Daniela Sandler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501703164
- eISBN:
- 9781501706271
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501703164.001.0001
- Subject:
- Architecture, Architectural History
In Berlin, decrepit structures do not always denote urban blight. Decayed buildings are incorporated into everyday life as residences, exhibition spaces, shops, offices, and as leisure space. As ...
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In Berlin, decrepit structures do not always denote urban blight. Decayed buildings are incorporated into everyday life as residences, exhibition spaces, shops, offices, and as leisure space. As nodes of public dialogue, they serve as platforms for dissenting views about the future and past of Berlin. This book introduces the concept of counter-preservation as a way to understand this intentional appropriation of decrepitude. The embrace of decay is a sign of Berlin's iconoclastic rebelliousness, but it has also been incorporated into the mainstream economy of tourism and development as part of the city's countercultural cachet. It presents the possibilities and shortcomings of counter-preservation as a dynamic force in Berlin and as a potential concept for other cities. Counter-preservation is part of Berlin's fabric: in the city's famed Hausprojekte (living projects) such as the Køpi, Tuntenhaus, and KA 86; in cultural centers such as the Haus Schwarzenberg, the Schokoladen, and the legendary, now defunct Tacheles; in memorials and museums; and even in commerce and residences. The appropriation of ruins is a way of carving out affordable spaces for housing, work, and cultural activities. It is also a visual statement against gentrification, and a complex representation of history, with the marks of different periods—the nineteenth century, World War II, postwar division, unification—on display for all to see. Counter-preservation exemplifies an everyday urbanism in which citizens shape private and public spaces with their own hands, but it also influences more formal designs, such as the Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall Memorial, and Daniel Libeskind's unbuilt redevelopment proposal for a site peppered with ruins of Nazi barracks. By featuring these examples, the book questions conventional notions of architectural authorship and points toward the value of participatory environments.Less
In Berlin, decrepit structures do not always denote urban blight. Decayed buildings are incorporated into everyday life as residences, exhibition spaces, shops, offices, and as leisure space. As nodes of public dialogue, they serve as platforms for dissenting views about the future and past of Berlin. This book introduces the concept of counter-preservation as a way to understand this intentional appropriation of decrepitude. The embrace of decay is a sign of Berlin's iconoclastic rebelliousness, but it has also been incorporated into the mainstream economy of tourism and development as part of the city's countercultural cachet. It presents the possibilities and shortcomings of counter-preservation as a dynamic force in Berlin and as a potential concept for other cities. Counter-preservation is part of Berlin's fabric: in the city's famed Hausprojekte (living projects) such as the Køpi, Tuntenhaus, and KA 86; in cultural centers such as the Haus Schwarzenberg, the Schokoladen, and the legendary, now defunct Tacheles; in memorials and museums; and even in commerce and residences. The appropriation of ruins is a way of carving out affordable spaces for housing, work, and cultural activities. It is also a visual statement against gentrification, and a complex representation of history, with the marks of different periods—the nineteenth century, World War II, postwar division, unification—on display for all to see. Counter-preservation exemplifies an everyday urbanism in which citizens shape private and public spaces with their own hands, but it also influences more formal designs, such as the Topography of Terror, the Berlin Wall Memorial, and Daniel Libeskind's unbuilt redevelopment proposal for a site peppered with ruins of Nazi barracks. By featuring these examples, the book questions conventional notions of architectural authorship and points toward the value of participatory environments.
Daniela Sandler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501703164
- eISBN:
- 9781501706271
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501703164.003.0001
- Subject:
- Architecture, Architectural History
This introductory chapter summarizes this volume's arguments, as well as the particular case studies which will be the subject of each individual chapter. It also details the scope of the study, ...
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This introductory chapter summarizes this volume's arguments, as well as the particular case studies which will be the subject of each individual chapter. It also details the scope of the study, which encompasses a large number of case studies in order to demonstrate the reach of counterpreservation beyond a few anecdotal or exceptional examples and leave room for examination in diverse spatial, programmatic, and urban conditions. The chapter also discusses the scholarly approach this book tackles as a whole, in order to give insight into a spatial practice that pops up across the city and even beyond it. In doing so the chapter raises the question which forms the heart of this book—why people in Berlin want to live, work, perform, and play in decrepit buildings when they could either renovate their buildings with their own hands, or, in some cases, afford to live in renovated ones.Less
This introductory chapter summarizes this volume's arguments, as well as the particular case studies which will be the subject of each individual chapter. It also details the scope of the study, which encompasses a large number of case studies in order to demonstrate the reach of counterpreservation beyond a few anecdotal or exceptional examples and leave room for examination in diverse spatial, programmatic, and urban conditions. The chapter also discusses the scholarly approach this book tackles as a whole, in order to give insight into a spatial practice that pops up across the city and even beyond it. In doing so the chapter raises the question which forms the heart of this book—why people in Berlin want to live, work, perform, and play in decrepit buildings when they could either renovate their buildings with their own hands, or, in some cases, afford to live in renovated ones.
Daniela Sandler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501703164
- eISBN:
- 9781501706271
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501703164.003.0002
- Subject:
- Architecture, Architectural History
This chapter is a conceptual discussion of counterpreservation. It defines the term in more detail and explores its connections with relevant theoretical and critical works. The word ...
More
This chapter is a conceptual discussion of counterpreservation. It defines the term in more detail and explores its connections with relevant theoretical and critical works. The word “counterpreservation” here serves to identify, analyze, and aggregate tendencies present in a range of examples, indicating coincident social processes and convergent cultural meanings. Thus, the chapter first focuses on Berlin and its particular attitudes toward the decay and repurposing of old buildings, examining how these architectural practices echo three issues that have defined the city since 1989: gentrification, historical memory, and unification. The chapter then moves beyond the city of Berlin to describe how counterpreservation functions in myriad forms through other urban settings and landscapes.Less
This chapter is a conceptual discussion of counterpreservation. It defines the term in more detail and explores its connections with relevant theoretical and critical works. The word “counterpreservation” here serves to identify, analyze, and aggregate tendencies present in a range of examples, indicating coincident social processes and convergent cultural meanings. Thus, the chapter first focuses on Berlin and its particular attitudes toward the decay and repurposing of old buildings, examining how these architectural practices echo three issues that have defined the city since 1989: gentrification, historical memory, and unification. The chapter then moves beyond the city of Berlin to describe how counterpreservation functions in myriad forms through other urban settings and landscapes.
Daniela Sandler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501703164
- eISBN:
- 9781501706271
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501703164.003.0007
- Subject:
- Architecture, Architectural History
This chapter tests the concept of counterpreservation against two ruins of a more recent past: structures built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and called into question after unification. One ...
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This chapter tests the concept of counterpreservation against two ruins of a more recent past: structures built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and called into question after unification. One of them, the now-demolished Palace of the Republic, exemplifies counterpreservation in a different form—not as the display of picturesquely crumbling façades, but as new interventions and installations set into the gutted shell of a former Socialist civic center. The second structure is the Berlin Wall as it is preserved and memorialized in the Berlin Wall Memorial Grounds on Bernauer Straẞe, built between 2007 and 2014. The centerpiece of the memorial grounds (and the reason for their being there) is a long, decaying section of the Wall, complemented by a constellation of remains and archaeological findings related to the border fortifications.Less
This chapter tests the concept of counterpreservation against two ruins of a more recent past: structures built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and called into question after unification. One of them, the now-demolished Palace of the Republic, exemplifies counterpreservation in a different form—not as the display of picturesquely crumbling façades, but as new interventions and installations set into the gutted shell of a former Socialist civic center. The second structure is the Berlin Wall as it is preserved and memorialized in the Berlin Wall Memorial Grounds on Bernauer Straẞe, built between 2007 and 2014. The centerpiece of the memorial grounds (and the reason for their being there) is a long, decaying section of the Wall, complemented by a constellation of remains and archaeological findings related to the border fortifications.
Daniela Sandler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501703164
- eISBN:
- 9781501706271
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501703164.003.0008
- Subject:
- Architecture, Architectural History
This concluding chapter considers whether counterpreservation was first and foremost a socio-architectural phenomenon specific to Berlin during the Wende, even if it could be applied to other places. ...
More
This concluding chapter considers whether counterpreservation was first and foremost a socio-architectural phenomenon specific to Berlin during the Wende, even if it could be applied to other places. In doing so the chapter also considers whether there can be “an architecture of change,” of transience, alongside the impulse to build stable and enduring cities and buildings. Counterpreservation is a step toward a conceptual exploration in this direction, even if it cannot account for all of the aspects of an architecture of change, which would involve issues that go beyond historic structures. Here, the chapter sketches what such a broader investigation might look like, providing preliminary explorations that point to a direction where the present study might unfold.Less
This concluding chapter considers whether counterpreservation was first and foremost a socio-architectural phenomenon specific to Berlin during the Wende, even if it could be applied to other places. In doing so the chapter also considers whether there can be “an architecture of change,” of transience, alongside the impulse to build stable and enduring cities and buildings. Counterpreservation is a step toward a conceptual exploration in this direction, even if it cannot account for all of the aspects of an architecture of change, which would involve issues that go beyond historic structures. Here, the chapter sketches what such a broader investigation might look like, providing preliminary explorations that point to a direction where the present study might unfold.
