An exhibition by members of the Architecture Section of the Akademie der Künste
5 September – 22 November 2020
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, Berlin, all halls
Press preview Thursday, 3 September 2020, 11 am
Its adaptability and innovative strength have made the “European city” a successful model since ancient times. But, is it still able to meet the great challenges of the 21st century, namely climate compatibility and sustainability? The deficits of cities are obvious at first: they consume resources and fossil energy, emit climate-damaging gases, seal ground and generate waste. Cities are a burden on the environment and damaging to health, and are the scenes of social conflicts over the distribution of work, housing and wealth, for example. But would it be conceivable for the city to not only be part of the problem, but also part of the solution? Could its ability to renew itself become a driver of the necessary changes to cultural, technical and social systems? To what extent can urban planning and architectural measures promote such processes?
In its title urbainable – stadthaltig, the latest exhibition by the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, follows the hypothesis that sustainability and the city cannot be seen in isolation from one other. It addresses the role of the European city in the age of global warming, digitalisation, demographic change and the breakdown of traditional social networks.
The exhibition consists of two parts. An installation of images by Berlin photographer Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk forms an urban panorama, which – supplemented by facts from research by the Institute for Urban Design and Planning at Leibniz University Hannover – introduces the subject and illustrates the potential for sustainable development offered by our cities.
In the main part of the exhibition, 34 members of the Architecture Section of the Akademie der Künste and their guests show how this potential can be used in concrete terms. Their projects, visions and initiatives in the areas of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture and urban planning demonstrate a broad range of ideas for the city of the future, from design details to urban planning vision, from building technology to political discourse. The result is a kaleidoscope of concepts, a tour d’horizon into current European architecture and urban planning and that follows the pressing issues of our time such as digitalisation, mobility, the culture of density, or relation to nature, reuse and adaptation of existing structures as well as technical innovations.
The current show was planned and designed before the coronavirus crisis, but the experience of the pandemic has been incorporated into its implementation. The immense adaptability and creative potential of our cities are already becoming apparent. To exploit this potential instead of merely trying to correct the deficits of cities – that is the leitmotif of this exhibition.
urbainable – stadthaltig is part of the European focus of the Akademie der Künste for autumn 2020. Accompanying events and guided tours are planned. Further information to follow.
Curators
Tim Rieniets, Matthias Sauerbruch, Jörn Walter
Participating members
Fritz Auer, Thomas Auer, Klaus Bollinger, Michael Bräuer, Arno Brandlhuber, Winfried Brenne, Kees Christiaanse, Annette Gigon, Almut Grüntuch-Ernst, Guido Hager, Peter Haimerl, Thomas Herzog, Regine Keller, Karla Kowalski, Anne Lacaton, Pierre Laconte, Regine Leibinger, Hilde Léon, HG Merz, Günter Nagel, Florian Nagler, Irina Raud, Ian Ritchie, Matthias Sauerbruch, Jörg Schlaich, Helmut C. Schulitz, Thomas Sieverts, Enrique Sobejano, Volker Staab, Christiane Thalgott, Kjetil T. Thorsen, Marco Venturi, Jörn Walter, Wilfried Wang
With examples from Berlin, Bremen, Bordeaux, Budapest, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen, Güstrow, Hamburg, Linz, London, Malta, Munich, Paris, Regensburg, Venice, Vienna, Zurich and more
Publication
urbainable – stadthaltig. Positions on the European City for the 21st Century
Edited by Tim Rieniets, Matthias Sauerbruch, Jörn Walter on behalf of the Akademie der Künste
(Berlin, 2020) Publisher: ArchiTangle (price at the exhibition €30, in the bookshop €38)
An exhibition by the Akademie der Künste, sponsored by the Wüstenrot Stiftung foundation.
With the kind support of PERI Vertrieb Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG and the Euroboden GmbH.
Press preview Thursday, 3 September 2020, 11 am
Exhibition halls open from 10 am
Please register for the press event:
Tel. +49 761 791 99 09 / [email protected]
urbainable – stadthaltig
Positions on the European City for the 21st Century
Exhibition: 5 September – 22 November 2020
Tues-Sun 11 am – 7 pm (coronavirus access restrictions, online time slot tickets)
Admission €9/6, free admission up to age 18
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin, Tel. +49 (0)30 200 57-2000
@Moin Insert Image [07]
Opening:
Saturday, 5 and Sunday, 6 September, 11 am-7 pm: Free admission (online time slot tickets)
Saturday, 5 September, 5 pm, studio: Discussions with the curators and exhibition participants
Sunday, 6 September, 11.30 am, studio: Wünsdorf. Film by Elfi Mikesch, followed by a discussion.
