Berlin
July 14–19, 2017
The Summer of Discursive Practice
ARCH+ was founded in 1967 at the University of Stuttgart. Our first issue was published in 1968. In this turbulent era, ARCH+ stood for a different understanding of architecture and urban planning. With the student movement as a background, our understanding of architecture was shaped by the attempt to establish a rational basis for planning and social action. We sought a social architecture for a different society. In 2017–18, ARCH+ will celebrate its 50th anniversary. We’re using the occasion to highlight a series of themes that reflect on contemporary architecture before the backdrop of its last 50 years of development.
We’re kicking off the celebration with our issue In the End, Architecture: 50 Years of Discursive Practice, developed in cooperation with the Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W). In late 2016, Az W founder Dietmar Steiner retired from his post. Our collaboration sprung from an effort to reconsider his “architectural-theoretical socialization,” which largely corresponds to the lifespan of ARCH+. To fête the issue release, we are hosting a three-part event series as part of ARCH+ Features. We’re excited to invite you to this exciting summer lineup:
ARCH+ features 64: In the End: Architecture
Anna Heringer, Nikolaus Kuhnert and Dietmar Steiner in conversation with Christa Kamleithner
July 14, 5pm
Haus der Kulturen der Welt
John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10
10557 Berlin
A body of critical architectural theory emerged parallel to the utopian architecture of the 1960s. What impact has the discursive practice of the past 50 years had, in the end? Does architecture need a “reset,” a new social orientation? These questions and others will be discussed by the architect Anna Heringer, known for her social architectural practice, Dietmar Steiner, founder of Architekturzentrum Wien, Nikolaus Kuhnert, editor of ARCH+, and theorist Christa Kamleithner.
The event will be held in German. It is a cooperation with HKW and in conjunction of Miss Read, The Berlin Art Book Fair.
ARCH+ features 65: Between Spaces
Mark Wigley on Gordon Matta-Clark
July 16, 3pm
4:30 pm: Summer reception
ZKR Schloss Biesdorf
12683 Berlin
In early 1974, the New York architect and artist Gordon Matta-Clark took a chainsaw and cut a single-family home in two. As if performing a clinical autopsy, he exposed the building’s innards, transforming how the once-cozy home was perceived in an unsettling way. The artist Laurie Anderson described this intervention as “anarchitecture.” Anderson and Matta-Clark, together with other artists and architects, formed a group of the same name: Anarchitecture. They attained mythic status with their exhibition in 1974. Yet all that remains are an invitation and a few photos that show destroyed houses, crossroads, a derailed train, a house on a boat. The work of Gordon Matta-Clark takes a programmatic approach to deconstructing the boundaries of architecture and public space.
The event will be held in English. It is a cooperation with ZKR, as part of its exhibition Between Spaces.
ARCH+ features 66: Urban Lab Medellín | Berlin
Conflicts of an Urban Age – Urban Talk:
Maximilian Becker, Albert Kreisel, Tobias Schrammek with Philipp Misselwitz, Alejandro Restrepo Montoya, Anh-Linh Ngo, Florian Schmidt
July 19, 7pm
BOX Freiraum
Boxhagener Straße 93
Berlin
Berlin and the Colombian city of Medellín have been shaped by very different planning and participation cultures, and differing emphases when it comes to formal and informal processes of urban development. The think & do tank Urban Lab Medellín | Berlin, together with students and key actors from both cities, scrutinizes planning activity in both contexts and develops new instruments of planning. The goal is to encourage urban coding for inclusive, co-produced, and sustainable urban neighborhoods.
The event will be held in German.
Urban Lab Medellín | Berlin is a project by Urban Oasis in cooperation with Habitat Unit Berlin, sponsored by Alfred Herrhausen Society and supported by ARCH+ Verein.
