a busy night at Aedes - first at ANCB the premiere of DENK MAL BERLIN - Wer baut die Stadt? , Gabriela Neuhaus & Angelo Scudeletti's documentary following Senatsbaudirektorinon Regula Lüscher and her adventures in urban planning. After the screening journalist Georgia Tornows & Frau Lüscher discussed the difficulties & delights of her job. The documentary was interesting and informative and, whatever one may think of her results, Frau Lüscher revealed herself as quite diplomatic & with a sense of humour.
Kristin Feireiss then hustled the crowd over to the Aedes space to introduce the two current exhibitions. Lighting Powers of Ten, presenting the work of the Office for Visual Interaction, a New York based architectural lighting practice which has illuminated such high profile projects as the Scottish Parliament Building, the New York Times headquarters in their home town, and the United States Air Force Memorial. Very enlightening!
Lastly A new Platz am Brandenburger Tor , an examination of Zvi Hecker's proposal for a public "square" before Berlin's front door and just across from the Tiergarten. The architect rightfully points to the current usage of the space as unsatisfactory - a one sided traffic circle which is often closed off for oversized garbage generating events. Since many of Berlin's former public squares have long since been turned over to the purpose of separating tourists from their ducats, the intervention to produce a commerce free public space would not only provide a respite from the postcard hawkers but also bring the Tiergarten and the Wild West in a closer connection to the city center. We concur doctor!
