• date 2011-05-10 01:21:36

PROJECT SPACE – THE OTHER CITY – KAISERSLAUTERN (DE)  25th – 27th of September, 2011

Post Shopping Shops – develop innovative solutions for the deserted city centre of Kaiserslautern.

T A S K

Change the shop windows of Kaiserslautern and make a difference! Develop a new vision for empty shops based on the needs and demands of the 21st
century and make an impact on urban society!

 

a street view of the Primasenser Straße in Kaiserslautern in Germany with vacant shops

workshop details:
25th – 27th of September 2011
opening wonderland Project Space
kick-off lectures with experts
intense workshop Project Space
(public) final presentation

 

importance of vacant shops

Even though shopping landscape changes frequently, it is the showcases of our cities, an eye catcher and the single shops are milestones. Functioning as the ‘face’ of the city, not only do shops attract visitors, but they also serve as a visual distraction for pedestrians. Nowadays however, many peripheral parts of our modern cities seem to be diseased by vacant shops, as a result of trading-down and shutting down the retails. As shop owners hope for new high paying tenants, shopping malls pop up around or even in city centres. That development threatens the ground floors of whole districts or even towns. As a result of high mobilisation of the population migrating out of the cities to live in the green surrounding, a sense of hollow emptiness has crept into town centres.

 

CALL FOR IDEAS: vacant shops solutions

Wonderland invites teams from around the world to submit new ideas and concepts to use empty shops at the inner city of Kaiserslautern, in Germany. Your vision should detect the potential of these spaces for the city and develop exemplary alternative use concepts for vacant shops, enriching their original purpose. Your approach should generate an improvement for urban society and space. Your ideas should give an impulse to the local situation and help ignite a debate while generating transferable concepts.

 

a close up map of the town centre of Kaiserslautern in Germany

Crucial questions that might help inspire you in finding a new and unique vision are as follows:

• Which possible uses do these spaces have within the urban context?
• How can their potential be realized?
• What kind of concept could be developed for temporary and permanent occupation?
• What kind of (positive) effect would the usage of these spaces have on its inhabitants, urban space and the society in general?
• What could be the added value?

 

Background of Project Space

In 2011, Project Spaces will continue to follow the goal of finding sustainable and social development strategies through on-site workshops, lectures and open public discussions, leading to practices in new and effective cross-border co-operation throughout Europe. Participants will have the chance of presenting their visions to an interested audience consisting of citizens, real estate representatives, landlords, potential users, and representatives of municipalities, architects, and representatives of education as well as of research centres.

 

about this Call for ideas

Send us your idea referring to this topic in form of one significant image and a written description (max. 2.000 characters) per e-mail. A jury formed by wonderland board members and co-operation partners will select the 3 most interesting ideas for this Project Space. The winners will be supported with adequate travel compensation. The kick-off lecture and the final presentation are public events, to which representatives of local and international
media will be invited. Workshop results will be published on the web and on wonderland’s publications, such as the annual report. Participants will also receive the unique opportunity of becoming a wonderland member for the next two years for free and benefit from our
services.

 

Apply now and test your ideas!

Interested? Please register on www.wonderland.cx and submit your entry by e-mail as soon as possible. The deadline date for submissions is the 26th of June 2011. One of the vacant spaces in the city is now used as Architekturgalerie Kaiserslautern and will host the workshop. As a result of the Project Space Kaiserslautern, an exhibition or even a temporary realisation of affordable idea(s) can follow. The final decision will be made collectively on site, based on the outcome of the workshop. As a low-budget event, the Project Spaces biggest strength is the high creativity and motivation of the participating teams.

Do you wonder how practicable your thoughts and approaches are or how many people you can inspire? – Apply now to find out!

 

PROJECT SPACE – THE OTHER CITY – KAISERSLAUTERN (DE)
download call papers here

 

Project space Kaiserslautern (DE) is a collaboration of wonderland (AT), MESS – Mobile Einsatztruppe Stadt und Stil GbR and Architekturgalerie der TU Kaiserslautern. This project is supported by Bundeskanzleramt Österreich and Arching Austria.