One chapter, one photo – part 5

The theme of chapter five of "Bavarity" is "space for envisioning projects" and once more features some of my own photos. The image presented in this post shows how an existing building was envisioned anew, thereby connecting the past, the present and the future. The timber house is located in the city of Landshut in the region of Lower Bavaria and was built in the 15th century. Munich-based architect Markus Stenger carefully revived it in the 21st century by use of sustainable materials. The structure offers an answer to the architectural question on "what if?" by the way the changes it experienced throughout the centuries become partial to its architectural expression. This includes, but is not limited to, a change in context from rural to periurban to urban. Thus, it reflects the theme of chapter five in an exemplary manner. The featured projects ask "what if?" in relation to architecture, urban design, urban planning and landscape architecture in a utopian and perhaps fantastic manner. What does the utopian gaze offer us, if the utopias of the past have failed and we seem to be stuck in an endless present? Even the literary genre of Science Fiction doesn't actually portray the "future", but instead, offers an extrapolation of the present or the time it was written in, thereby constructing insightful scenarios. These scenarios have the capacity to enrich our discussions and actions undertaken in the context of building culture. By liberating the power of design, they can also help us avoid path dependency against the background of seemingly ubiquitous crises.

The chapter on space for envisioning projects was published in the book "Bavarity – Coping with Crisis in the Space of Building Culture" and is available from Springer Spektrum and all booksellers.