Initiative for a Cooperative Future City

The for­mer gate­house at Tem­pel­hof Air­port serves as the basis for the Torhaus Project, which is com­mit­ted to a city based on sol­i­dar­i­ty, eman­ci­pa­tion and the com­mon good. © Alexan­der Donath

Berlin-Tem­pel­hof Air­port build­ing: 312,000 square meters of total floor space. Con­cret­ed apron: 236,000 square meters. Tem­pel­hof Field: a vast 355 hectares. For twelve years, flight oper­a­tions have been sus­pend­ed. Since 2009 the build­ings, includ­ing the air­field, have been owned by the State of Berlin. In the inter­ven­ing years: dis­cus­sions and process­es about what to do with this mas­sive area. The col­lec­tive, which has been work­ing from the for­mer gate­house of the air­port since 2018, joins many oth­ers with the demand that what­ev­er trans­for­ma­tion hap­pens, it must be for the com­mon good—fit for our children’s chil­dren. This means: Mak­ing the city of the future and devel­op­ing new imag­i­nar­ies demand plan­ning with care for humans and non-humans, but also with respect for this planet.

Link to Audio guide

Par­tic­i­pat­ingSelf-orga­ni­za­tionActi­va­tionDiver­si­ty

Project

Torhaus Berlin

Actors

Torhaus Berlin, imple­men­ta­tion; THF.Vision, coop­er­a­tion part­ner; Tem­pel­hof Pro­jekt, coop­er­a­tion part­ner; Sen­ate for Urban Devel­op­ment and Hous­ing, poten­tial commission

Year

Since 2018

Loca­tion

Berlin, Deutsch­land

The ini­tia­tors of the project orga­nize work­shops that deal with the diverse sto­ries of the neigh­bor­hood and the air­port and at the same time crit­i­cal­ly com­ment on the design of the city. The Torhaus Fes­ti­val, for exam­ple, dealt with the bar­ri­er that the mas­sive air­port build­ing rep­re­sents for the uses on Tem­pel­hofer Feld, but also for the neigh­bor­ing quar­ters. © Alexan­der Donath
The inte­ri­or of the Torhaus was designed as a par­tic­i­pa­to­ry com­mu­ni­ty space, com­plete with com­mons library and radio sta­tion. © Alexan­der Donath
… or by acti­vat­ing free space, where peo­ple cut, cook, eat and wash up togeth­er, and fur­ni­ture for the use of the space was invent­ed next door. © Torhaus Berlin