Announcement // Make City: A Festival for Architecture and Urban Alternatives

berlin-art-link_makecity_julienlanoo_generalparkamgleisdreieck.jpg General Park at Gleisdreieck; Photo by Julian Lanoo, Courtesy of Make City

Berlin is no stranger to the reappropriation of urban spaces. As a city in constant flux, Berlin has emerged as a beacon of urban planning and architectural innovation, rendering it the perfect location for Make City, a festival for architecture and urban alternatives. From June 11-28, 2015, Make City will bring together architects, designers, agencies, planners, developers, and civic groups for a series of studio talks, tours, and happenings throughout Berlin.

This year’s program will include a site-specific installation at Rosa-Luxemburg Platz, titled ‘Wechselstuben’ (‘Exchange Offices’), by artist Michael Beutler, who recently opened an exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof, a bike tour around Tempelhofer Field in collaboration with 100% Tempelhofer Feld, Allmende Kontor, Raumlabor and Urban Catalyst, “Solstice Clearance Bonfire”, a large bonfire led by LoBe contemporary art space in Wedding, “Hives in the City”, a project hoping to expand “urban rooftop beekeeping”, and many, many more.

“We will show and discuss successful possibilities for collaboration, entirely new ecological and economical approaches to our urban resources, and new architecture that redefines the boundaries between public and private space”, festival initiator Francesca Ferguson has stated. The festival will thusly be spread across 3 overarching themes of ‘Re_Sourcing the Urban’: ‘The urban commons’, which explores urban landscapes and renegotiating common spaces, ‘New designs for urban Living/Working’, a look at hybrid co-working/co-living spaces, and ‘Urban open source’, the economy of sharing and co-designing.

Make City’s main festival center will be at the Czech Cultural Centre in Berlin Mitte, with multiple other “festival hubs” at places like Heinrich Böll-Stiftung, Deutsches Architektur Zentrum (DAZ), and Technische Universität Berlin. Admission to the festival is free and all those who are interested are encouraged to come take part in re-claiming and re-imagining the urban spaces that we inhabit.
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