Verhandeln und Verwandeln

City centres are facing profound change due to shifting consumer behaviour. The closure of 200 department stores over the last 25 years has created space for multiple mixed-use and reusable spaces that offer new experiences beyond consumer culture.

The transformation of the Sportscheck department store in Wiesbaden provides answers to this – and focuses on the urgent question of democratic participation. A circular, public, inspiring space is being created which, thanks to its highly frequented location in the Langgasse shopping mile, is aimed at everyone – regardless of origin, education or age – and invites them to participate in cultural life. A diverse spectrum of transformative WDC projects is on display here – accompanied by discussions about them. The dialogue between HSRM students and the urban community makes it an incubator for the development of holistic visions.

Social cohesion is created through participation – this place is its spatialisation.

Project participants are: Sabine Philipp, Sandra Düsterhus, Jörg Waldschütz, Susanne Aenis, Stefanie Lindinger, Julius Niederwöhrmeier, Margit Vollmert, Eva Helterhoff, Janine Seitz, Felix Große-Lohmann, Christian Holl, Betty Schimmelpfennig