Untitled - Martha Koch
Martha Koch ( United States )
Martha's research seeks to uncover patterns in people's willingness to create their own public space in the face of prescriptive transportation and real estate policies. Two guiding questions shape her research interests: How can we design cities–physically and politically–for maximum flexibility and self-determination? What are the extents of the “public sphere,” and how does resident-driven public space expand entry points into civic engagement?
This research program will study a few collective institutions in Berlin that developed external to formal, traditional urban development and planning. Seeking to understand how these organizations shaped and maintain their built environment, the project will map the implementation and maintenance of each site along two axes: social/cultural and policy/regulatory.
Findings from inquiries through the archive, current policy programs, and interviews will inform the shape of a toolkit to produce and care for space outside of traditional funding and construction methods. If material and spatial constraints allow, the toolkit will be used to generate a prototypical new (temporary) space in Moabit.
This residency is funded by the Deutsche Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD).