Firsthand trajectories between Genova, München and Hannover have made this research a pleasure, and an innovative device to take best advantage of a transalpine connection. DAAD has funded this part of research, and also this book, as international partner of the PRIN national Italian research programme.
Trajectories highlight the very similar and really diverse conditions of European cities and territories. As contribution to Re-Cycle Leibniz Universität Hannover provides reference scenarios for the Genova-Group. The scenarios in München and Hannover open up programmatic and conceptu-al fields for comparison and transfer, to evaluate adaption of Re-Cycle methodologies and to contribute in their development.
The German context highlights the approach of Re-Cycle to concieve the transformation of the city as holistic sustainable approach. Our reference can be seen in the “manzo” built for the Re-Cycle exhibition1Pippo Ciorra, Sara Marini (ed.): Re-cycle. Strategies for Architecture, City, and the Planet. 2011. in the MAXXI in Rome: it is inspired by the butcher’s table to explain all parts of the animal and its complete use for different dishes, pointing also at further uses for clothes, tools, liquids. It suggests to re-build networks of food and knowledge, and includes the production chains, the people involved, and the landscapes standing behind the butcher’s table. With the “manzo” as map re-reading and re-connecting forgotten urban and rural relations, the “manzo” suggests to re-define urbanistic paradigms in general. The contribution of Hannover and German territorial context bring together different experiences from growing and balancing built-up conditions, landscapes and in general more volatile economic driving forces. Actual practices and conceptions of transformation in Germany can support this re-reading: What has been a temporary occupation of vacant places and an underground cultural movement in Berlin since the 90ies, now becomes part of city development strategies. Projects since the 1990s that influenced the landscape urbanism approach and its follow ups for ex-industrial areas (in regard to stabilisation, cleaning, creation of identities and spatial qualities) now influences regional and landscape development in larger scales.
Trajectories look ahead. For this four crucial issues can offer further discussion.
Urban Initials
The first issue is a new understanding of temporality in urban planning. Since time, use and cultural and economic horizons are changing and becoming very unpredictable, temporary uses can introduce qualities of living spaces from the very start of urbanistic projects. An example has been proposed in the “Urban Initials Concept” for the new town Freiham in Munich2Urban Initials Freiham Concept for the Capital City of Munich, 2014 by Agropolis München (Jörg Schröder, Kerstin Hartig, Florian Otto, Sarah Hartmann, Nathalie Hörth) in collaboration with raumlaborberlin (Markus Bader, Benjamin Förster-Baldenius, Urs Kumberger, Andreas Krauth).. Connecting a cultural approach towards the urban-rural border with the theme of “Food for the City”3Food and the City. Research project at the Chair for Regional Building and Urban Planning, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 2013. and elements of urban agriculture, but also taking advantage of Munich’s creative milieus, “Urban Initials” aim at creating urban spaces with a strong identity – involving from the very beginning future inhabitants, housing firms and “selfmade city”4Kristien Ring (ed.), with collaboration of Miriam Mlecek: Selfmade City, Berlin 2013. organisations, and actors from the adjoining city quarter.
Research by Design
Since the conditions for urban planning have deeply changed in regard to the modernist approach – that nevertheless dominates legislation and planning procedures still strongly – urbansim will have to rebuild its own discipline. As Umberto Eco stated, that “architecture is the art to articulate space”5Umberto Eco: Introduction to Semiotics, 1972., design processes, methodes and paradigms have to be re- shaped. Certainly also in an artistic and aestetic perspective, but at the same time by relevant and transferable research6A research by design approach actually is developed in the PhD-Thesis works inside of the City&Landscape doctoral college, organized by the Chair of Regional Building and Ur- ban Planning in cooperation with the departments of Landscape Architecture and of Open Space Development of Leibniz Universität Hannover. .
Building Culture
In an also social and economic unterstanding of “Shaping the Territoriy”, building culture includes all sorts of built elements, infrastructures, cultural landscapes, and of course architecture, but firsthand focusses on the processes to produce spatial qualities and to the actors that are involved or should be involved7Scientific research for the EU Alpine Space Programme project AlpBC Alpine Building Culture, that aims to combine energy issues with the Alpine building stock as well as with new constructions (Jörg Schröder, Sarah Hartmann, Miriam Mlecek, Kerstin Finkenzeller, Lisa Leitgeb) www.alpbc.eu.. Also by new ways of communication of planning and building issues, as for example with the Agropolis Magazine8Jörg Schröder, Kerstin Hartig, Florian Otto, et.al.: Agropolis Magazine. 2009. First prize of the Open Scale Competition of the City of Munich, as contribution to the new awareness of urban agriculture and open space qualitites for urban development as imitation of the weekly magazine that accompanies the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The Territory
Concieving Re-Cycle not only as urgent theme of urban planning, but setting it in a renewed understanding9Jörg Schröder, Kerstin Weigert (eds.): Landraum. 2010. of the complex nature of European territories, may open up sustainable regional strategies for urban-rural cooperation10Scientific research for the EU Alpine Space Programme project RURBANCE, led by the General Direction for the Environment, Energy and Sustainable Development of Lombardy Region. RURBANCE aims at new governace models for rural-urban cooperation (Jörg Schröder, Kerstin Hartig, Urs Kumberger, Nathalie Hörth, Lisa Leitgeb) www.rurbance.eu. .
References
1. | ↑ | Pippo Ciorra, Sara Marini (ed.): Re-cycle. Strategies for Architecture, City, and the Planet. 2011. |
2. | ↑ | Urban Initials Freiham Concept for the Capital City of Munich, 2014 by Agropolis München (Jörg Schröder, Kerstin Hartig, Florian Otto, Sarah Hartmann, Nathalie Hörth) in collaboration with raumlaborberlin (Markus Bader, Benjamin Förster-Baldenius, Urs Kumberger, Andreas Krauth). |
3. | ↑ | Food and the City. Research project at the Chair for Regional Building and Urban Planning, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 2013. |
4. | ↑ | Kristien Ring (ed.), with collaboration of Miriam Mlecek: Selfmade City, Berlin 2013. |
5. | ↑ | Umberto Eco: Introduction to Semiotics, 1972. |
6. | ↑ | A research by design approach actually is developed in the PhD-Thesis works inside of the City&Landscape doctoral college, organized by the Chair of Regional Building and Ur- ban Planning in cooperation with the departments of Landscape Architecture and of Open Space Development of Leibniz Universität Hannover. |
7. | ↑ | Scientific research for the EU Alpine Space Programme project AlpBC Alpine Building Culture, that aims to combine energy issues with the Alpine building stock as well as with new constructions (Jörg Schröder, Sarah Hartmann, Miriam Mlecek, Kerstin Finkenzeller, Lisa Leitgeb) www.alpbc.eu. |
8. | ↑ | Jörg Schröder, Kerstin Hartig, Florian Otto, et.al.: Agropolis Magazine. 2009. First prize of the Open Scale Competition of the City of Munich, as contribution to the new awareness of urban agriculture and open space qualitites for urban development |
9. | ↑ | Jörg Schröder, Kerstin Weigert (eds.): Landraum. 2010. |
10. | ↑ | Scientific research for the EU Alpine Space Programme project RURBANCE, led by the General Direction for the Environment, Energy and Sustainable Development of Lombardy Region. RURBANCE aims at new governace models for rural-urban cooperation (Jörg Schröder, Kerstin Hartig, Urs Kumberger, Nathalie Hörth, Lisa Leitgeb) www.rurbance.eu. |