An.ders Urania at Roundabout.ev


24.11.2023 | 18:00 | IFA Foyer |

In the next Roundtalk, the initiative @an.dersURANIA will introduce itself!

Founded in October 2023, the initiative comprises members from the fields of architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, sociology, and art. Together, they advocate for the preservation of Urania 4-10 in Schöneberg and an immediate halt to its mechanical dismantling.

The high-rise building is owned by the state of Berlin and was constructed by Werner Düttmann in the 1960s. Despite being structurally functional, it is slated for demolition in 2024. This move contradicts the demands of the climate crisis, as demolishing a structurally sound concrete high-rise is not considered contemporary. 

The talk will be held in German.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Initiative An.ders Urania Petition


The high-rise building at Urania 4-10 in Berlin Schöneberg is owned by the State of Berlin and was designed by Werner Düttmann in the 1960s. The building is set to be demolished in January 2024. This poses a risk of losing an icon of Berlin architecture. Moreover, in the context of the climate crisis, demolishing a structurally functioning concrete high-rise is an outdated practice.


Call to Action

We urge the BIM as the owner of the building and the Senate Department for Urban Development to:

1. Initiate an immediate stop of  the mechanical demolition
2. Declare the property as a matter of overarching urban importance and initiate a plan for reuse
3. Transform the planned competition for the new construction into a two-stage competition for the reuse of the building

Lecture at Studio Maria Conen, ETH Zurich


Water as Commons in Zurich and London

Several places globally demonstrate key examples of commoning practices that are improving local communities’ access to water, many undoubtedly forming exemplary case studies for exploring how we may reclaim our access to this ‘shared wealth’. We felt it was also as important to understand one’s own context as, even within wealthy cities perceived as being at the forefront of technological development, key themes can arise that help us to better understand the forces at play when dealing with the access to, and shared use of water. 

As a result, we turned to our home cities – London and Zürich – looking inwards as a starting point for understanding their individual relationship to their waterways. Water in each of the two cities presents a multitude of social, geographical and political conditions that are often present across several different contexts. 
We chose to look at each city through specific lenses, selecting themes that we believe present a condition of duality; on one hand sparking growth and innovation yet also lead to seemingly problematic outcomes. By engaging with local initiatives and collaborating with other creative practitioners, we adopted an ethnographic approach of observation and documentation to bring to light these conditions. 

Learnscapes Symposium: Unsealing Floating 

16. September 2023 13:30-21:30
17. September 2023 12:00 – 17:00 

The Learnscapes Symposium: Unsealing Floating invites past, present and future participants of the Learnscapes Programme for two days of workshops, talks and get-togethers – an opportunity to take a deeper dive into the floating landscapes of knowledge production and practices of un-, co- and re- learning beyond academia.

This season we aim to reflect practices of un-, re- and co-learning through the notion of unsealing – questioning established planning processes, breaking out of institutional borders and entrenched learning methods, developing new ways of practice-based knowledge production, envisioning alternative futures and narratives and exploring spatial transformations. 

Interview with Ron Orp 

Sommer der Elemente: Zürichs Wasserversorgung als Vorzeigemodell


“Hast du gewusst, dass Zürcher:innen im Durchschnitt 160 Liter Wasser pro Tag verbrauchen? Oder dass unsere Stadt eine der besten Wasserqualitäten Europas hat? Darüber habe ich mich mit Bene Wahlbrink unterhalten. Der Architekt und Forscher hat zusammen mit seinen Kollegen Eugenio Cappuccio und Julius Grambow ihm Rahmen der «School of Commons» der ZHdK in den letzten Monaten die Wasserversorgung der Städte Zürich, Berlin und London unter die Lupe genommen.”

Interview with Tinatin Gurgenidze at syg.ma

“The research for the third edition of Tbilisi Architecture Biennial TAB 2022 focused on the concept of temporality in urban and social life. Taking as an example the recent history of Georgia, the notion of temporality was considered through three main categories: time, space, and the built environment. The aim was to discuss architecture in the context of each of these categories and to reflect on how architecture coexists with everyday life, not solely in regard to its physical dimensions, but in terms of duration.

Tinatin Gurgenidze, one of the co-founders of TBAT, spoke with three members of Panta Rhei Collaborative, Bene, Eugenio, and Jan, about their founding, their project for the Biennial, and the potential futures of AI in urban planning.”