Germany Champions Sustainability At Architecture Show

Sunday saw the opening of the 2006 Architecture Biennale, and many are saying it's more about sociology than urban planning. Entitled "Cities, Architecture and Society," it looks at the changing face of today's urban environments and showcases work from fifty countries.

"One of the biggest global problems of today and in the years to come is that of urban progress and population growth," said Davide Croff, chairman of the Venice Biennale. "In 2005, for the first time, the number of the planet's inhabitants living in cities surpassed 50 percent."

"The city is the main place where architecture is practiced, and it's also the place where one measures the ability to live together, where one measures the strong links which exist between architecture and society," he said.

"We needed to go and look and see what has happened in the big cities, understand their effects on man and on his quality of life, to give a world view of big cities," said British architect Richard Burdett, director of the festival.

"It's also interesting that this Mostra on the cities in expansion is taking place in Venice, a city in decline," he added.

Berlin: Illustrative of 20th century change

One city decidedly not in decline is the German capital. "Berlin is exemplary of developments in 20th century Europe," said Burdett.

The exhibition "Convertible City" curated by Armand Grüntuch and Almut Ernst in the German Pavilion was opened on Sunday by Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, who took the opportunity to call for sustainable urban development to counter problems such as sprawl and pollution besetting cities from Bogota to Bombay.

Against a backdrop of shrinking cities and population decline, Grüntuch has turned his back on ambitious new building and champions instead a new approach to using existing material and reclaiming space rather than building from scratch.

A playground for international architects over the last 16 years, many of the more ambitious projects designed to revamp the once-divided city of Berlin have fallen disappointingly flat.

Today, it's a place where urban planners have learnt to maximize latent potential and simultaneously adapt to surroundings -- and Grüntuch is convinced this is the way of the future.

"Coming to grips with existing structures in the city will come increasingly to the fore," said Grüntuch, who believes --like many architects -- that cities are already big enough. "It's a matter of finding up-to-date solutions that reflect our present-day attitudes."

Non-invasive

The show's 36 projects reflect his priorities, exploring living concepts customized to meet contemporary needs in what can be called a "non-invasive" fashion.

One of them is Berlin's landmark "Badeschiff," or swimming ship. The pool anchored in the River Spree was originally conceived as an art project about urban regeneration, but fast become a fashionable haunt for aspiring beach bums in the land-locked capital. It's proven so popular that in winter it will be given a plastic roof to ensure uninterrupted bathing for the Berlin public.

Another entry is called "Rooftop Football," a red carpet on the roof of the historic building in which the pavilion is housed. It's equally illustrative of the curators' principles, combining the modern idea of the garden on the roof with the concept of conversion and new uses for old structures.

"Instead of tearing down buildings we don't like or don't need anymore, conversion provides a way out of the throwaway mentality," said Almut Ernst.