Urban Phoenix: "ICC Berlin - New life for an abandoned relic?"

Completed in 1979, the 320m long, 80m wide and 40m high International Congress Center (ICC) in Berlin is an imposing structure capable of hosting events with up to 90.000 visitors. At the cusp of modernity during its inception, the ICC has become a modern relic. A universal, recurring theme in contemporary cities, the reconfiguration of such structures pose as an exciting opportunity to build on legacy values while facilitating urban resilience and sustainability.

As part of the “Urban Phoenix” visiting school, Architectural Association together with Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft, host two panel discussions asking: How can Berlin's Westend area be transformed from a throughway junction to a vibrant city quarter that is able to accommodate contemporary standards of cityscape and public life?

The first discussion “ICC Berlin - New life for an abandoned relic?“ will use the ICC Berlin as a point of departure. The panelists will question how such a large-scale infrastructural building can be revived, what place-making tools are best employed in doing so, and what role its revived surroundings may play within our contemporary urban fabric.

The panelists of the event are:

• Barbro Dreher - State Secretary at the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, Berlin
• Christine Edmaier - Partner at S.E.K. Architekten and former President of Architects’ Registration Board, Berlin
• Léan Doody - Europe Integrated Cities and Planning Leader Arup, Dublin
• Prof Raoul Bunschoten - Professor for Sustainable Urban Planning & Urban Design at TU Berlin, Director of CHORA & Conscious City Lab, Berlin
• Steffen Braun - Head of Urban Systems Engineering at Fraunhofer IAO, Stuttgart

Debate recording

For more information, please contact Alexandra Hunger.