Don´t Be Afraid to Participate! March 17, 2016 – June 12, 2016

Current developments in housing construction in the major European cities raise the question of how much urban density is actually necessary and possible, and how the respective decisions affect the quality of life. In response to a changing society and a housing market that is often geared more toward economic factors than providing homes, community building projects are being initiated by building associations, cooperatives and architects that focus instead on residents’ individual requirements and on autonomous forms of organization. Their common approach: Participation! The Architekturmuseum der TU Munich presents twelve recent cooperative building projects based on their conceptual orientation, development process, structural realization, administrative structure and form of community living. They include newly developed neighborhoods such as the Hunziker Areal in Zurich (built by the cooperative “mehr als wohnen”) and WagnisART on the Domagk grounds in Munich (wagnis eG), as well as established cooperatives that are currently undergoing expansion, including Vienna’s Sargfabrik and Kraftwerk 1 in Zurich. All housing projects featured set out to be inclusive, multigenerational and neighborly. These concepts are then reflected in the architectural schemes, which display open and flexible structures and innovative floor plans - making them ideally suited to today’s needs. On four evenings, guests from the building cooperatives and from the fields of sociology and architecture will be invited to discuss the various possibilities, models and current forms of cooperative building, examining their viability and relevance for the future.

Curator | Hilde Strobl
Exhibition design | KW NEUN Grafikagentur (graphic) and Kofink Schels
Partner | mitbauzentrale münchen
Sponsor | Förderverein des Architekturmuseums der TU München