Photograph
courtesy The German Pavilion
The
German Pavilion
Making
Heimat. Germany, Arrival Country
Commissioner:
Peter Cachola Schmal, DeutschesArchitekturmuseum (DAM) Curator: Oliver Elser,
Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM)
Exhibitor:
Something Fantastic
Germany. Four large openings in the walls of the German
Pavilion have transformed it into an open house. Over 48 tons of brick were
removed from the landmark-protected walls. The pavilion is open. Germany is
open. Last year, Germany’s borders were kept open to receive over a million
refugees. Although currently the EU borders are largely closed for refugees,
the gesture of opening the house is a call to rethink Germany as a welcoming nation
for immigrants.
http://makingheimat.de/en
The
Arrival City is on the Ground Floor
The
Success of a Neighborhood is Determined by the Availability of Small-Scale
Spaces on the Ground Floor
The exhibition was inspired by Doug Saunders’s book, Arrival
City: How the Largest Migration in History is Reshaping Our World. Using
examples from Germany’s Arrival Cities, a shift in perspective on immigrant
districts—a shift that is also applicable to Germany. Although these districts
are typically characterized as “problem areas,” they offer residents and new
arrivals the most important prerequisites of an Arrival City: affordable
housing, access to work, small-scale commercial spaces, good access to public
transit, networks of immigrants from the same culture, as well as a tolerant
attitude that extends to the acceptance of informal practices.
The
Arrival City is a City Within a City
Immigrants
look for Opportunities in Areas of Urban Density
Germany.
Using specific examples, the German Pavilion presents the architectural
qualities of buildings in an exhibition room dedicated to this particular
construction task. The examples have been chosen from the database. This
growing archive of realized and under-construction refugee buildings across
Germany and Europe offers a comprehensive picture of the current reality, and
is an exhortation to step up and meet the dire need for affordable and
high-quality residential space. Indeed, this is one of the central
prerequisites for a successful integration process.
The
German Pavilion