Vertical Studio KASSEL CONTESTED

Kassel Contested | War, Planning, Love
Vertical Studio Project
Prof. Dr. Gabu Heindl, Guest Prof. Dr. Dagmar Pelger

FB06.506

The ASL Studio project KASSEL CONTESTED | Krieg, Planung, Liebe explores spatial connections between industry and urban planning decisions, the resulting urban conflicts, and the niches for commoning practices that emerge within these conflicts. 

The arms industry companies Henschel, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, and Rheinmetall Defence are closely intertwined with the urban fabric of Kassel, with some of their connections being explicitly visible while others are obscured or disappeared within the urban structure.

In a projective mapping process, we aim to trace the spatial translations and erasures of the connections between the weapons industry and urban planning in Kassel. We ask questions such as: How much vacant space emerges, and how much inaccessible city does this production create? What spatial resources can civil society open up within this powerful complex of politics, economy, and arms production? What niches or gaps can be opened within the economization of urban space and how can they be used contrary to the logics of industry, war, and urban development? How much space remains?

Bachelor and Master students in Architecture, Urban Planning, and Landscape Architecture learn to use cartography as an analytical, research, and project tool to experiment with interdisciplinary planning and design popositions within the context of these conflictual urban spaces.

Teaching language: German and English

Date: weekly Thursdays 14:00-18:00

Modules: Pro-1.0-01, Pro-1.2-30, Pro-1.2-31, PRO-2.0-02, PRO-2.2-50, PRO-2.2-30, PRO-2.1-30, PRO-2.1-03, Pro-1.1-02

Accompanying course: Participation in the research studio "Kassel Contested - Stadtkonflikte Kassel" is obligatory for all project participants.

Photo: Gabu Heindl

Moodle link:https://moodle.uni-kassel.de/course/view.php?id=11027