Lab Talk

DEMOCRATIC DESIGN:

Collaboration as a Way Out of the Crisis.

A Lab Talk within the frame of the Bucerius Summer School on Global Governance in collaboration with the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, Hamburg

Image: © David Ausserhofer

Date: Wednesday, 21 August 2024, 18:30

Place: Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory, Christinenstr. 18–19, 10119 Berlin

Introduction

In times of profound transformation and uncertainties, harnessing collective resources through collaborative approaches is essential for fostering democratic values and social cohesion. New models of collaboration in politics and planning are emerging in many countries, while the rise of collectives and unconventional partnerships signals a new era of working together for common goals. Architecture, design and planning are fundamentally about collaboration, cooperation and compromise and therefore have the potential to strengthen democratic engagement and social unity, addressing the urgent need for interdisciplinary thinking and a people-centred approach.

What actually constitutes a democratic society and how can we preserve the public sphere? How can governance and planning co-produce visions for the future? How do we deal with uncertainty? Can collaboration serve as a way out of crisis?

Programme

Welcome

Hans-Jürgen Commerell_Director, Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory, Berlin

Sascha Suhrke_Director, Head of Politics and Society, ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, Hamburg

Presentations and Discussion

Ellen Schindler_CEO, De Zwarte Hond, Groningen, Rotterdam, Köln, Berlin

Elisabeth Broermann_Guest Professor, TU Berlin, Architects for Future

Moderator: Eberhard Sandschneider_Partner at Berlin Global Advisors, former Professor for Chinese Politics and International Relations at Otto-Suhr-Institute, FU Berlin

DEMOCRATIC DESIGN CALL FOR PROJECTS

The talk is part of Aedes’ programme, Democratic Design, through which we explore how architecture and planning can evolve into collaborative, interdisciplinary spatial practices that strengthen our democracy.

Currently, with a Call for Projects open until 31 August 2024, we are seeking submissions from across Europe to be featured in an exhibition and accompanying programme that explore the interrelationship between democratic processes and building practices. For more information, click here.

ABOUT BUCERIUS SUMMER SCHOOL

The Bucerius Summer School on Global Governance, conducted by the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS in cooperation with the Karl Schlecht Stiftung, is an annual 10-day summer seminar with the aim to foster leadership qualities among young international professionals by opening a cross-border and transdisciplinary dialogue on current questions of global relevance and providing a platform, where leaders of tomorrow jointly discuss and develop ideas.

Since 2016, the Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory has been regularly invited to curate one-day programmes within the frame of the Summer School that combine inspiring input lectures by international experts with hands-on workshops, where the participants collectively tackle current issues by translating political measures into spatial planning in creative and unconventional ways. Previous subjects include: DEMOCRATIC DESIGN, New Collaborations in Spacemaking and Politics (2023), No Apocalypse Now! Water as Leverage – design driven catalyst for climate action (2022), Art. Architecture. International Politics: Transit Spaces (2019), Science. Fiction. International Politics: Visible and Invisible Borders (2018), The Perfect City Block: How do we want to live together (in the future)? (2017) and Urban (in)securities: Science. Fiction. International Politics (2016).