Dear Readers, What drives us? The curiosity to discover and understand things. To question and change them. The desire to create the exceptional. As time passes, we see changes in appearan ces, trends and even our ideals. Processes of change such as digitalization and globalization require us to rethink the way we act. How do we want to live and work in the future? How can tried and tested realities be trans formed in a thoughtful manner to create something remarkable? The Mannheim urban development project Q6 Q7 shows how it is possible to change the image of an entire metropolis. In Melbourne,...

We need pioneers, because they are the ones who change our world. An agency from Hamburg showed us that courage does not mean recklessness. With meticulous care, a Mercedes G-class was preserved for eternity in 40,000 liters of synthetic resin, in a project called »Amber Cube«. The architect Félix Candela was also a pioneer, and gave buildings breathtaking lightness and elegance with his groundbreaking rooftop structures. He had the courage to change things. If you want to create something great, you have to be daring. We wish you pleasant reading! Dr. Bernd Trompeter (center), Lutz Hammer &...

Subject: Change Case study The squares of transformation From apocalyptic gloom to comfort Comeback in the clouds Inspiration / references Oskar Grabczewscy – »Searching for beauty« – I, II

If walls could talk Félix Candela: The man who made waves Infra-lightweight concrete – New potential for façades Guest editorial International minds Oskar Grabczewscy – »Searching for beauty« – III, IV

Subject: Change Architecture cannot shut itself off from change. It is always an expression of the zeitgeist, of cultural selfimage and national creative talent. Change means transformation – architecture publicly acts as a clearly visible memorial to this fact. Change can represent a correction, for example when new urban planning approaches are intended to increase the quality of life in a metropolis. It can also be a process of redesign, where relics of a dark past take on a new life. Or it can bring renewal, when a tradi tional building model is rethought. All of these new beginnings require...

A bird’s eye view of Q6 Q7. In the background you see the Mannheim television tower. Change – Building

Mannheim wants to shed its wretched post-war image and score points for architectural diversity. For the urban planners, this is both an opportunity and a challenge: they dedicate themselves to land use con versions, shopping streets and problem neighborhoods. Text: Michaela Maria Müller Photos: Johannes Vogt, Adrian Schulz

Project: Q6 Q7 Location: Mannheim, Germany Architects: Diringer & Scheidel Concrete design: Individual Change – Buildings

top: The façade of Eastsite VII explores the idea of digital communication. bottom: Black suspended plates dominate Eastsite VI. Change – Buildings

Mannheim is love at second sight. Even Mannheim residents will admit that. Surrounded by picturesque Heidelberg, neat Worms, and beautiful Speyer, Mannheim’s architectural elegance is only obvious on the second glance. But that is going to change. The city on the Rhine and Neckar rivers is facing a gargantuan urban planning task: with the final departure of the US military, over twelve thousand acres of land are being freed up in Mannheim, which are going to be converted into civilian residential properties. These include the Franklin Quarter, and the Spinelli and Coleman barracks: the plots...

Project: Eastsite, Neuostheim Location: Mannheim, Germany Architect: Fischer Architekten Concrete design: Individual Change – Buildings

Twelve office buildings and one block of student apartments built in Neuostheim.

Change – Buildings

A breath of fresh air for the district Circuit boards as a template All of the buildings have exposed concrete façades composed of prefa bricated parts – but each one of them is different. There are façades with scales, and concave/convex surfaces woven into one another. And there is the façade of Eastsite VI: it consists of black suspended plates with a washed surface and white borders. Immediately adjacent to it is Eastsite VII. The façade simultaneously reflects the idea of digital communication in two different ways. There is the 48-square-meter photographic concrete surface by artist Margret...

From apocalyptic gloom to comfort They are defiant, bleak reminders of World War II. In recent years, a number of architecture firms have specialized 20 Change – Buildings

Text: Anousch Mueller Photos: Euroboden, hiepler, brunier, Olaf Mahlstedt, Christine Dempf Architekturfotografie in repurposing bunkers. The formerly dismal structures thus become desirable show properties. From apocalyptic gloom to comfort

Floor-to-ceiling windows, through which light falls on solid wood parquet floors. Walk-in wardrobes in the bedroom, a fireplace and enough space for tables yards long in the dining room. The blue sky shows through the skylight above the freestanding tub in the bathroom. There is nothing left here to indicate that people once sought shelter from air raids. For a good ten years, it has been permitted to repurpose air-raid bunkers as apartment buildings, restaurants and galleries, and many have since developed into popular pieces of real estate. There are still more than 700 high-rise bunkers from...

From concrete block to loft apartment building Mielke and his partner Claus Freudenberg have since been performing pioneering work. They have since completely renovated nine bunkers, and are at the project planning phase for fifteen more. In recent years, a number of architecture firms have gotten into converting bunkers. In Munich, the architecture firm raumstation collaborated with the project developer Euroboden to transform a high-rise bunker on Ungererstraße street in the city district of Schwabing. Euroboden founder Stefan F. Höglmaier had often thought about the structural potential of...