In 2018, architect Marcin Ganczarski published the study “The most normal city in Germany” from which he developed the project “Siegen city architecture: new strategies for the development of urban space”. A few large scale building projects have shaped the image of the city of Siegen in recent years. On the one hand, these are projects in the center, with slogans like “House of Music” or “Siegen towards new shores” publicly displayed. On the other hand, there are newly built constructions along Siegen’s main roads which only display their investors’ names – the stores ALDI, Lidl or Rewe. These two developments seem to be completely opposite at first glance: first, publicly financed, housing communal, cultural or scientific institutions. They are marketed broadly and discussed accordingly. The latter are built without public discourse, solely based on economical decisions and serve strictly interests of the private sector. In spite of seemingly different directions in relation to urban context and public opinion, both of their influences on the city’s development are comparable. A general analysis of Siegen, which respects both territorial as well as architectural aspects, shows many parallels. Both strategies use specific aspects of the city to become visible in public space.
In the lecture, these unique aspects of Siegen’s urban structure will be presented to discuss afterwards which opportunities but also risks they pose for Siegen’s continuing development.
Marcin Ganczarski (MPhil. Arch, Dipl.-Ing Arch AA TU) studied architecture and urban planning at Technische Universitäten Darmstadt and Delft (NL) and graduated in 2007 as Diplom-Ingenieur Architektur from TU Darmstadt. He worked in a variety of international architectural spaces. 2012 he started his post-diploma in Urban Design at Architectural Association (AA) in London and received the Master of Philosophy in Architecture and Urban Design in 2014. 2019 he founded, together with Sandra Caminada in Zürich, Büro Caminarski Stadtarchitekten.
