Kristina Leko & David Smithson

The Hansa district was built around the idea of ​​community, which is reflected in the architecture, for example in the many integrated common areas. Surveys on-site, complemented by the results of an anthropological research project in the Hansaviertel in 2007, indicate that the idea of community, although it partially failed, still represents a very strong reference point for many residents. The Niemeyer House is an ideal example of a well-preserved common space and a functioning community life. In many other houses, the common areas have been reduced and / or are no longer being used.

With their artistic intervention, Kristina Leko and David Smithson transfer the floor plan of an apartment and a common space of the Niemeyer-Haus onto the lawn in front of it in the form of a floor work. However, the alleged public space is partly in private and partly in public ownership: on the public area a structural intervention was approved, on the private area only an intervention with plants and barrier tape was allowed. Therefore, the dividing line between public and private space becomes visible for the first time.

Over a period of twelve weeks, Kristina Leko and David Smithson have created an ideal place for encounters and exchange, in order to discuss issues of social interaction with residents and passers-by: What are good neighborly practices? What are the old and new dynamics between owners and tenants, old residents and newcomers? And what is your relationship with the architectural tourists, or those facing homelessless in the neighbourhood?

In a closing event, a polyphonic reading in which ten people from the neighborhood took part, the individual points of view and wishes from the numerous discussions and individual interviews came together once again.

They can be read on https://bringt-ein-paar-stuehle-mit.de