Design Studio 

Date: 7 – 18 August 2017

Unlivable Berlin

University of Melbourne

The studio addresses the question of how a city expresses its hostilities and how, as architects, can we foster cities of inclusion. Architecture, landscape and urban design students are asked to consider what it means to accommodate the excluded, and to redress cultural hostilities through architecture and urban thinking.

Related Theme:

Task

The city of Berlin has undergone several periods of significant trauma and transformation. Growing out of two world wars, living through three decades of east-west division followed by re-unification, and more recent bankruptcy. More than most, Berlin has a pronounced history of social exclusion and ideological seclusion. In this context the studio addressed the question of how does a city express its hostilities and how, as architects, can we foster cities of inclusion. Architecture, landscape and urban design students were asked to consider what it means to accommodate the excluded, and to redress cultural hostilities through architecture and urban thinking.

With the Molkenmarkt as test site, the students explored new typologies and designs for places that are “impossible” to build on – central sites with challenging parameters. Temporary and flexible housing typology mixes and experiments proved to be indispensable in the context of a constantly changing society.

What if..

cities addressed their hostilities?

Studio Coordinators

Michael Roper, Catherine Duggan

In collaboration with: University of Melbourne, IKEA-Stiftung, Hofheim-Wallau