URBAN DESIGN STUDIO, WS 2019/2020
Prof. Dr. Philipp Misselwitz, David Bauer

BERLIN XX XL*

In the context of the forthcoming 2020 centenary of Greater-Berlin the studio will look at the city's past (built, unbuild, destroyed, forgotten) and present (contested, procrastinating, path-dependent) to speculate on its future (socially and ecologically aware, sustainable, beautiful). Based on the study of current transformation drivers as well as local/global tendencies students will use an imagined Berlin placed in the years 2040/2070 as a laboratory for scenario building through speculative design approaches. Revisiting the bold move that unified eight independent cities, 59 rural communities and 27 estates within a single legislative act in 1919, the studio will rethink administrative boundaries, spatial constellations, infrastructures and resource flows from Mitte to the Hinterlands.

Divergent scenarios will be developed with help of external experts on topics ranging from transformation design, climate change, resource and food security, energy, age or housing – combining research with speculative design in a playful manner. The studio will participate in the open urban design competition "100 years of (greater) Berlin International Urban Design Ideas Competition Berlin-Brandenburg 2070".

* Roman numereals "20 40" I Generic Sizes "Superlarge"