First of all, we looked at the history of Untere Karlsstraße and its surroundings and how the square currently functions and is used. We looked at who is already active there and what functions the square and the adjoining and surrounding spaces are currently occupied with. To find this out, we not only looked through archive material and planning documents, but also spent time on the square at different times of day and over several weeks and made spatial observations from different perspectives in order to gain a basic understanding of the special dynamics of the place. For a deeper understanding and an insight into and exchange about the potential of the square, we then conducted qualitative interviews with various people who either live or work at the square on Untere Karlsstraße. Our summarized findings, overviews and insights as well as a close exchange with the administration became the starting point and basis for our further process.
The core of our deliberations and planning for the future of Untere Karlsstraße was the involvement and participation of various users in different formats. To this end, there were several discussion rounds and a large artistic architectural model on which various possibilities and ideas could be tried out and tested again and again with sufficient plasticine. Our interim presentation was then directly the 1:1 practical test of our design, which we laid over the square as an immersive sketch and reviewed, discussed and sharpened again on site with more than a hundred people during the urban development day. Once again, the basis of our ongoing process was a lively and ongoing exchange of opinions with existing user groups on the square, who provided enormous support for our design process with their spatial and socio-spatial perspectives and years of local knowledge. By this we mean not only the local skate scene, cultural actors and residents, but also the responsible people in the administration, who have supported us across all departments throughout the entire process. This process took several months from October 2023 to May 2024.
Based on the analysis and the participation process, we developed a plan centered on the idea of a “shared space”. This approach aims to create a space that can be used jointly by different user groups, without clear separation of functions and, above all, without prioritizing individual interests. In such a scenario, car traffic, which currently has a high priority in planning and use - and not only in this square - is “downgraded” to “merely equal” use and can no longer take up 90 percent of the total area - as is currently the case on Untere Karlsstraße. In “shared space”, this space is shared fairly with other functions. We paid particular attention to this in our design: The skate scene and young people, to whom we offer infrastructure such as toilets and an informal cultural space, the residents, who find new qualities of stay and meeting spaces in our design, and the local cultural institutions, who are given new opportunities to have an impact on the public space by making the square usable in a variety of ways. A comprehensive planting concept provides more shade and, in the long term, better air quality and an improved inner-city climate, while open and expandable functional programming of the areas could ensure that the square can be and remains a place of cross-generational appropriation and revitalization. In order to prevent the emergence of potential new sources of conflict, we have taken care to plan more noise-intensive uses further away from residential buildings and also to use materials that are suitable for absorbing noise. We also tried to use as many recycled materials and existing resources as possible in order to be as resource-friendly and resource-conscious as possible: mobile and multifunctional elements are made from old plastic waste and instead of demolishing all existing structures and building completely new ones - as is usually done - we fully integrate large parts of the existing surfaces, some of which are still completely intact, into our concept.
For the design, we propose a gradual implementation of the individual construction phases, with sufficient time in between to test the ongoing development in an exploratory manner and to adapt individual aspects if necessary. In line with the principle of “slow architecture”, a construction phase would always be followed by an appropriation and activation phase of the newly created spaces and objects, so that a socio-spatial transformation is also possible in parallel to the physical conversion. Such an iterative approach could help to remain adaptable not only during planning, but also during implementation, and to be able to react to changing needs. We believe that this approach is not only in keeping with the times, but also particularly effective in terms of sustainable activation of the area. This not only promotes the maintenance of the dynamics created with and between the individual stakeholders in the previous participation process, but also creates traceability and transparency in an urban development process that usually takes a very long time.
Stadt Kassel
Stefan Marx, Stadt Kassel, UK14 and Dock4
2024
Kassel, Germany
First of all, we looked at the history of Untere Karlsstraße and its surroundings and how the square currently functions and is used. We looked at who is already active there and what functions the square and the adjoining and surrounding spaces are currently occupied with. To find this out, we not only looked through archive material and planning documents, but also spent time on the square at different times of day and over several weeks and made spatial observations from different perspectives in order to gain a basic understanding of the special dynamics of the place. For a deeper understanding and an insight into and exchange about the potential of the square, we then conducted qualitative interviews with various people who either live or work at the square on Untere Karlsstraße. Our summarized findings, overviews and insights as well as a close exchange with the administration became the starting point and basis for our further process.
The core of our deliberations and planning for the future of Untere Karlsstraße was the involvement and participation of various users in different formats. To this end, there were several discussion rounds and a large artistic architectural model on which various possibilities and ideas could be tried out and tested again and again with sufficient plasticine. Our interim presentation was then directly the 1:1 practical test of our design, which we laid over the square as an immersive sketch and reviewed, discussed and sharpened again on site with more than a hundred people during the urban development day. Once again, the basis of our ongoing process was a lively and ongoing exchange of opinions with existing user groups on the square, who provided enormous support for our design process with their spatial and socio-spatial perspectives and years of local knowledge. By this we mean not only the local skate scene, cultural actors and residents, but also the responsible people in the administration, who have supported us across all departments throughout the entire process. This process took several months from October 2023 to May 2024.
Based on the analysis and the participation process, we developed a plan centered on the idea of a “shared space”. This approach aims to create a space that can be used jointly by different user groups, without clear separation of functions and, above all, without prioritizing individual interests. In such a scenario, car traffic, which currently has a high priority in planning and use - and not only in this square - is “downgraded” to “merely equal” use and can no longer take up 90 percent of the total area - as is currently the case on Untere Karlsstraße. In “shared space”, this space is shared fairly with other functions. We paid particular attention to this in our design: The skate scene and young people, to whom we offer infrastructure such as toilets and an informal cultural space, the residents, who find new qualities of stay and meeting spaces in our design, and the local cultural institutions, who are given new opportunities to have an impact on the public space by making the square usable in a variety of ways. A comprehensive planting concept provides more shade and, in the long term, better air quality and an improved inner-city climate, while open and expandable functional programming of the areas could ensure that the square can be and remains a place of cross-generational appropriation and revitalization. In order to prevent the emergence of potential new sources of conflict, we have taken care to plan more noise-intensive uses further away from residential buildings and also to use materials that are suitable for absorbing noise. We also tried to use as many recycled materials and existing resources as possible in order to be as resource-friendly and resource-conscious as possible: mobile and multifunctional elements are made from old plastic waste and instead of demolishing all existing structures and building completely new ones - as is usually done - we fully integrate large parts of the existing surfaces, some of which are still completely intact, into our concept.
For the design, we propose a gradual implementation of the individual construction phases, with sufficient time in between to test the ongoing development in an exploratory manner and to adapt individual aspects if necessary. In line with the principle of “slow architecture”, a construction phase would always be followed by an appropriation and activation phase of the newly created spaces and objects, so that a socio-spatial transformation is also possible in parallel to the physical conversion. Such an iterative approach could help to remain adaptable not only during planning, but also during implementation, and to be able to react to changing needs. We believe that this approach is not only in keeping with the times, but also particularly effective in terms of sustainable activation of the area. This not only promotes the maintenance of the dynamics created with and between the individual stakeholders in the previous participation process, but also creates traceability and transparency in an urban development process that usually takes a very long time.
