Creating Neighbourhoods together - Investigating local urban cultures in Munich

2023-03 • Intervention, Experiment, Design Research, Cultures Probes

Cover photo — Student excursion to Neuperlach, Munich

Briefing

Our cities are under enourmous pressure to change how they function – regarding energy, traffic, consumption in general. This great transformation raises big questions for urban planners and designs who aim to translate the needs of everyday life into architecture, infrastructure, housing etc. Urban neighbourhoods are not a white peace of paper but a messy, complex space with its established urban everyday and lived culture. Understanding people’s needs and their culture is where designers come in ;) How can interventions by the means of design strengthen urban communities? What creates identity in neighbourhoods? How do people appropriate urban space? How does culture evolve? How can everyday life be influenced in the context of the great transformation?

In the master’s project “Quartierkulturen” the students used design as a research tool and lever for change and discourse. They worked in groups and conducted field research in order to get a grasp of local urban culture in different neighbourhoods in Munich. In dialog with researchers from HM:UniverCity from the research project “Creating NEBourhoods Together” and the MCube research cluster at TUM the students investigated different ideas for local interventions that adress different sub-groups in the neighbourhood.

The engagement with the design research methods and the topic could be expressed through a variety of forms that the students could choose themselves. The projects ranged from neighbourhood interventions, workshops, community games, soundscapes, critical products and services, to a social movement.

Institution:

Fakultät für Design, Hochschule München

Program:

MA "Applied Design Research", students from 1. semester

Semester:

Spring 2023

Supervision:

Prof. Markus Frenzl, Prof. Béla Stetzer, Prof. Dr. Eileen Mandir

Students:

Sara Ashtari, Kim Balthazar, Toni Dongus, Tara Gallem, Philipp Kaser, Elena Knaus, Isabel Kufner, Isabel Maier, Lukas Peschmann, Nicolas Prinz, Nele Rosenberger, Marara Wildfeuer

Collaborators:

Jana Köstler (HM:University), Marco Kellhammer (TU München, Professorship for Urban Design)

Guest critic:

Sarah Dorkenwald (HM:University), Nicola Sennefeld (HM:University), Michael Dross (HM:University), Stefanie Ruf (TU München, Professorship for Urban Design)

Guest speaker:

Prof. Dr. Peter Dürr (Fakultät für Angewandte Sozialwissenschaften, Hochschule München)