| Beschreibung |
This Bauhaus.Module aims to synergize academic knowledge to a real case of bottom-up urban intervention in Weimar. The overall context is a co-creation of a citizen initiative that aims to transform the August-Frölich Platz in the West of Weimar, which is currently a traffic intersection with low pedestrian security, into a vibrant neighborhood square. The academic goal is to use an ongoing placemaking initiative to learn how to conceptualize, and implement a placemaking project within a specific timeframe. This includes identifying a pressing need, creating a proposal, gathering funding, contacting stakeholders, structuring action plan, required levels of design, and implementation.
Interdisciplinarity | Grassroots Placemaking relies on the expertise of living in a place and being an agent of social imaginary. The course intends to clarify the layered process of public spatial interventions and to draw an interface between diverse active roles in this project: the thinkers, the activists, the makers, the funders, the decision-makers, and the community.
The renovation idea of August-Frölich Platz has been ongoing since 2023 between CGE e.V (an NGO) and Weimar's municipality. As further steps, the NGO will present to the Weimar authorities temporary and long-term design solutions for the square. The idea is to integrate the proposed Bauhaus-Module in this phase of the process, providing an interdisciplinary experience for all involved.
Learning Goals | (This module aims to combine the concept of grassroots urbanism with the academic ivory tower.) The learning potential of the module lies in connecting the Bauhaus-sphere to local issues and everyday life in Weimar, through the realistic example of the August-Frölich Platz initiative. The course aims to provide students with practical skills, networks, and strategies for placemaking. From the identification of a need, the analysis of the site, organizing participation processes and data gathering, until the development of a design solution concept. Finally, the course has a special interest in giving the students a sense of self-efficacy. Students will experience that, despite the fact that they may only be temporary residents of Weimar, they nevertheless have the ability to influence their urban lifestyle. Paraphrasing Henri Lefebvre's words: we want to actively exercise the right to the city as students, in Weimar, and everywhere we may come to live in the future.
Didactic Concept | The course is process-oriented and culminates in a "design solution" for the further development of the Frölich Platz initiative. It consists of 4 blocks, each with 2 sessions lasting between 3 to 5 hours.
Block 1: Theory of Placemaking;
Introduction and overview of placemaking as a right to the city - Urban sociology in the context of Weimar - Engage with Weimar's public spaces: walking tours, discussions and guest lectures.
Block 2: Site;
Connect with organizations in Thuringia and beyond, explaining their funding processes, procedures and roles in city development, focusing on Weimar-specific regulations and stakeholders - Dealing with unwillingness: find convincing methods for resistance against progressive concepts.
Block 3: Participation and Moderation;
Survey methods, data extraction from existing surveys, and using the data to develop a design concept.
Block 4: Design and Implementation;
Design sessions and presenting findings to stakeholders. |
| Leistungsnachweis |
The deliverables are conceived as 3 tasks. Task I is Site Analysis. Task II survey and design solution concept. and Task III is the final design solution.
Task I – How to begin? - consists of an analysis of the physical site potentials and specificities. A placemaking initiative relies on a base knowledge of the area of interest. The site analysis can be reported in different media like spoken word, site plan, video, drawings, etc.
Task II – How to investigate? – is an exploratory task of evaluation built up from the survey chapter. Surveys should ignite a concept for a placemaking action.
Task III – Co-imagining a new place – concerns turning an idea into a feasible placemaking action. The participants will develop a plan or a design solution to be applied to the site. The medium by which the "design solution" will be presented is open to the choice and expertise of the students, as individuals and groups. |
