defined as a series of islands,
the purpose of reinstating the functionality of the renewal intends to restore existing buildings for their actualization and adapt them to the needs of the city or give them a new relevance. The end results where met with mixed reactions, some hailed it as an utter success while others saw it as a cliché and an
which by their proximity to each other build an
abhorrence. However, something else could be
idea of the center, while this center is never a total entity.”1 When utilized as a city paradigm,
Huyssen has noted, “What we have instead
it marked the starting point of this research.
taken from a project like the IBA as Andreas is a strange mix of an originally leftist Kiez romanticism and a nineteenth-century vision of the neighborhood divided into small parcels, as if such structures could become prescriptive for the rebuilding of the city as a whole.”2 And indeed
they did, for the range of projects following the
same principle created by the IBA extended out to others sector/areas. Tegel area, Prager Platz area, Southern Tiergarten quarter, Southern Friedrichstadt area, and the Nikolai quarter located in the Mitte district are clear examples.
It turned out that the exhibition
intended to continue a modernist architectural language for the city. There were a lot of
reading of the complex nature of the city. An
Postdamer Platz also takes the role of a global
example of this is the City Villa within Southern
icon similar to that of Times Squares in New
Tiergarten, a project designed by Aldo Rossi,
York City, and the process of transformation
Rob Krier, Hans Hollein, and others. Constructed
from a local intercative space to one that
in a building complex of nine structures with
wagers to a new and international experience. The various elements utilized for these
different physical appearances. The diverse historicist postmodern languages expressed
arguments are revealed after being exposed
another, yet they occur simultaneously.
The resulting condition throughout the history of Berlin until today is
to the metropolis character of Berlin and the
understood as a fast rhythm
the courtyard where the structures lay acts as
atmosphere within it. A clear understanding and
the datum holding these mosaics together. The Postdamer Platz area is another
of urban transformation
dichotomies and juxtapositions; having a turbulent
in them expresses this eclectic variance, while
acknowledgement of a place entailed in its own
key sector that was analyzed because of
past, and facing great challenges as a capital city.
its constant transformation through history
and its charged symbolic meaning. When
for it has relentlessly lifted itself from crisis after
first built it turned into one of the world’s
crisis. Recomposing itself within a fragmented
busiest city squares due to its markets and
landscape, also achieving to give a certain level
thoroughfares
a patchwork faction even
of coherence to all of the fractured elements that compose it, especially its sectors. Without
at that moment the correct solution for the
neglecting the Berliner’s, which act as a second
into the capital of
parallel layer in the city, which is fractioned
Germany.
to
city. Given the subsequent constructions of many of those projects, the physical building’s relation of one to the other in a neighborhood context is absent, giving way to a fragmentary
locals;
that was constructed in
it
competing
the
A city
was the essence of urban life in that time.
interpretations
for
of progression.
establish a distinguished image of what was
architectural
destined
Nonetheless, Berlin is a unique city
within a reduced time span
Berlin was consequently turned into
ashes during the Second World War. Afterward it occupied a section of the Berlin Wall that separated it into two parts and today it is the center of the new reinvented and unified Berlin.
according to a named locality and imparts a strong quality of belonging to that particular sector. Neither symptom identifies with one
before it got converted
raúl martinez
frank morales
notes: 1 Penelope Dean, Rethinking Representation (Rotterdam: The Berlage Institute, 2007) 142. 2 Andreas Huyssen, “The Voids of Berlin,� Future city Autumn 1997: 68.
the fluctuating aesthetics of Berlin
In recent history, significant events
have ocurred that are key to understanding the city of Berlin. The after-effects of WWII and all the destruction that took place in Germany due to the Allied forces bombing left the country in ruins. The division of the country into East and West made difficult the ability of Germany to become once again a military power; this caused drastic differences between them. The East, being governed by the communist GDR (German Democratic Republic), made East Berlin their capital while the West led by the FDR (Federal Democratic Republic) made Bonn theirs. Due to the significant number of people that started fleeing from the GDR, because of the governing policies, Walter Ulbricht (head of the GDR) ordered the construction of the Berlin Wall to divide East and West Berlin in 1960. On November 1989, because of the poor living conditions in which East Berlin found itself, after almost 30 years of division due to the Berlin Wall, it was announced that it was to be torn down and that Berliners were free to cross from one side to the other. Shortly after, the GDR members announced their resignation and Berlin was united again.
The crisis in which Germany found
itself after reunification, on top of the devastation that had been caused in WWII, left Germany
to overcome the crisis and the disappointment of not attracting major corporations, the government started supporting these artistic movements to create an image of a creative city.
It had to deal with the unification of
two different political ideologies, the massive immigration from East to West Germany, as well as the replacement of the entire eastern currency. It urged the need for an aesthetic image that would serve as their national identity but there was no clear idea of what that identity should be. The government made Berlin once again the capital of Germany and made it center point for key reconstructions and renovations. In their effort to transform Berlin into a global competitive city, they pushed for a corporate image in hopes of turning Berlin into the city it once was. Using “starchitects”
like
Norman
Foster,
Richard
Rogers, and Renzo Piano among others, they created office buildings all around Potsdamer Platz and other places in order to feed that
corporate image. This sort of city branding was characteristic of the Berlin of the 1990’s. By 2001, the government realized that the attempt to brand the city of Berlin and create a national identity for Germany was not successful. Only some major corporations like Sony and Daimler-Benz, which later on decided to leave the city, had moved into Berlin and given use to the facilities that the government had created. At the same time, the creative culture that had been emerging ever since the destruction of the Wall had reached international recognition. The artistic/cultural atmosphere that had developed was unique to Berlin. The huge amount of empty buildings that the East had and the low rents of the city attracted a lot of artists. World known nightclubs such as Tresor arose from the now mostly devastated communist East Berlin. “Squatting” also started to take place in the vacant lots and empty buildings around East Berlin. This started to create a ruinous aspect around the city that became one of the defining characteristics of Berlin. All of these facts gave Berlin an image of an artistic/cultural city, which shadowed the corporate/political image that the government was aspiring to create. The government noticed this other aspect of Berlin that the people had created, along with the failure of becoming a global corporate city, and rapidly took advantage of it. In order to try to overcome the crisis and the disappointment of not attracting major corporations, the government started supporting these artistic movements in order to create an image of a creative city. They implanted a welfare system known as Hartz IV that by 2009 supported over 80 percent of the nearly 240,000 unemployed citizens of Berlin.1
A total of about 600,000 people benefited from the Hartz IV welfare system in Berlin. All of this in hopes that the new image would keep the city alive and attract the major investors that the government desired. Currently, the German government is cutting down the amount of money given through welfare due to the economical crisis in which it finds itself. Berlin is a young city whose aesthetic is fluctuating and has evolved immensely through time. It faced destruction in WWII and grew apart due to different political ideologies in its division into East and West. Once reunified, it searched for a global corporate aesthetic identity due to political interests and the crisis in which it found itself. Failure at this and success at developing a creative, artistic, culturally influenced ambient has led towards world-wide recognition of Berlin as a creative capital; characteristic which the government has taken advantage of in its quest for turning Berlin into a corporate city.
as a country with unique characteristics. ana paola vázquez
ricardo orfila
notes: 1 Henning, Dietmar. “One in three youth in Berlin living on welfare.� World Socialist Website. 21 August 2009. http://www.wsws.org/ articles/2009/aug2009/berl-a21.shtml
the immigrant populations have had to depend on government handouts
integration as the immigrant solution
…Germany’s foreign residents remain vital to the economy, parts of which would shut down if they were to depart. [… In the long term,
to survive.
their presence may be seen as vital because they have a positive birth rate.] The birth rate among native Germans is so low that some
studies have estimated that Germany will require approximately 200,000 immigrants a year to maintain its population into the next
withdrew subsidies from the coal and steel industry sector, causing almost
century and support its array of social welfare benefits.
200,000 immigrants to be left unemployed and with no significant work
-eric solsten, ed. germany: a country study
washington: gpo for the library of congress, 1995
mostly from other European countries; whereas a manual laborer is one who moves to another country to earn more money. Expats are attracted to Berlin because of its liberal government views, evolving arts, culture scene, and affordable living costs; all from a principal European capital.
Berlin, the ancient Prussian capital
and the current capital of Germany, differentiates itself
from
other
urban
developments
There’s
a
notable
distinction
between the expats over the immigrants,
in
they are more welcomed by Berliners.
Europe in the fact that it’s the densest city in
These groups have a high percentage of
Germany. There are 3,900 people by km2
whom
studying its demographic components, it’s
have
settled
and
than120,000 residents and now compose
this European capital is generating a “void”. By definition, a shrinking city is one
the
that experiments a descent in population by 25%
of Berlin society, keeping to his own grounds,
or more in a 40-year period. Such is the case of
workshops, vocational training and providing special tutoring within the
marginalize itself from Berlin’s society. Immigrants stick to the parameters
school system to migrant children and incorporating more immigrant
of their settled neighborhoods, they don’t feel German or part of Berlin. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, has brought
teachers into the educational system. The foreign minister Guido
forward the discussion that German multiculturalism and integration has
than build more obstacles before they turn on (us) Germany. Both native
member of Berlin’s community and it is important to begin viewing them as such. Merkel and the Prime Minister of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan together
Westerwelle stressed that it is important to “open the door” (for Turkey) rather germans and those with a migrant background must be given the same opportunities instead of letting their abilities go to waste, as they remain vital to the economy, parts of which would shut down if they were to depart.
largest
minority
within
Germany.
The foreigner has lived on the outskirts
Neukolln and Kreuzberg regions are clearly
been forced to look to immigration as a possible
what has also attracted expats to call these
solution. “Immigration is the only solution,
colorful neighborhoods their home. However,
demographically speaking” (Hake, Sabine).
it is exactly this new wave of interests that has
In fact, close to 30% of the Berlin population consists of foreigners, non-Berlin born citizens.
available
a
potent
of
Kreuzberg,
districts of Berlin, where affordable housing was
limited dominance of the German language itself caused this community to
“utterly failed”. The guest worker is no longer a guest, but a permanent
The german government now provides its immigrants with the
low rent and do-it yourself attitude within the
condition of population downgrade, Berlin has
a significant transformation of the inner city
necessary tools to find employment such as integration courses, language
cuisine, music, and cultural activities. The
experiencing a significant rise since. Due to this
The presence of these immigrants also led to
effort to begin small businesses and storefronts, their limited preparation and
the day to day lifestyle of the city, covering
shift from the years 1940 to 1980, and not
workers would put in longer hours for less pay.
creating 350,000 jobs), academics and artists from that country.
Kreuzberg and Neukolln. Although many immigrant residents have made an
but yet it has had a strong lasting impact in
the German capital, having experimented -%26
the city, and many were there to stay. These
has slowly become the employer (with 72,000 Turkish employers
naturalized
professional out-migration of native Berliners,
considerable wave of “guest workers” entered
sector that fuels the German economy, but beyond that, Berlin
piece of Berlin life, with approximately more
birth rates, population aging and young
a
are necessary for the country. They provide labour for the industrial
themselves more and more as another
discernible that due to steadily dropping
Germany
is 7.8%, with a 40% jobless workforce in the immigrant neighborhoods of
that Germany lacks 400,000 skilled workers and that immigrants
out-comer immigrants are the Turkish,
three million citizens. However, when closely
Post-war
skills to be utilized elsewhere. The overall unemployment rate within Berlin
The German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) has asserted
East European people. The most notable
(10,000 square miles) adding up to more than
During
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German government
have pledged to do more to integrate Turks into the German country.
and
varied
ethnic
infrastructural Neukolln
components
imprint. and
The
Wedding
made districts proved
home to this closely knit immigrant population. Over the last twenty years there has been a notable rise in the arrival of expatriates, also known as expats –people who are temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than their own–, in this case they’re
altered the lifestyle of its original residents. Because of the popularity and demand of Kreuzberg and Neukolln, gentrification has slowly begun to push immigrant residents out, as they lose their storefronts and struggle to support their families. Prices are rising and it’s becoming increasingly more
difficult
to
maintain
commercial
lots and gain profits. More and more
alexandra rodríguez
nora marrero
notes: “Die kleine.” Berlin–Statistik. Berlin: 2010. <http://www.statistik-berlinbrandenburg.de/produkte/kleinestatistik/ AP_KleineStatistik_EN_2011_BE.pdf>. Nipper, Josef, Kristina Schulz and Eva Wiratanaya. “Germany’s demographic changes and its implications for shrinking cities: disaster or development opportunities.” Germany: University of Cologne Süssmuth, Rita. Germany. Migration Policy Institute. The future of migration and integration policy in Germany. Berlin: 2009. Web. <www.migrationeducation.de>. Berlin-Institute: Europe’s Demographic Future Growing Imbalances, 2006 Berlin-Institute: Germany’s Integration Policy, 2011 Eric Solsten, ed. Germany: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1995
the various forms of memory in Berlin
Berlin has been constructing itself as
the capital of the unified Germany since the early 1990s. It is evident that Germany’s turbulent past manifests itself physically throughout the city. According to Michael Wise, author of Capital Dilemma, “The deeply ingrained collective memory of past aggression that shapes German actions in diplomatic and military realms has unquestionably affected the look of the new
capital.”1 This symbolic reconstruction of Berlin is haunted by
the presence of charged memories of its past’s in the present
identity presents itself based on the
and their natural ongoing disappearance towards the future.
various approaches towards the main
The city began to transform itself while many controversial
objective behind the commemorative act.
events began to unfold, which then took leading roles in
The idealized recreations of memories,
the spatial development of this urban territory. These series
or contemporary memorials exemplify
of historical occurrences began to surface as constructed
a discontinuity in the construction of
monuments, which intended to maintain certain aspects of
a collective memory for the city and its
Germany’s past alive.
citizens. Inevitably this causes a variety
of proposals that operate differently in
The materialization of these events in the city’s
landscape immediately caused a complex discussion on what parts of history should be kept in order to be remembered and which ones were better to ignore or even forget. “The vexing
The regeneration of the city’s
the space and generate different types of activities that end up shaping the meaning of the place or the memory itself.
issue of commemoration versus forgetting has been played
Some examples consist of the fetishistic
out in both the city’s new architectural projects and decisions about whether and how to preserve its older buildings”2, Wise
others like the commemoration sites
states.
memorials: obsessed with history against destined for the crowds of tourists,
The construction of memory in Berlin is handled by acknowledging the possibilities of recreating or maintaining only crucial parts of its charged, sometimes controversial, history.
common to Berlin. With this observation, the different memorials can be considered as types. This categorization begins when recognizing specific details that act upon the intervened spaces; that end up shaping their behavior or its public activity. For the purpose of this investigation, the categories have been detected as fetishistic spaces, local transformations, monumental objects and historically charged theme parks.
Fetishistic spaces are considered to be the result of an evident
obsession, for some Berliners, with the conservation of memories. Some of the particularities that shape these spaces are the persistence of preserving the exact location, they become site specific, when commemorative interventions are located exactly where the event occurred, for example the Jewish plates. Other characteristics considered for the understanding of the categories
fetishistic spaces so desperately try to keep. Consequently, this generates a strange condition for the memory itself, causing almost the construction of a completely anachronistic event that does not support its initial intention. Eventually, this contextualization also begins to generate the dissolution or erasing of the single, overvalued reconstruction of memories This array of circumstances lead to a historical construction of Berlin consequently determined by the criteria used when trying to identify a piece of history valuable enough to be preserved and eventually monumentalized. Therefore there is an idealized need for the creation of new symbols to transform the dated signifiers known to Berlin and its past. There is also a keen interest to preserve memory and history exactly how it was remembered in the first place. These old memories share a complex
where the users: who participates in the space?, image: is it at a local or global
yet interesting relationship with the more contemporary events that end up
scale? and finally, if they were privately owned or completely public spaces. There is a noticeable effort to merge various memories tied to a
of memory in Berlin then brings to mind the relationships that exist when
specific site into a centralized memorial. This conglomeration of memories into a whole, monumental object is another approach to the memory of a place. These types of spaces completely eliminate the site specificity the
creating a new image of Germany’s capital at a global scale. The recreation choosing how memory is valued to maintain its pertinence in the present. Many efforts consist on new ways to reshape the past and attempts to build a new future.
victoria eckardt
tyrene calvesbert
mariana rivera
notes: 1-2 Wise, Michael Z. Capital Dilemma: Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Search for a New Architecture of Democracy. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1998. Print.
the exhibited and occupied body
The exhibited body of Berlin is constructed perceptions of what was lost and caused by the Holocaust, by the State owned museums or cultural by taking the spectator through spaces that tap into their foundations, i.e. Prussian Cultural Heritage emotions. The museums and memorials in Berlin take a Berlin formal phenomological language to engvage the visitor Foundation. The Prussian Cultural Heritage nto actually having to walk through the space to have this Foundation
or
Jewish
Museum
Foundation was founded in 1957. It owns the Berlin State run museums and is one of the world’s major cultural organizations; it
“embodies
the
shared
governmental responsibility for culture in Germany.”2 The German Federal States and the German Federal Government support the Prussian
Richard Sennett, states that the Cultural Heritage Foundation. The northern way we understand the body and the space half of what we today know as Germany is one of correlation1. A space and its relation was in fact a Prussian territory effectively
to the body leads us to understand how it is abolished in 1932. This influence is reflected perceived. The body helps define and form the in the values still seen today in the Berliner: nature in which space is created and used. We militarism, professionalism, orderliness, and understand that two types of bodies exist in parsimoniousness. Berlin was once the capital
Berlin: exhibited and occupant, both sharing at of the ancient kingdom of Prussia and this gives rise to the strong preservation of its cultural the same time: space and the city. When we refer to the exhibited body legacy, especially during the Nazi Regime, it is the interpretation of history and memory where there was a conceptual reconstruction through the experience of spaces. The by the State of the German character.
exhibited body is found in permanent spaces The exhibited body in a way makes where there has been a revaluation by the State up for the history Germans lost during the Third
of what Berlin as the capital needs to be. The Reich and the lack of a strong colonial past. body plays an important role in museums and This void was filled instead through foreign memorials because the space is designed to archaeological findings now exhibited in the be experimented by the spectator and cannot Pergamon Museum and Altes Museum. The
reveal itself completely without it. Second World War left a physical mark over The occupied body comes from Berlin and the later divided city created a those who take the alternative of the “do it unified looking capital. Both museums have a
yourself” to innovate and transform a space into strong influence of what a capital should look a community based sometimes temporary and like: “…a spatial representation of an attempt to socially oriented one in the city. These spaces equate German national identity with Prussia.”3 vary from lots without development plans on These museums exhibit treasures analogous short terms, unused property, abandoned to their origin and “…provided a unified history
spaces, parks, and rented lots. These bodies of others for a new unified nation.” The history play a very present and active role and are very portrayed in the museums or memorials particular to Berlin if compared to any other of Berlin is not limited to photographs and German city: a mix of self-efficiency, work ethic narrative facts. The Holocaust Memorial and and on the other hand, those that hold a liberal act.
Jüdisches Museum help shape people’s
experience. Aside from the visual references made, there is a strong need to project these stories through the experimentation of the space itself, taking into account the physical surroundings and the human senses.
Berlin was deeply affected by the
cult of the flag faced during the Nazi Regime, and later with the divided city, where it didn’t have a nationalistic patriotism; even though these events overshadowed some of Germany’s
lots where more radical alternatives are used to transform it. Most began with the idea of temporary activities with strong formal ephemeral characteristics. Some activities have helped prolong the life of the spaces by turning them into institutions like Kunthaus Tachelles, KW, Mauer Park, among many others. Now in Berlin there is an ambiguous line that lies in how the use of space is dealt with between the State space [exhibited body] and the publicly transformed
accomplishments the Deutshes Technik Museum
space [occupied body].
in turn celebrates them. It exhibits in retrospect
the cultural history of technological, militarism and science innovations such as aircraft, machinery and tools used during the Third Reich. The exhibited body is presented with no clear concern for the memories of the cruel past of the Nazi Regime. Its technological innovations, stamped with the Nazi symbol, is celebrated and exhibited.
A first change toward patriotism
across Germany came with the fall of the Wall and the reunifaction demonstraters as East Germany demanded unity and freedom for Berlin. Their protest led to success. It is not until the Soccer World Cup of 2010 which we see a rescued sign of` patriotism by the Germans expressing their nationality in public. This expression made in public space began with the fall of the Wall and clearly marks a beginning particular of the occupied body. Berlin
became
discover
the
a
destination
mystified
to
spaces
The urban phenomenon taken upon
in the city is known as open source urbanism. This began during the 1990s with a “do it yourself” attitude taken upon by the Berliners with small income and limited availability of jobs. This type of urbanism is also possible because Germany was busy building its new capital and a new government for Berlin. Since Berlin was then one of the most affordable European cities, with these new urban happenings and a freedom to make a community based project, more public
reoccupied
by
young
curtain artists,
immigrants looking for open and tolerant city spaces, while having small capital to do so. These spaces varied from abandoned buildings, old train station fields, basements, and empty
access to the river. The Tempelhofer Feld was an airport opened in 1928 and ceased operations in 2008. It was of key use to bring fuel and food for West Berlin. In May 2010 it reopened and is used as an open recreational space, park and had small restaurants, yet it still maintains the physical aspects of the original airport field. As well, Mauer Park, the name translating to “wall park”, was a remnant space after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. There everyday, but especially on Sundays, you can find people experiencing the outdoors, dancing, playing music and even karaoke is held. This openness lead to a tolerance never before seen in Berlin for example, Golitzer Park used to be an old train station and today is used as a recreational space for picnics on Sundays, DJ concerts and is even known as one of the largest drug selling spots.
city then underwent a transformation. In some instances whole buildings with artist spaces, living areas, community gardens or flea markets open to anyone appeared. The vacant lots and buildings like the KW building, Kunthaus Tachelles, Arena Badeschiff are spaces that were empty after reunification, retaken and that today serve as solid institutions or establishments. The KW for instance turns into an institute for contemporary house) which has community gardens and a small
iron
one of the many attempts to maintain public
the
the
on the border of the Spree River. Badeschiff is
people willing to work. The East side of the
art situated close to the Kunthaus Tacheles (art
of
Arena pool also, for recreational use, is located
spaces received a large number of creative
of the East side revealed after fall
whole street of Oranienstrabe. The Badeschiff
art store. The Kunthaus Tacheles is one of the most emblematic reoccupied spaces because it achieved to also transform and activate the whole street of Oranienstrabe. The Badeschiff Arena pool also, for recreational use, is located on the border of the Spree River. Badeschiff is one of the many attempts to maintain public access to the river.
Berliners have found a unique way
to utilize not only what was left for public space, but actually transforming spaces into alternative uses. In Berlin the city owns public space and has an understanding that it is for everybody and, able to be used for any type of expression, the city also provides security for it and even regulations in some cases. The mutual existence of the exhibited body and the occupied body in the city is through the acceptance and tolerance of each other. It’s a recent phenomenon the way both orderly manners and liberal ways can exist in harmony. The cultural historian Sabine Hake expresses that “…you don’t expect this of a German city.” There lies a particularity of the Berliner not found in any other city of Germany. In Berlin we see two very different ways of imagining the space occurring simultaneously.
armando pérez
lorena matos
amanda torres
TRIP SCHEDULE notes: 1 Sennett, Richard. Flesh and Stone: The Body and the City in Western Civilization. illustrated. Penguin Books, 2002. Print. 2 Hake, Sabine. Personal Interview. 06 2010. 3 Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
BERLIN
1 2
10
9
8
11
12
13
Entrevista: Rachel Smith y participar del Guggenheim Lab
Caminata por Kreuzberg
16
15
14
Almuerzo
17
Spreebogen park
Reichstag
U6: Hallesches Tor [hacia U Alt Tegel]
U2: Senefelderplatz [hacia Alexanderplatz]
U2: Stadmitte Tor [hacia S+U Pankow]
S75: Haupbahnhof [cambio]
U2: Senefelderplatz
U55: Reichstag-Bundestag
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18
Leipziger Platz
1.Neue Nationalgalerie 2.Gemäldegalerie 3.Kunstgewerbemuseum 4.Musical Instrument Museum 5.Berliner Philharmonie 6.Berlin State Library
Almuerzo
Hostal U1: Kurfürstenstraße [2da parada] U1: Möckernbrücke
Sector de Embajadas Alte Potsdamer Straße
U2: Gleisdreleck [2da parada] U2: Potsdamer Platz
1. Torre Kollhoff- Hans Kolloff 2. Pricewaterhouse Coopers- Renzo Piano 3. Daimler Benz- Richard Rogers 4. Volksbank Arata Isozaki- Steffen Lehmann 5. Debis-Haus- Renzo Piano 6. Cine IMAX- Renzo Piano 7. Teatro y Casino- Renzo Piano 8. Hotel Hyatt- Rafael Moneo
Archivo de la Bauhaus
1. Emabajada de Egipto 2. Emabajada de Austria 3. Emabajada de India 4. Emabajada de Italia 5. Emabajada de Japón 6. Emabajada de Arabia Saubita 7. Emabajada Nórdica 8. City Villa 9. Emabajada de México 10. Emabajada de Malasia 11. Emabajada de Monaco
20
8
3
10
9
12
11
13
Sector del sur del Tiergarten 1. Child day-care center 2. Magdeburger Platz 3. Lützowplatz 4. Tribunal Regional del Trabajo
4
16
17
20
World Fair @ Tempelhof Dittrich & Schrechriem Exhibition
Almuerzo: Opernpalais, Holyfields
Pergamon Museum
19
18
Deutshes Museum
Altes Museum
Entrevista: Rene Seyfarth
15
14
U Oranienburger Tor U6 [hacia: U Alt-Mariendorf] U Paradestr.
S+U Brandenburger Tor S25 hacia S+U Gesendbrunnen Bhf S+U Friedrichstr. Bhf U6 hacia U Alt-Tegel U Oranienburger Tor
U6: Hallesche Tor hacia U Alt Tegel Blindenleitstreifen Bahnsteig U1 S+U Friedrichstr. Bhf (Berlin)
Kulturforum
Sony Center
BERLIN
Caminar Unter Den Linden
DZ Bank
Checkpoint Charlie
Tiergarten
Distrito Hansaviertel
1. Kath Kirchengemeinde St Laurentius 2. Alvar Aalto Klopstockstrasse 3. Walter Gropius Händelallee 4. Kaiser-Friedrich-Gedächtniskirche 5. Oscar Niemeyer and Soares Filho
U Hallesches Tor U1 hacia U Uhlandstr. U Kurfürstendamm U9 hacia U Osloer Str. U Hansaplatz
Cena
Berlinische Gallerie
Almuerzo: Alt-Berline Wirtshaus
Holocaust Memorial : Peter Eisenman
Puerta de Brandenburgo
Jewish Museum
Galerías
BERLIN 8
5
10
9
Arena Pool
11
12
13
14
16
15
17
19
18
Maurer Park
Almuerzo
Hostal
Werkbund Museum
U2: Klosterstraße 4ta parada U2-U6: Stadtmitte 2da parada U6: Hallesches Tor U2: Klosterstraße 4ta parada U2: Eberswalder Straße
Karl-Marx Allee
Mariannenplatz Emmaus Church
U1: Hallesche Tor 4ta parada U1: Schlesisches Tor
6
20
Görlitzer Park
Hermann Henselmann Richard Paulick Hans Hopp Karl Souradny y Kurt
Alexander Platz
U1: Kottbusser Tor 3ra parada U1: Jannowitzbrücke
Nikolai Viertel
1. St. Nicholas Church 2. Ephraim-Palais
Galerías Lafayette Entrevista: Sabine Hake
Entrevista: Markus Miessen Entrevista: Plastique Fantastique
BERLIN
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8
10
9
12
11
Sanssouci Park
13
1. Sanssouci Palace 2. Picture Gallery 3. New Chambers 4. Historic Windmill 5. Chinese House 6. New Palace at Sanssouci 7. Charlottenhof Palace 8. Roman Baths 9. Orangery Palace 10. Church of Peace
Bus 691 Potsdamn Hbf Bus 695
Telegrafenberg
Iglesia San
Nikolai S7: Berlin Zoologischer Garten 9na parada S7: Potsdam Hbf U1: Möckernbrücke 5ta parada U1: Kurfürstendamm
1. EinsteinTower
Bus 93 Potsdamn Hbf Bus 691
Schiffbauergasse
1. Hans Otto Theater GmbH 2. Volkswagen Design Center Potsdam GmbH 3. ORACLE Deutschland GmbH
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15
16
17
18
19
20
Almuerzo
AEG- Turbinenfabrik
Bus 695 S7: Potsdam Hbf 6ta parada S7-S40 or S41: Westkreuz 4ta parada S40 or S41: Beusselstraße
Unité d’habitation
S40 or S41: Beusselstraße 4ta parada S40 or S41-S9: Westkreuz 3ra parada S9: Olympiastadion
INTERVIEWS / COLLABORATORS
RESEARCH TEAM
Andrea Bauzá URBANO ACTIVO
Tyrene Calvesbert
Jochen Becker METRO ZONE OFFICE FOR URBAN
Victoria Eckhardt
Marco Canevacci PLASTIQUE FANTASTIQUE
Nora Marrero
AFFAIRS
ARCHITECT
Carson Chan PROGRAM ARCHITECT AND CURATOR
Leandro Fabrizi DOCUMENTARIST Benjamin Foerster RAUMLABOR
ARQUITECT
Sabine Hake UNIVERSITY OF AUSTIN TEXAS
HISTORIAN OF GERMAN CULTURE
Raúl Martinez Lorena Matos Jan Millán Frank Morales Prof. Oscar Oliver-Didier
Miguel Rodríguez POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF PR PROFESSOR
Ricardo Orfila
Rachel Smith BMW GUGGENHEIM LAB
Armando Pérez
URBAN PLANNER
Mariana D Rivera Alexandra Rodríguez Radamés Soto Amanda Torres Ana Paola Vázquez Luis Villanueva
CIUDADLAB