reSITE, in collaboration with Airbnb has held its another one-of-a-kind of event in Berlin earlier this month to discuss the constraints of the collective efforts in cities. 

The one-day salon event recorded by PLANE-SITE, titled "My City / Your City: Constraints of the Collective", discussed multiple parameters of "collectivism" with international guests and speakers - including landscape architect Martin Rein-Cano, Anna Scheuermann, curator of German Pavilion in Venice Architecture Biennale 2016, Dutch artist and writer Charlie Koolhaas and curator, writer and educator Lukas Feireiss.

At once dysfunctional and alluring, a city is a constellation of ever-shifting communities, new technologies, and contradictory perspectives. But is the idea of the collective city just a broken dream? A new short video critically explores the contemporary city and its impasses, recorded at a recent reSITE event — the inaugural My City/Your City salon in Berlin. 

The video features reSITE's founder Martin Barry, curator Lukas Feireiss, artist and critic Charlie Koolhaas, architect and curator Anna Scheuermann and landscape architect Martin Rein-Cano. Through interviews, each protagonist paints a varied, provocative and complex picture of today’s urban space and the communities within.

Video by PLANE-SITE

Could the problem be the attachment we have to the "collective city"? What seems, at first glance, to be inclusive may in reality be the opposite. "Any idea of a collective identity, an idea of an 'us', as curator and writer Lukas Feireiss put it during the course of the evening, "constitutes a them'. 

It’s a strange and unexpected paradox, but vital to take into account as our cities grow. Just as important, is that, as Martin Barry says in the video, "not everyone wants to be part of a collective."

Martin Rein-Cano, Anna Scheuermann and Charlie Koolhaas. Image © Tomas Princ

Through interview, the video tackles major themes that shape today’s cities. It touches on the issue of migration, asking how a city can be both integrated and heterogeneous, while still being comfortable and familiar to new migrants. 

The concept of sharing, both on and offline, is also discussed, as well as how urban planning can encourage shared activities. The video makes clear that there is no single solution for creating a collective city, but rather a complex set of solutions as diverse as the city’s population.

 Image © Tomas Princ

The video was produced by PLANE—SITE at the very first My City/Your City salon. The event was organized by reSITE, in partnership with Airbnb and supported by Goethe Institute, at Freunde von Freunden’s Friend’s Space in Berlin.

reSITE will organise its second one-of-a-kind event at the MAAT Museum on February 12, 2018 in Lisbon - the conference, called RESONATE, will discuss "sound" and "space" as a holistic approach in design. 

Early bird registrations are open for this one-of-a-kind event for architects, artists, engineers and anyone interested in how sound interacts with architecture. Don't miss your 2-for-1 tickets valid until December 31! 

Top image © Tomas Princ

> via reSITE/PLANE-SITE