Stories of Disappearance

A week about demolition: through actions, discussions, films, communal meals, screen printing and physical activity, we’re shining a light on demolition in Dortmund and asking what a city might look like if it built on its existing buildings rather than tearing them down.

For a whole week, we’re bringing the debate on demolition, existing buildings and the culture of regeneration into the public sphere. Together, we want to highlight what is disappearing in Dortmund, why buildings are being demolished and what social, environmental and architectural alternatives there are to demolition.

To this end, we’ll be out and about at various locations across Dortmund. Throughout the week, bicycles will appear as mobile interventions in the urban landscape. We’ll build a bench and carry it through the city, meet outside the Sparkasse for a public plenary session, and come together for a demolition dinner. There’ll also be a film screening, an open screen-printing session outside the former post office, and, to round things off, a "demolition walk".

The action week is intended as an invitation to get involved, discuss and explore the city together. After all, the question of which buildings are to be preserved, converted or demolished does not only concern owners and planners: it determines how we deal with resources, history and public spaces, and what sort of city we want to have in the future.