The exhibition “urbainable – stadthaltig. Positions on the European City for the 21st Century” by members of the Architecture Section of the Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts) in Berlin examines the role of the European city and its architecture in the age of global warming, digitisation, demographic change and the dissolution of traditional social networks. The exhibition runs from 5 September to 22 November 2020.

The word creation ‘urbainable’ in the exhibition’s title refers to the hypothesis that sustainability and urbanity should not be considered opposites, but rather that a more responsible use of the city’s functional mechanisms is also the key to a more sustainable existence.

“urbainable – stadthaltig” is a group exhibition, in which members of the Architecture Section of the Akademie der Künste introduce themselves and their work in the form of projects, visionary concepts and initiatives, thus presenting their positions for the 21st century. The exhibition provides insights into European architecture and urban planning at the start of the ’20s of the new century. Other topics, in addition to completed architecture projects and those currently in planning, include digitisation in the design process, mobility, transformation of the new and preservation of the old, cultural techniques of density, working with nature and technological innovations. The members come from the fields of architecture, landscape and urban planning as well as history and theory of architecture. The exhibition is introduced with a research project carried out by the Leibniz University Hannover in cooperation with the Berlin-based photographer Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk. In this project, photos, drawings and texts are used to communicate to visitors the potential for sustainable development that exists in our cities. The publication to accompany the exhibition is published by ArchiTangle.

Although the exhibition was planned and conceived before the corona crisis, the implementation must take into account the experience of the pandemic. It is still unclear what aspects of public and cultural life will be possible when the exhibition opens. At the same time, the corona crisis is already demonstrating the great degree of versatility and creative potential that our cities hold.

urbainable – stadthaltig
5 September – 22 November 2020
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, Berlin, all halls

Curators
Tim Rieniets, Matthias Sauerbruch, Jörn Walter

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Text Credits: Akademie der Künste, Berlin