CHARLES
PARK
From the United States. Lives and works in New York.
SURVIVAL
The architectural landscape of Germany continues to evolve as new systems of power replace old regimes. By seeking out derelict buildings and highlighting interior wounds, an unprecedented view of Germany’s historical past is revealed. The deliberate manipulation of these spaces appropriates the forms of collapse in order to invent a new purpose for what appears as urban rubble. The restoration of these unused interior spaces creates communal platforms of sustainable refuge. Obsolescence is a necessity for new construction to occur; each structure is a by-product of building towards a more modern society.
The passing of governments has rendered these edifices in a state of limbo. Thus, creating ownership conflict of these century-old buildings on a privatized level. It was through the time spent in Leipzig that a vision of revitalizing unoccupied buildings materialized in various reconstructive zones. The damage and disrepair were the starting points for these alterations, which took shape with materials such as plastic sheeting, duct tape, and butcher paper. These careful investigations of architectural wounds were not only opportunities to question their past functions, but a way to explore their re-utilization.
