What to do when doing is no longer enough? Can ephemeral cultural actions evolve into permanent processes that create new horizons and forms of collaboration between operators, citizens and institutions? To discuss such questions, on Saturday 14 September Lorenzo Tripodi will join Bertram Niessen, scientific director cheFare agency (Milan), Nasrin Mohiti Asli architect, co-founder of […]
A Prussian railway workshop, a Cold War industrial wasteland, a contemporary socio-cultural center in the heart of Berlin Friedrichshain. The area is emblematic of collective and informal processes of creative transfomation reinventing Berlin’s urban landscape. The R.A.W. in Berlin-Friedrichshain was originally serving as a railway workshop in the XIX century. After being damaged during World War II and undergoing various transformations, it became a neglected wasteland in post-unification Berlin. In 1999, the RAW-Tempel association repurposed the site for artistic and cultural activities, aiming to create a vibrant hub for creativity and community engagement. In 2015, the Kurth Group acquired ownership of R.A.W. and recognized its potential for investment and urban development. Unlike other financial actors, the new owner aimed to respect the site’s identity and socio-cultural programs, giving long-term residents more control over their pre-existing properties. Establishing a participatory approach to urban planning, new plans for the R.A.W. Tower, a 100-meter-tall building, was set to be constructed starting in 2024. The project is intended to blend with older activities, integrating new offices, green areas, markets, and other services, with the R.A.W.’s role as a cultural institution. However, concerns about power dynamics and possible future compromises between top and bottom interests revolving around the R.A.W. might still challenge the current collaborations between the community and external investors.
Similarly to other cases in the Berlin-Kreutzberg, the Lause has been threatened by the possibility of an unaffordable rent increase due to the intention of the owner to sell the building to the highest bidder. The complex has been used for both residential and commercial uses, and its inhabitants vary from families, to craftspeople, from artistic collectives to political initiatives, whose work is deeply rooted in the neighbourhood’s fabric. Following the threat of being displaced from their home, the Lause community understood that in order to contest gentrification they needed to collectively self-organise. Based on principles of solidarity and community building, they engaged in a journey marked by the frenetic and chaotic rhythm that tight schedules and exhausting negotiations impose. After more than 5 years of struggle, the Lause was successfully saved, as in 2022 an agreement was reached allowing the Berlin municipality to buy back the property. Now, the Lause is able to maintain its status as an open and non-commercialized space at the neighborhood’s disposal without being threatened by further risks of displacement, as a lease was recently signed granting the residents with a free use of the estate for 65 years.
