Begegnungsraum Stuttgart

Project

268026

Status

Submitted

Award category

You want to submit

NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS AWARDS : existing completed examples

Project title

Begegnungsraum Stuttgart

Full project title

Description

The Begegnungsraum is a neutral community space, a building where people from different cultures can meet and exchange ideas, where they can talk to each other, laugh, learn, discuss and help each other with problems, all within different formats and through various activities. The Begegnungsraum has been planned and realized as a self-build project through donations and is located in the city center of Stuttgart.

Where was your project implemented in the EU?

When was your project implemented?

Has your project benefited from EU programmes or funds?

Which programme(s) or fund(s)? Provide the name of the programme(s)/fund(s), the strand/action line as relevant and the year.

Please provide a summary of your project

The planning of the Begegnungsraum project began in 2015, when many refugees arrived in Germany as a result of the civil war in Syria. The situation raised a social discussion and numerous questions. Two architecture students from Stuttgart, Tine Teiml and Meike Hammer, addressed some of these questions in their master's thesis: What social role do architects play in this debate? People who leave their homeland and have to find their way in a new country, in a new city, also have spatial needs beyond the subsistence level - what do these needs look like? How can architecture respond to a politically charged, humanitarian catastrophic situation and create solutions? How can it create real places of refuge? Based on workshops with refugees, a first concept and plan was developed, which became an actual building with the help of many volunteers from 2016 to 2017 – located next to a shared accomodation for refugees. The Begegnungsraum sees itself as an experimental field and "practice space" for an equal, respectful and peaceful coexistence in our urban society. The work in the Begegnungsraum aims to strengthen the cohesion of Stuttgart's diverse urban society, where discriminatory and paternalistic structures of dealing with diversity are dismantled. It aims at initiating participation formats in which multiple affiliations are welcome and where social participation and equal opportunities for all Stuttgart residents are to be made possible. The formats realized in the Begegnungsraum can roughly be divided into 3 categories: 1. Regular events organized by civil society and humanitarian organizations, e.g. "Start with a friend" or language courses. 2. The use of the room as an extended living space for the residents of the neighboring accommodation, for events such as birthdays, dinners or family meetings. 3. Open formats and events curated by the team of the meeting space in cooperation with speakers, artists and activists, e.g. "Chai time", concerts or theatre.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met

Sustainability has been a major concern of the project initiators from the very beginning. For the construction of the space, natural building materials with the smallest possible ecological footprint were used wherever possible. In addition to wood, clay was used, also in form of bricks. On the one hand, the load-bearing walls consist of insulated vertically perforated bricks, which were directly plastered on the outside and inside. The second part of the load-bearing wall structure is formed by wooden frame walls filled with insulation made of wood wool fibers. The roof is formed by a wooden beam structure. In the interior, the bricks were covered with a clay plaster, which has a moisture-regulating effect and thus creates a pleasant indoor climate. The wooden frame walls were planked with three-layer spruce boards. The floor was covered with wooden planks made of spruce. The attempt to counter Stuttgart's high soil sealing with an ecological compensation area, the beautiful roof view and the good thermal insulation properties made the decision for a green roof easy.  Not only the building itself was to be sustainable through the use of ecological materials, also the occupation and thus the social benefit should be sustainable and of long-term value for all residents. In order to achieve this, the Begegnungsraum has built up a network across the city. In addition to connect with other spaces for refugees in Stuttgart, there are collaborations with many municipal institutions. While at the beginning of the project most of the offers and event formats were aimed specifically at refugees and their arrival, the focus of the work has shifted together with the needs of the newcomers. What’s now becoming the focus of the work more and more is something beyond mere arrival. The current guiding question is: How can immigrants and Stuttgart citizens jointly design and actively shape a society that enables equal opportunities and participation for everyone?

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these have been met

One of the most important goals was to create a place where people feel comfortable. A place not only creating an exchange between people through the activities offered, but which above all, due to its spatial qualities and its aesthetics, creates a place where people from all nations enjoy spending time. The wishes that were elaborated at the beginning of the project, the wishes for tranquility, security, relaxation on the one hand, and for community and exchange on the other hand, are expressed in the feel and look of the materials masonry, wood, clay, plaster and in their simple texture.  Not only the surfaces of the facades but also the cubature and load-bearing structure of the building are intended to make it visible from the outside that the community space is conceived as a place of rest, while at the same time being open to all. The extensive solid masonry has little window area and thus leaves little insight into the interior. The walls are plastered from the outside, lightly textured and painted in a light gray-green color, so that the building integrates into the cityscape from the outside. The covered, recessed wood-frame walls, on the other hand, contain plenty of window space for curious looks.  For the exchange between inside and outside, there are seating niches in front of each of the windows, which provide communal lounging areas and in summer extend the meeting space by the area to the outside. In addition to the walls and the built-in seating niches, which form a pleasantly warm background through the use of clay plaster and wood, movable and colorfull furniture was made to make the space flexible in use and at the same time accentuate it with color. Objects such as angles, shelving systems and lights turned out to be expensive when purchased and not in keeping with the aesthetics of the Begegnungsraum. Thus the idea was born to design and build all these elements autonomously, as well as the furniture, such as tables, chairs and boxes.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion and how these have been met

From the very beginning, students, neighboring residents of the refugee accommodation, various initiatives as well as Stuttgart citizens were involved in the planning and realization of the Begegnungsraum project. The early and direct involvement enabled and favored a multifaceted participation. Tasks were distributed and responsibility was handed over at an early stage and thus the level of awareness grew even before the building was opened and successively supported the adaptation, the acculturation and the assimilation into urban coexistence. Until now, the project connects people from different backgrounds, disciplines and educational levels through participatory and transdisciplinary collaboration. It offers the opportunity to actively participate in shaping urban coexistence to everyone. Programmes and activities in the Begegnungsraum are initiated, carried out and supported mainly by volunteers consisting of long-established Stuttgart residents, newcomers and residents of the neighbouring accommodation for refugees.  Newcomers for example independently offer theater courses or dance groups, take responsibility for specific events and lead them. Those involved identify with the space as they are actively shaping it.  The diverse composition of the committed people is also reflected in the board of the newly founded association (“Verein”); among others, a former resident as well as a current resident of the neighboring accommodation are now active in the board of the association. The Begegnungsraum as an exchange platform builds a resilient community and thereby contributes to the development of an inclusive society.

Please give information on the results/impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for

Neamat Barekzahi, part of the Begegnungsraum team, participated in the construction from the beginning and represented the interests of the residents of the neighboring accomodation. To this day, he is part of the Begegnungsraum initiative and a founding member of the recently established Begegnungsraum association. Here is a statement from him: "I had only been in Germany for about a year and barely spoke German when the Begegnungsraum was built. After I fled, I felt very lonely and everything was foreign to me. Except for language classes, I had no contact with people.  In the beginning, I came to the construction site and just watched. It was interesting. Because I didn't know the language, I was uncomfortable making contact with the people there. But those who worked there were so nice and friendly. After that, I tried to go there every day under the pretext of a question, to help and get to know them better.  This is where my integration began and now, more than three years later, I have made many good friends. In my opinion, places like this are a bridge between those who have newly arrived and those who have been here for a long time and have experience.  When I was in the refugee shelter, I always felt like I was in quarantine because of the small space and lack of personal space. In the Begegnungsraum, I had the opportunity to just study or even sit alone for an hour or two, drink coffee, and think. This helped me a lot in my decisions. And most of all, it was interesting to meet people of all nationalities there and learn about different cultures." 

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project

The participation of all those involved in the project is one of the most important modules of the Begegnungsraum, from the initial analysis of what is needed to the current use of the space. In order to get to know different facilities in Stuttgart, their residents and the local conditions more closely, circles of friends for refugees were visited, and the directors and social workers of the accommodations were contacted, thus building up a far-reaching network.  In dialogue, with the help of workshops and round tables, it became clear what was generally needed, what kind of spaces would be helpful in order to arrive in the new city and society, and what has been appreciated or missed so far in terms of architecture. From the results of the analysis, the expert discussions and the workshops, the first spatial components were developed that a building should offer in order to meet the wishes and needs of refugees and Stuttgart residents.  Through the realization of the project as a self-build project and the participation of volunteers and residents of the accommodations, a great acceptance for the place has emerged. The building became an encounter space in the city center of Stuttgart, already during the construction process, and was well known and established in the surrounding urban space before it opened. The Begegnungsraum consists mainly of volunteer involvement. Due to the early involvement in the construction project and the early integration into the program, all participants can identify with the project. The Begegnungsraum enables all participants to empower themselves, stimulates profound dialogues and discourses that create a large sphere of impact, both for civil society and for the private environment. 

Please highlight the innovative character of the project

Veronika Kienzle, head of the Stuttgart central district council, supported the idea of the Begegnungsraum from the very beginning. She gave the decisive hint to plan with the plot of land on which the Begegnungsraum now stands. She says: "In Stuttgart's Breitscheidstraße 2F, on the edge of the University campus, the Begegsungsraum association has succeeded in creating a spectacular project of practiced empathy. It has built a small house there, in the neighborhood of the University of Applied Sciences. The neighbor to the north is the municipal shelter for refugees, a system building. Google maps conceals its useful existence. But the refugees live there for real. And with them the needs that we all have. The need for exchange, connection, lived neighborhood, for culture. After all that they had to leave behind on the run and can hardly find in a quick way in the Swabian metropolis:  A place for themselves and others, a neutral ground in an open society. Where people can get to know each other, where they can drink tea together, where they can laugh and maybe even cry sometimes. I don't know if the term pop-up lane existed back when the space was built. But that's exactly how I envision pop-up urban planning for a people-friendly city." The Begegnungsraum stands for interdisciplinarity, sustainability, cooperation, networking and resilience. The inner-city, urban location provides visible and tangible points of contact that generate an encounter at eye level and promote acceptance and reception. The space serves the exchange of different cultures and aims to reduce prejudices, as well as to promote the assumption of mutual social responsibility. The idea of the Begegnungsraum stands for unconventional and new ways of thinking and acting, which have a positive effect on the community and stimulate new dialogues and discourses.

Please explain how the project led to results or learnings which could be transferred to other interested parties

Pastor Eberhard Schwarz says: "Memories fade easily. How much is still vivid from the impressions of the streams of people who came to Europe seeking protection and asylum between 2014 and 2016? Who can still empathize with the emotional states between sympathy, fright and the euphoric: "We can do it"? But above all: Who can still imagine today how much social, architectural, humanitarian, practical, political and creative energy it takes to plan and finally realize and build a sustainable, integrating project like the Begegnungsraum on all levels in a situation that has overwhelmed almost everyone? It takes vision, perseverance, ideas for political action. It takes a high degree of willingness to take risks. Fundamental ideas of what people on the run need for their arrival, integration and finally their life in the country of arrival. It needs sociopolitical vision. An almost inexhaustible inner motivation. The gift and enthusiasm to move others to social action. It takes an extraordinary amount of patience to convince institutions, authorities and project partners of the validity and feasibility of an idea. A lot of frustration tolerance. It needs the intellectual, material, technical and craft resources to implement it." In order to document and share the knowledge gained in the process, a publication was made which gives an overview on the full process of how the Begegnungsraum emerged. The structure of the chapters is based on the process of creating the house. Chapter 1 reports on the motivation and depicts the first months and the initial ideas. The following chapters contain technical knowledge and information about the duration, the tools needed, as well as drawings, photographs and background information about the people involved. The final chapters show the current use of the building. The aim of the book is a detailed insight into the practical work on the encounter space, an archive of what was learned, and an encouragement and inspiration for others.

Is an evaluation report or any relevant independent evaluation source available?

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the Awards more than once under the same category and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.