Grüner Atzelbergplatz

In the 2010s, Atzelbergplatz, located in a 1970s housing estate, was redeveloped. Despite citizen participation, the result was a hot concrete desert. The neighbourhood is home to elderly, often lonely residents as well as many young families living in cramped conditions, with diverse cultural backgrounds and language barriers. Local initiatives have cared for the square for decades – yet prejudices persist, significantly hindering its development.

In 2023, the planning group “Green Atzelbergplatz” was therefore founded to reclaim the place collaboratively for everyone. As part of WDC, in cooperation with U-X and aufmerksam, a real-world laboratory will be created: for one year, the square will be co-designed at full scale (1:1). The building material will be branches, which accumulate annually in large quantities along the Museumsufer. With simple tools, these branches will be woven into large structures. Beans will grow up along them, forming living spaces that provide shade – creating opportunities for encounter, community, movement, and play.

These structures will be open to all, as they will form part of cultural events, festivals, and flea markets organised by local associations on the square. The aim is to offer people the chance, in open workshops, to experience self-efficacy and creative agency – and to find solutions even when needs are conflicting. Insights from the project can also serve as a foundation for the forthcoming climate-adapted redevelopment of the square by the city.