Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg
Behörde für Stadtentwicklung und Wohnen
Amt für Landesplanung und Stadtentwicklung
Projektbüro
2023
Hamburg-Rothenburgsort, Germany
From July to September 2023, we developed a pop-up space in Hamburg-Rothenburgsort in the form of a multi-generational playground with local residents. Located at a central intersection in the district, the Billhorner Platz was a fictitious location within the federal government's "Post-Corona City" project on behalf of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing. This space was to be used, occupied and defined. As a place to be designed, this space was at the center of an open development by everyone and for all residents. For this process, we came up with three consecutive, yet very different workshops. At the beginning, our team spent six days on site with the double-decker bus, during which time children's drawings and quick sketches were collected as simple design options for ideas. At the end, there was a foam concrete party where the collected ideas were turned into realizable sculptures. In a large 1:1 experiment. Or: Dreams sometimes become (concrete) foams.
But first things first. First of all, we came to Rothenburgsort in July for the first part of the workshops to paint, draw and, last but not least, to talk to local residents about their wishes and ideas – for the district, but also specifically for Billhorner Platz. In this first workshop, ideas and visions for this space were to be collected with the help of these sketches in as low-threshold a manner as possible – i.e. as unacademically and fearlessly as possible. Tables covered with paper and other materials were provided. People cooked and ate together. Concerts took place. Sketches, line drawings and splashes of color were created – without hiding anything. We came together with the residents and collected a large pile of drawings (147!!) of possible and impossible ideas for the next steps.
Photos: Miguel Ferraz Araújo
And these next steps were tightly calculated: Official approval was needed in just six weeks to start the actual construction of the collected proposals. For a normal approval process, however, detailed plans have to be submitted and such planning processes can take years. Really: years! This time was not available and detailed plans were even less so. What's more, unlike normal, lengthy planning processes, the ideas needed to be implemented more directly – straight from the head to the hand, so to speak – so the usual procedures were out of the question for us. So our office used a trick that is perhaps unique to this point: the objects to be built were declared to be artworks and what was to be created on the open space was accordingly declared to be a sculpture park. We also referred to the residents' artistic freedom. So it was enough that only vague plans were submitted that showed roughly where something was to be created, and a lengthy procedure was bypassed. In the end, and after a lot of persuasion, approval was granted and we were able to get started! This gave us the opportunity to plan and develop further with everyone involved later on.
First of all, however, we communicated, curated and grouped. Some ideas took shape, others had to be discarded because they proved impossible despite the unorthodox process. The next workshop in August was held with local residents. They built and crafted together – using wood, concrete, fabric, steel and tiles to explore different materials and techniques. So that everyone involved could not only watch and participate, but also lose the fear of taking matters into their own hands. And thus to become effective themselves and create an impact. To this end, we organized workshops on various construction methods, which were not led by ourselves, but instead drew on superpowers, hidden skills and know-how that were already available in the neighbourhood. So we learned together and from each other how to sew, saw, drill, lay tiles or weld. The result was the colorful, oversized PLATZ (= SPACE) lettering. A first place holder for the pop-up park to be designed.
Photos: Miguel Ferraz Araújo
And finally: in September, the 1:1 experiment, the large construction site, where the residents' designs were implemented together with everyone and for everyone. They negotiated, discussed, shaped, glued, painted and concreted for all they were worth. Improvised formwork was created from the materials used in the second workshop – canvas, wood, bales of straw, metal scaffolding, etc. – and in the end did not burst at the seams, even if the construction site was tightly scheduled. The drawings collected in July were condensed into collages, which were then translated into four different, themed spatial islands. Some wishes could be implemented very concretely and directly or were combined with others, some appeared in a transferred form. The materials chosen for this project were steel, tiles and foamed concrete - made from lots of air, water and white cement. This material is not only extremely sustainable due to its low material consumption, it can be colored by adding pigments and, above all, is significantly lighter than normal concrete. This meant that the formwork and therefore the finished forms did not have to be particularly stable and could be easily built and modified on site, especially by children and non-professionals: The result is a stage that is illuminated at night, a much-desired rainbow lies next to it as a colorful concrete grandstand, a discarded chewing gum machine is converted into a love letter machine, a seating landscape with chaise longue and beanbags invite you to linger and relax, a large table has plenty of space for surprise guests, a barbecue area, flower pots for herbs and a pergola are taking shape, two concrete sofas on a blue island are the new meeting point for intimate conversations, and instead of a fountain, a water feature for children is built from an old sink with washing lines stretched over it. In the end, a temporary, multifunctional and usable sculpture park was created within a week, which has been open for use on a green space in the middle of Rothenburgsort since mid-September.
What comes next? That remains to be seen. As the chosen material, foam concrete, is relatively durable, we hope that the designed sculptures will transform the fictitious Billhorner Platz into a more usable place for a while longer. For the residents – but also to set an example for future plans for the district and the space around the large intersection. These are currently being planned as part of the Alster - Elbe - Bille - Grünzug project. The park should serve as inspiration here – for further concrete urban development plans, but also for any further participation processes. Because only if residents are involved in such planning and processes and can play an active role can a public space be created by everyone for everyone, which is also experienced as worth living in by everyone involved. We are deeply convinced that the best way to rely on the power of change and its long-term effectiveness is if this change is self-made.
Photos: Miguel Ferraz Araújo
Photos: William Veder
Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg
Behörde für Stadtentwicklung und Wohnen
Amt für Landesplanung und Stadtentwicklung
Projektbüro
2023
Hamburg-Rothenburgsort, Germany
From July to September 2023, we developed a pop-up space in Hamburg-Rothenburgsort in the form of a multi-generational playground with local residents. Located at a central intersection in the district, the Billhorner Platz was a fictitious location within the federal government's "Post-Corona City" project on behalf of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing. This space was to be used, occupied and defined. As a place to be designed, this space was at the center of an open development by everyone and for all residents. For this process, we came up with three consecutive, yet very different workshops. At the beginning, our team spent six days on site with the double-decker bus, during which time children's drawings and quick sketches were collected as simple design options for ideas. At the end, there was a foam concrete party where the collected ideas were turned into realizable sculptures. In a large 1:1 experiment. Or: Dreams sometimes become (concrete) foams.
But first things first. First of all, we came to Rothenburgsort in July for the first part of the workshops to paint, draw and, last but not least, to talk to local residents about their wishes and ideas – for the district, but also specifically for Billhorner Platz. In this first workshop, ideas and visions for this space were to be collected with the help of these sketches in as low-threshold a manner as possible – i.e. as unacademically and fearlessly as possible. Tables covered with paper and other materials were provided. People cooked and ate together. Concerts took place. Sketches, line drawings and splashes of color were created – without hiding anything. We came together with the residents and collected a large pile of drawings (147!!) of possible and impossible ideas for the next steps.
Photos: Miguel Ferraz Araújo
And these next steps were tightly calculated: Official approval was needed in just six weeks to start the actual construction of the collected proposals. For a normal approval process, however, detailed plans have to be submitted and such planning processes can take years. Really: years! This time was not available and detailed plans were even less so. What's more, unlike normal, lengthy planning processes, the ideas needed to be implemented more directly – straight from the head to the hand, so to speak – so the usual procedures were out of the question for us. So our office used a trick that is perhaps unique to this point: the objects to be built were declared to be artworks and what was to be created on the open space was accordingly declared to be a sculpture park. We also referred to the residents' artistic freedom. So it was enough that only vague plans were submitted that showed roughly where something was to be created, and a lengthy procedure was bypassed. In the end, and after a lot of persuasion, approval was granted and we were able to get started! This gave us the opportunity to plan and develop further with everyone involved later on.
First of all, however, we communicated, curated and grouped. Some ideas took shape, others had to be discarded because they proved impossible despite the unorthodox process. The next workshop in August was held with local residents. They built and crafted together – using wood, concrete, fabric, steel and tiles to explore different materials and techniques. So that everyone involved could not only watch and participate, but also lose the fear of taking matters into their own hands. And thus to become effective themselves and create an impact. To this end, we organized workshops on various construction methods, which were not led by ourselves, but instead drew on superpowers, hidden skills and know-how that were already available in the neighbourhood. So we learned together and from each other how to sew, saw, drill, lay tiles or weld. The result was the colorful, oversized PLATZ (= SPACE) lettering. A first place holder for the pop-up park to be designed.
Photos: Miguel Ferraz Araújo
And finally: in September, the 1:1 experiment, the large construction site, where the residents' designs were implemented together with everyone and for everyone. They negotiated, discussed, shaped, glued, painted and concreted for all they were worth. Improvised formwork was created from the materials used in the second workshop – canvas, wood, bales of straw, metal scaffolding, etc. – and in the end did not burst at the seams, even if the construction site was tightly scheduled. The drawings collected in July were condensed into collages, which were then translated into four different, themed spatial islands. Some wishes could be implemented very concretely and directly or were combined with others, some appeared in a transferred form. The materials chosen for this project were steel, tiles and foamed concrete - made from lots of air, water and white cement. This material is not only extremely sustainable due to its low material consumption, it can be colored by adding pigments and, above all, is significantly lighter than normal concrete. This meant that the formwork and therefore the finished forms did not have to be particularly stable and could be easily built and modified on site, especially by children and non-professionals: The result is a stage that is illuminated at night, a much-desired rainbow lies next to it as a colorful concrete grandstand, a discarded chewing gum machine is converted into a love letter machine, a seating landscape with chaise longue and beanbags invite you to linger and relax, a large table has plenty of space for surprise guests, a barbecue area, flower pots for herbs and a pergola are taking shape, two concrete sofas on a blue island are the new meeting point for intimate conversations, and instead of a fountain, a water feature for children is built from an old sink with washing lines stretched over it. In the end, a temporary, multifunctional and usable sculpture park was created within a week, which has been open for use on a green space in the middle of Rothenburgsort since mid-September.
What comes next? That remains to be seen. As the chosen material, foam concrete, is relatively durable, we hope that the designed sculptures will transform the fictitious Billhorner Platz into a more usable place for a while longer. For the residents – but also to set an example for future plans for the district and the space around the large intersection. These are currently being planned as part of the Alster - Elbe - Bille - Grünzug project. The park should serve as inspiration here – for further concrete urban development plans, but also for any further participation processes. Because only if residents are involved in such planning and processes and can play an active role can a public space be created by everyone for everyone, which is also experienced as worth living in by everyone involved. We are deeply convinced that the best way to rely on the power of change and its long-term effectiveness is if this change is self-made.
Photos: Miguel Ferraz Araújo
Photos: William Veder