Pratt Institute
5 - 28 June 2018

Berlin today is remarkable – even amongst European cities – in its experimental use of public space that broadens the traditional notion of city and suggests innovative, contemporary solutions for place making. The Love Parade, The Tresor, Cafe Moskau, Bar 25, Temporary Gardens and Lange Nacht (where museums, governmental buildings, and science labs are open to the public offering special events throughout the night), soccer rave parties (especially the last Brazil Soccer World Cup), Olympic Game viewings, New Year's nights, Open Berlin Film Festivals and other innumerable public events comprise an ever-changing unparalleled urban spectacle in Berlin. Berliners love their public space and are not afraid of the public. To the contrary to US Americans who are afraid of the public and are used to navigating an essentially militarized public space, Berliners flock to crowds. They reorder our perception of the city and its institutions, and democratize the urban condition.
The task is to design small urban incubators that provide support for neighborhood film screenings, different pop ups, temporary restaurants, bars, viewing spaces, “celebrity sightings" and parades for a novel appropriation for the user as cultural producer. The design project shall offer an alternative space for public engagement in relationship to film, theatre, art and music viewing, festival programs and the rituals that are related to it.

Studio Coordinators: Prof. William Menking, Prof. Dagmar Richter, Adin Rimland