[spectre] Urban Drift conference, Berlin

[Andreas Broeckmann]

URBAN DRIFT 2002

9th - 13th October, Café Moskau, Karl-Marx Allee 34, Berlin Mitte , and 
workspaces throughout Berlin

FROM FORMALISM TO FLUX -
TRANSFORMATIONAL URBANISM AND NEW URBAN STRATEGIES

Urban drift 2002 will manifest itself as a broad-based international and
trans-cultural platform made up of:
- a two-day conference - From Formalism to Flux - mobility and new urban
strategies (11th and 12th October), 
- the night space - a forum for transformational urbanism -
(10th/11th/12th October 8pm-late) drawing together artists, designers,
architects, filmmakers, writers, sound artists and DJs in a mutual exchange on
architecture within the urban context.
- and open workspaces (design and architecture studios reflecting the urban
drift themes) (9th - 13th October).

Our main themes - MOBILITY, TRANSFORMATIONAL URBANISM AND NEW URBAN STRATEGIES
have emerged from the current cultural and economic situation: Mobility, and
flexibility were the buzzwords of the new economy - over the past few years
there has been a fascination with the flow of information and capital, and the
transformation in lifestyles, as a result of the new regime of flexible
accumulation. However in the face of the worldwide economic slump, the
positivism that fuelled mobility theories, the fascination with urban density,
telematics and urban nomadism, has abated: the „after the crash“ mentality has
led to a fundamental rethinking based on the negative impact of globilised,
mobilised economies on the urban condition. The freelancer, the tele-worker, are
faced with the deep financial insecurities inherent in the information economy;
cities, such as those in the former East Germany, are losing up to 20% of their
population, turning the legacies of socialist mass housing into empty shells.

This contemporary condition is the point of departure for urban drift 2002: Is
it time to turn from a fascination with form and surface, with virtual
architectures, datascapes, and the "zenith vision" of cities (Boeri) to the real
- “the inexhaustible inventory of the streets?”      


TACTICAL MOBILITY / RE-READING THE URBAN DYNAMIC /
 NETWORK URBANISM 
Numerous contributors to urban drift will reflect this paradigm shift taking
place in perceptions of mobility, and will draw upon the erratic, the
uncontrolled, the subjective and the unplanned in the urban landscape as a
source for new architectures. They will reveal strategies for the “economy of
scarcity”, drawing inspiration from micro-production systems; working with - and
re-customizing - the resources at hand. Can the cheap and ubiquitous tools of
electronic media - mobile and wireless LAN (local area networks) and
telecommunications system - be implemented effectively to redefine a sense of
place; a sense of mobile connectivity? Is a new kind of public space and
political identification and urbanism evolving as a result?

MOBILITY VERSUS PLACE: 
Post-industrial landscapes, peripheral and residual spaces, suburban landscapes
and urban voids - are becoming a major focus for a generation of architects and
urban planners. Such overlooked, and underused areas offer untapped potential
for a more optimistic and adventurous kind of urbanism which is reconfiguring
and redefining spaces in highly individualistic ways. We will be looking at new
multi-disciplinary coalitions which “reactivate” such urban territories. Can
architecture fill the gaps in urban landscapes opened up by economies in a state
of stagnation?  Can architects make more of less? Can a policy of temporary use
in future change the machinations of the property development sector and
influence urban planning?

urban drift at CAFE MOSKAU - a city within the city
There could be no better location than the Café Moskau in which to deal  with
such issues as transformational urbanism: 
One of the notable buildings of the early sixties, adorned with utopian 
mosaics, and a model of the USSR sputnik - donated to the GDR - it has been
closed for over two years and by the time urban drift takes place it will be
partially renovated and open for events and temporary use and stands at the
brink of redefinition. It is a vast building that requires a celebration of its
emptiness its “in-betweeness” and has proven a powerful magnet for a number of
groups cooperating with urban drift 2002: pro qm, berlin dialog, visomat, Fred
Rubin. Atelier le Balto will make a minimal intervention in the abandoned rose
garden, Hoyer & Schindele collaborating with urban drift to design the overall
space, will include visual and audio “dérives” of numerous cities in the spatial
concept, thus drawing the city into the building.

PARTICIPANTS:
3MULGATOR / 4G2R / LILIAN AMARAL, SAO PAULO/ ATELIER LE BALTO /
ASCIIVISION:VISOMAT.INC / AUTOMATEN / IMRAN AYATA / ANETTE BALDAUF / PERRY BARD,
NY / CLAUDIA BASRAWI / WILFRIED HOU JE BEK / BERLIN TOURIST INFORMATION / SABINE
BITTER, WIEN / KATHRIN BOEHM / STEFANO BOERI, MULTIPLICITY / BOOTLAB /GUIDO
BORELLI, DOMUS DESIGN AKADEMIE, MAILAND /   FRIEDRICH VON BORRIES, RUDE
ARCHITECTURE /  ROLAND BOSBACH, DUBLIN / OLE BOUMAN,  ARCHISAMSTERDAM / JASON
BUCHHEIT, NY / HEATH BUNTING /  LUCIUS BURCKHARDT / REBECCA CANNON, MELBOURNE /
CHAMP LIBRE / SHU LEA CHEANG/ CITY OF LAURA MARS / FRANÇOIS CORMIER, MONTREAL /
DAG / DATENFLUG / ANDRE DEKKER, OBSERAVTORIUM, ROTTERDAM/ E 27 / DIE° ALEX PSD/
CHRISTINE EDMAIER / KRISTIN FEIREISS, AEDES / ALBERT FERRÉ, BARÇELONA /
FLORA&FAUNA VISIONS / FORK UNSTABLE MEDIA / FILESHARING / GARDEROBE 23 /
WILFRIED HACKENBROICH, BAUHAUS DESSAU / RANA HADDAD, BEIRUT / SIMONE HAIN / HANS
G. HELMS / THOMAS HERR, D:4 / BERND HEUER, AGENDA4-ECOMMUNITY E.V. / SUSANNE
HOFMANN /  BARBARA HOLUB, TRANSPARADISO, WIEN / RAFAEL HORZON, MODOCOM /
HOYER&SCHINDELE / KNOWBOTIC RESEARCH / CHRISTIAN HUEBLER, ZÜRICH / FRANK
HÜLSBÖMER / JENNIFER HURD, NY / JASON KAHN / NIKOLAUS KNEBEL / STEPHEN KOVATS,
MEDIA ARTIST, KANADA / TOM KUBLI / ANDREAS LANG / MARIELIES LANGEHENKE,
EGGPRODUCTIONS / LATIF OBERHOLZ / LAURA MARS GRP / LARS LERUP, DEAN AT RICE
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE HOUSTON / LESS RAIN / L21/ LIBRE/ JOSE PEREZ DE LAMA,
SEVILLA / DAVID MANDL, NY / SVEN MANN / MANOU WMF, MICROMUSIC.NET / MAOU MAOU
GALLERY /DORIT MARGREITER / CECILE MARTIN, CITÉ DES ONDES, MONTREAL / PATRICK
MEAGHER / ARMIN MEDOSCH / IRENE McARA-McWILLIAM, RCA,LONDON /  ARNE MITTIG /
ALEXANDER MOERS /  ELENA MONTESINOS / ARMANDO MONTILLA, CARACAS, TORONTO / ANN
MÜLLER / PETER NEITZKE / OGI:NOKNAUSS / HEIKE OLLERTZ / PHILIPP OSWALT /
MARGARETH OTTI, WIEN / JEAN-LOUIS PAILLARD, PÉRIPHERIQUES/ ALEXEJ PARYLA /
PFADFINDEREI & LABSTYLE / PLAJER & FRANZ STUDIO - STUDIO 38 / PLATOON / UWE RADA
/  PAUL RAJAKOVICS, TRANSPARADISO, WIEN / RAUMLABOR_BERLIN / PHILIPP REINFELD /
STEFAN RETHFELD / STEFAN RETTICH, L21,LEIPZIG / NILS RÖLLER / F.R.E.D. RUBIN /
ANDREAS RUBY / STEFAN SAFFER / JAIME SALAZAR, BARÇELONA / PROF. DR. RUDOLF
SCHÄFER, TU-BERLIN / RUDI SCHEUERMANN, OVE ARUP/ HANNES SCHMIDT / DOMINIK
SCHWARZER / WERNER SEWING / AMIE SIEGEL, NY / NATZ SPETSMAN / CLAUDIA SPLITT /
STANDARD RAD BERLIN /  STEALTH GROUP, BELGRAD / WIARD STERK / JAMES STEVENS,
CONSUME.NET, LONDON / STUDIO 63 / STUDIO BOW WOW, TOKYO / TAKTILABOR / LORENZO
TRIPODI / YOSHIHARU TSUKAMOTO, STUDIO BOW WOW/ TATJANA TURANSKYI / LEO VILLAREAL
/ VISUARTE /KAI VÖCKLER, BAUHAUS DESSAU / JOHN WARWICKER, TOMATO, LONDON /
HELMUT WEBER, WIEN / SRDJAN JOVANOVIC WEISS, NORMAL GROUP/ JEROEN VAN WESTEN /
BARBARA WILLECKE / WIRELESS CULTURE WORKSHOP / SIMON WORTHINGTON, MUTE MAGAZINE
LONDON / NANA YURIKO / EMILE ZILE,CLEANSURFACE.ORG MELBOURNE / U.V.A.
LIVE: AGF (LAUB/KITTY-YO/MUSORK)/LUOMO (AKA LADISLAV DELAY)/JAMIE LIDELL(FROM
SUPER_COLLIDER WARP RECORDS/RISE ROBOTS RISE), TOK TOK // VIDEO: ALEXEJ PARYLA,
FORK UNSTABLE MEDIA, FLORA&FAUNA VISIONS, PFADFINDEREI, VISUARTE


Thank You to all partners, sponsors for their support:

mediapartners: 
Archis, de:bug, Style & The Family Tunes, die tageszeitung, <http://www.fluter.de>

Curatorial advisers/Conceptual partners:
Andreas Ruby, architecture critic and theorist / Jan Edler, Realities United /
Caroline Raspé, Architect, Berlin / Bettina Vismann, architect, Berlin / André
Bideau, Editor, Werk Bauen & Wohnen /  Berlin Dialog / pro qm, Berlin /

partners:
aedes Galerie, Art & Com,av optics, Bauhaus Dessau,  Botschaft von
Frankreich, Botschaft von Italien, Botschaft von Kanada, Botschaft der
Niederlanden, Datenflug, 4rk unstable media, Go! General Overnight,
Infobrick, Pro Helvetia Schweizer Kulturstiftung, LEE 101, Metadesign,
Töchter & Söhne, Transmediale, SMIRNOFF Vodka, TU Berlin, udk Berlin, Velotaxi

>From 28th of september 2002 to 12th of january 2003 the Vitra Design Museum
Berlin presents the exhibition  "Living in Motion - Design and Architecture for
flexible Dwelling". Kopenhagener Str. 58, Berlin / Prenzlauer Berg. Special
Guided Tour for Urban Drift participants in English: friday 11/10 - 8pm.
registration/information at tanja.thiele@design-museum.de / T 030 47 37 77 15.
presscontact: britt.angelis@design-museum.de / T 030 47 37 77 12

For more information:
www.urbandrift.org
<http://www43.gmx.net/de/cgi/derefer?DEST=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eurbandrift%2Eorg>.

The press conference will take part at the 8th of october at 
10 am in Café Moskau, Karl Marx Allee 34 in Berlin centre 

For accreditations, interviews, images and more information please contact:

flora&fauna media, Lizzy Fichtl, Wolliner Straße 18-19, 10435 Berlin,
Telefon: 030 440 10 312, Fax:
030 440 10 313 email: lizzy@flora-fauna.de
<http://www43.gmx.net/de/cgi/mailnew?CUSTOMERNO=12035070&t=de1221979135.1031823735.ca2da0dd&FOLDER=inbox&TO=lizzy%40flora%2Dfauna%2Ede>

for tickets please check: http://www.koka36.de
<http://www43.gmx.net/de/cgi/derefer?DEST=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ekoka36%2Ede> und
http://www.berlin.de
<http://www43.gmx.net/de/cgi/derefer?DEST=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eberlin%2Ede>