PROJECT _ LOCATION _ BERLIN. 1 _ ExRotaprint 2 _ Ritterstrasse 50 3 _ Holzmarkt.. 4 _ Prinzessinnengärten

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1 PROJECT _ LOCATION _ BERLIN 1 _ ExRotaprint 2 _ Ritterstrasse 50 3 _ Holzmarkt.. 4 _ Prinzessinnengärten

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3 CASE STUDY Prinzessinnengärten Daniel Bodenstein Tilmann Teske Annika Vanck FUTURE CITY SI LJUBLJANA August 2014

4 Prinzessinnengärten _ biography The public garden Prinzessinnengärten (princess gardens) was realized 2009 by Robert Shaw and Marco Clausen. The planning started already in 2008 (e.g. looking for the right space and talking to experts) and ended with a one-year-contract for the areal with the city of Berlin. The contract was renewed every year. In the 1920s the site used to be an intersection for several tram lines and functioned as an entertainment area. During World War II the area got totally destroyed and did not get rebuild afterwards. Until the 1980s the site was not used and remained idle. But in those years a movement started within Berlin claiming for a better urban environment, trying to enhance the district Kreuzberg by planting trees, also where is situated Prinzessinnengarten now. But after the movement the 4 area was not used again until the Prinzessinnenärten was founded in Since then the area around Moritzplatz became more and more attractive, due also to gentrification. The project became more famous, also on an international level. Not only through the engagement of a great amount of volunteers like neighbors, interested people or friends the idea got spread out but also through the media. The concept of the garden is originally an idea from Cuba where the people grow their own food in gardens. The idea was set to bring a sustainable garden into the city. The initiators wanted to bring sustainability, education and organic gardening together. By organizing local economies and alternative ways it was possible to develop a local prosperity in a sustainable context.

5 north: higher income gas station club cafes south: lower income URBAN INTERACTION _ Location + Milieu located in Kreuzberg _ a working class neighbourhood project operates towards a social cohesion, interaction and participation Prinzessinnengarten is located in the district Kreuzberg 36, between Oranien-, Prinzessinnen- and Prinzstraße, next to a big traffic circle. The area has approximately the size of a football field. Next to it is located the U8-Bahnstation Moritzplatz and several bus stops which make the site very well connected to public transports. The other areas around the gardens at the Moritzplatz are mainly used for infrastructure (e.g. dekra, gas stations) or cultural issues (e.g. bars, clubs, cafés). After the fall of the wall, Kreuzberg was a classic working-class district with a significant number of migrants. During the last decades, the district changed in a mixed area according the typical gentrification process. Today many different people are living and wandering in this district. In the South a low-income group dominates for example the area of Kottbusser Tor. In the northern area new buildings and extravagant architecture indicate a higher income. According to this social mix, Prinzessinnengärten appears to be operating towards a social cohesion in this district. Even on wider scale it is known as a place for social interaction and participation. The founders claim that Prinzessinnengärten has become a lively meeting place with appeal far beyond the neighborhood. 5

6 Garden Kitchen & Coffeshop Beekeeping Storage and Workshop Plant Selling & Workshop Community area Staudengarten Urban Gardening URBAN INTERACTION _ societal benefits gardens are open to the public _ locals are using it intensly spatially easy accessible people are able to initiate their own projects all products are common goods 6 Prinzessinnengärten is spatially easy accessible, there are two entrances from which one appears to be only a side entrance. It stands for a cooperation through a common created space, an urban vegetable gardening accessible for everyone. The garden owes its existence to the commitment of countless neighbors, friends and interested people, sponsoring companies and by now even by many tourists. The fact that the vegetable patches in the gardens belong to everyone underlines the common sense of the project. All products are common goods and this leads to the fascinating idea of the garden what gives an inviting atmosphere. People can simply participate by not only working as volunteer gardeners but furthermore simply as guests. It offers many different activities about gardening. People are able to initiate their own projects in Prinzessinnengärten (e.g. lecturing, clay stove workshops). Actually the district Kreuzberg not only profits from Prinzessinnengärten itself, but also benefits from the idea. initiators and volunteers are spreading the idea with developing branch gardens and national and international cooperation within networks. The acceptance of the space has been proofed in 2012, where people supported the garden with their signature against the privatization of the area.

7 bar barwäldchen kitchen gathering place Staudengärten workshops storage plants prinzessinnengärten street PERFORMANCE _ communitiy benefits user involment through partizipation during planning and realization exchange of a wide variety of competencies shared kitchen and public roof top terrace As already mentioned Prinzessinnengärten was realized by the initiators as a pilot project accessible for and can be used by every interested person. It appears to be a very participative approach to public space. People are invited to bring in their ideas, knowledge and helping hands. In addition there are a variety of cultural events offered for people to learn more about gardening, sustainability and so on. By doing that there is also an exchange of a wide variety of competencies and forms of knowledge. Different people work together, communicate and enjoy locally produced vegetables e.g. at the café. Besides the social benefits projects as Prinzessinnengärten help to increase biological diversity within a city. Further results are less CO2 and a better microclimate. It shows that the idea of environmental and social sustainability gets promoted and they become the main components in the concept of Prinzessinnengärten. The different uses that will be explained in detail in the following paragraph, are differentiated in catering trade, urban agriculture, cultural events, education for a better ecological thinking and moreover tourism. 7

8 garteding café / kitchen guided tours gathering / Volkshalle PERFORMANCE_participation garden kitchen and café are made of disused shipping containers support of organic-working regional producers important aspect is ecucation and sustainability possibility to participate in workshops about gardening Prinzessinnegärten not only benefits from being a garden where one is able to cultivate vegetables. Having a deeper look there is a variety of uses that can be found. The garden kitchen and the café fit well to the concept, as they are made of disused shipping containers. Everyone has the possibility to taste the products of the garden that are disposed in the kitchen (the variety depends always on the season). Furthermore it supports small and organic-working regional producers and contributes with its profits to finance the different open workshops as well as the garden itself. Probably the main approach of Prinzessinnengärten is the urban farming. Vegetables and fruits are cultivated and harvested at this place. This crop production is based on local and ecological princi- 8 ples. Furthermore Prinzessinnengärten runs plant breeding and sells the seedlings. A special system helps the garden to cultivate vegetables also during winter. It is a mobile planting system in special boxes and bags which gets explained further in this brochure. Moreover the project promotes various cultural activities such as open workshops or concerts. An important aspect at Prinzessinnengärten is education. People learn from each other and knowledge is agglomerated through exchange of information or practical learning. Most participants are amateurs or career changers. Furthermore gardening trainee days are provided, in which workshops for seed production or planting systems take place. However the garden is not only attractive for locals but becomes also

9 rice bags for planting backery boxes used for mobile planting PERFORMANCE_mobile planting system mobile planting system in special boxes polluted ground made it impossible to culitvate healthy organic food box system helps to move the whole garden within a short time project is only temporary interesting for tourists, by now there are about 250 guided tours taking place during the season. These tours give information about the garden in general and also about organic cultivation or sustainable urban development. All these activities are not just interesting for locals. Prinzessinnengärten is already known as a space with welcoming atmosphere and not just the cafe and kitchen attract quite a few tourists. The diagram above shows one of the sytems which are used in the gardens. The mobile boxes serve as the perfect system for urban gardening in the Prinzessinnengärten. Mostly old boxes from bakeries are being used to cultivate the vegetables. Two reasons made it neces-sary to use this box system: Firstly the ground is polluted what makes it impossible to cultivate healthy organic food. The boxes are filled with new top soil. Secondly the boxes help the initiators to be able to move the whole garden within a short time to another place (also the café and the kitchen are situated in some kind of trailer). Because of the one-year-limited contracts for the area and the tem-porary character of the project there exists always the danger that the garden might be forbidden for the next season because an investor bought the site. 9

10 spread idea sponsors neighbours generate educate learn (tourists) Initiators SOCIAL FOCUS_organisational model pilot project by the non-profit organization Nomadic Green implies ownership but with restricted rights long term objectives: to renew the annual contract people from all social classes are interested in taking part project finds support by the city Berlin Prinzessinnengärten was launched in 2009 as a pilot project by the non-profit organization Nomadisch Grün (Nomadic Green). The two main initiators Robert Shaw and Marco Clausen created a mobile farm along with friends, activists and neighbors. Charge is taken by the organization itself but finds support by a great amount of volunteers. There is no existing public-private-partnership but nevertheless the gardens get public promotion by the city of Berlin. The city tries to renew the annual contract even if there are investors interested on buying the site. What makes the gardens special is that there can be found a social cohesion, mainly academics, artists, designers and architects use the gardens. But also a lot of immigrants benefit (especially Arabic and Turkish women) and bring a lot of knowledge into the Prinzessinnengärten. So all in all people from all social classes are interested in taking part in the project. They are keen to improve or support it either by bringing in their knowledge or just by participating in the daily gardening work. The Prinzessinnengärten function not only as a biotope but also as some kind of sociotope. 10

11 Prinzessinnengärten _ calling card figures year of realization 2009 gross floor space 5600 sq. programming urban gardening and education program public - kitchen, café sq. gardening space sq. storage, workshops 635 sq. gathering sq. organisational model current legal form (GmbH) non-profit organization Nomadic Green financial facts rent (site) Euro cost per sqm 0,41 Euro (including site, developer and planning costs, fees) SOCIAL FOCUS_economical model non-profit partnership - GmbH Nomadic Green not financed by a bank loan Nomadic Green has to pay the rent for the area affordability through selling the vegetables and volunteers There is no direct financial supporter for the garden. Due to the fact that the sponsorship is a GmbH the costs are paid by the project owners what made it necessary for them to think of the garden as a self-financing business. The originally idea of the initiators to finance the gardening was by processing the vegetables then cooking them to finally offer them as a selling point at the garden café as any other restaurant. It is the main income for the gardens next to selling the vegetables, guided tours, consultations, books and pictures, lectures etc. In addition, the garden is financed by the community itself (including volunteers, friends and sponsors). Furthermore it is possible to support the garden with supplies in form of a sponsorship. Not only money donations help the Prinzessinnengärten to exist but also donations as e.g. patches, seeds, gardening materials. There can be also found a great number of supporters for the various workshops, especially for children and teenagers which deal with topics as organic farming, production of regional food, resource-conserving lifestyles or sustainable cities. But the most important support what makes the garden affordable is the huge amount of volunteers and friends 11

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14 CASE STUDY princess gardens Space Prinzessinnengarten is located in the district Kreuzberg 36, between Oranien-, Prinzessinnen- and Prinzstraße, next to a big traffic circle. The area has approximately the size of a football field. Next to it is located the U8-Bahnstation Moritzplatz and several bus stops which make the site very well connected to public transports. The other areas around the gardens at the Moritzplatz are mainly used for infrastructure (e.g. dekra, gas stations) or cultural issues (e.g. bars, clubs, cafés). Program The concept of the garden is originally an idea from Cuba where the people grow their own food in gardens. The idea was set to bring a sustainable garden into the city. The initiators wanted to bring sustainability, education and organic gardening together. By organizing local economies and alternative ways it was possible to develop a local prosperity in a sustainable conext. Organisation + Economy Prinzessinnengärten was launched in 2009 as a pilot project by the non-profit organization Nomadisch Grün (Nomadic Green). The two main initiators Robert Shaw and Marco Clausen created a mobile farm along with friends, activists and neighbors. Charge is taken by the organization itself but finds support by a great amount of volunteers. There is no existing public-private-partnership but nevertheless the gardens get public promotion by the city of Berlin. The city tries to renew the annual contract even if there are investors interested on buying the site. There is no direct financial supporter for the garden. The originally idea of the initiators to finance the gardening was by processing the vegetables then cooking them to finally offer them as a selling point at the garden café as any other restaurant. It is the main income for the gardens next to selling the vegetables, guided tours, consultations, books and pictures, lectures etc. In addition, the garden is financed by the community itself (including volunteers, friends and sponsors). Furthermore it is possible to support the garden with supplies in form of a sponsorship. 14