Community-Building Constructions

Casa do Vapor, Lis­bon (2013). Togeth­er with many local col­lab­o­ra­tors, the inter­dis­ci­pli­nary col­lec­tive Con­struct­Lab built and used this build­ing on the south side of the Tejo, which was simul­ta­ne­ous­ly an open-air class­room, pub­lic library, kitchen, bicy­cle repair shop, skate ramp and play­ground, and a piz­za oven. It was built with recy­cled wood from anoth­er project and was sim­ple enough for chil­dren to par­tic­i­pate as well as adults. Even though the tem­po­rary struc­ture had to be dis­man­tled at the end of the sum­mer, the social links and bonds that had been formed over the short peri­od are still evi­dent today. © Alexan­der Römer

The works of con­struct­Lab unfold in the cos­mos between imag­i­na­tion and life. But the focus of the collective’s work is not on cre­at­ing fixed and unal­ter­able facts. Instead, they active­ly seek ways to give form to the desires and hopes expressed in appro­pri­a­tions. The Baukiosk takes on the role of a sym­bol in this con­text. As a com­plex struc­ture, it embod­ies a par­tic­u­lar form of city-mak­ing that combines—or delib­er­ate­ly collides—differing inter­ests with dif­fer­ent oppor­tu­ni­ties. Thus, the kiosk is a meet­ing place as well as a col­lec­tion point. Ana­log bill­board and dig­i­tal dis­play. Infor­ma­tion sys­tem and rest­ing point. It is always many things and every­thing at once.


Project

Baukiosk


Actors

con­struct­Lab


Year

2020


Loca­tion

Berlin, Ger­many

© Alexan­der Römer
The Arch, Genk (2017). Designed as an exper­i­men­tal lab­o­ra­to­ry, this project was ded­i­cat­ed to rethink­ing the his­to­ry of the small Bel­gian town. For­mer­ly dom­i­nat­ed by min­ing and indus­tries, the ques­tion of the future of Genk was at the cen­ter of events and work­shops. © Julie Guiches