Living City Foundation
The “Lebendige Stadt” foundation was founded in 2000 by Alexander Otto , the chairman of the management board of ECE project management , which develops, builds, leases and operates large commercial real estate, in particular inner-city shopping centers. According to their own account, this is a project by municipalities and committed business representatives to award creative and implementable ideas for urban design.
Working approach
According to its own statements, the foundation is committed to the future of cities.
“The urban diversity of work, culture and living must be preserved and helped to shape it. The focus is on the areas of light, greenery and the design of public spaces [...] Personalities from politics, business, culture, science and the media have contributed to the foundation. "
Foundation bodies
The chairman of the board of trustees of the Lebendige Stadt Foundation is Alexander Otto. The board of trustees also includes Wolfgang Tiefensee as deputy chairman, Torsten Albig , Willi Alda, Jan Bettink, Daniel Günther , Alfons Hörmann , Hildegard Müller and Dieter Salomon . The board of trustees decides on the use of the foundation's funds and monitors the work of the board. The board of directors is the point of contact for all institutions and individuals. Board members are Andreas Mattner (CEO), Michael Batz , Friederike Beyer, Peter Harry Carstensen , Robert Heinemann , Wolfgang Kopitzsch , Eva Lohse and Fritz Schramma . The foundation board consists of personalities such as Hanspeter Georgi , Arved Fuchs , Herlind Gundelach , Joachim Herrmann and Matthias Platzeck . He advises the principles of the foundation and gives recommendations for their implementation.
The members of the committees such as the board of directors, the board of trustees or the foundation board perform their work on a voluntary basis .
Project funding
After evaluating its previous activities, the foundation is concentrating on measures and activities in public urban spaces that can be assigned to the individual key themes of the foundation - light, green or built space - or to several of these themes at the same time, in favor of a better focus of the funding fields and funding activities.
light
- Artistic illumination of the Reichstag building - art and energy efficiency for the German parliament
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Berlin Reichstag building was given a permanent artistic light show on the initiative of the “Lebendige Stadt” foundation. The main artistic idea of the winning design includes the announcement of all four sides of the building, whereby the architectural features of the facade are set in a restrained, calm and classically representative light. At the same time, energy consumption has been significantly reduced thanks to the new technology. The foundation launched a nationwide artistic competition for this purpose.
- Illumination Speicherstadt Hamburg - A warehouse complex as a work of light art
The illumination of the Speicherstadt is one of the most interesting art and urban development projects in Hamburg. The illumination now covers around 55% of the warehouse complex. The contours of windows, doors, bay windows, gables, turrets and pointed roofs of the building ensemble are gracefully modeled by the well-dosed light. The “Lebendige Stadt” foundation and Hamburger Hafen- und Lagerhaus AG (HHLA) collected over half a million euros for the illumination of the historic Kontorhaus district.
- 31 Railway underpasses in the new light - upgrade space, reduce energy consumption, save money
Dark railway underpasses are non-places and sometimes even social hot spots. The “Lebendige Stadt” foundation has initiated an illumination program to revitalize such public places. In 24 German cities, 31 railway underpasses were permanently artistically illuminated. As a result, the space was upgraded, the urban separation often associated with the underpass was overcome, the feeling of security among passers-by was increased, and the use of modern lighting technology reduced power consumption and thus costs. This means that the project not only experiences an artistic and cultural component, but also makes an important contribution to the sustainable and resource-saving use of energy and money. With its illumination program, the “Lebendige Stadt” foundation has been named the national winner in the “Culture” category in the “Outstanding Places in the Land of Ideas 2013/14” competition. Over 1,000 applications were received for this.
green
- Federal competition "City worth living in"
Deutsche Umwelthilfe and the “Lebendige Stadt” foundation called on cities and municipalities to take part in the competition “City worth living in - nature and urban life without contradiction”. We were looking for creative urban development projects that promote urban green spaces and actively involve the population. The city of Andernach was named the national winner. The city on the Middle Rhine prevailed among 160 applicant projects from all over Germany. Associated with the award is prize money of 15,000 euros. Andernach complements the usual green spaces and flower borders in the city parks with zucchini, Swiss chard and other vegetables. The citizens help with the care of the beds and the harvest themselves. So the cityscape has changed positively. In addition to Andernach, Arnsberg, Bad Hersfeld and Sondershausen, as well as the districts of Berlin-Pankow and Hamburg-Mitte were also recognized as "Liveable cities". All winners received prize money of 3,000 euros each
- Competition “Federal Capital of Biodiversity” - Award for efforts in species protection
Together with the Deutsche Umwelthilfe eV, the “Lebendige Stadt” foundation launched the national competition “Federal Capital of Biodiversity” in 2010, the year of “international biodiversity”. We were looking for the city that is particularly committed to the diversity of ecosystems and species. Linked to the goal of motivating and supporting the relevant actors in cities and municipalities to make more efforts and concrete measures to protect nature and biodiversity. The winner of the competition was the state capital Hanover , which is entitled to call itself the “Federal Capital of Biodiversity” due to its special commitment to preserving biological diversity. Associated with this was prize money of 25,000 euros. In addition to the overall winner Hanover, 13 other municipalities were honored for their efforts to preserve a diverse nature.
- Restoration of the public gardens of Arnsberg - a forgotten gem awakens
In order to promote monument and landscape protection, the foundation supported the restoration and redesign of the community gardens in Arnsberg . The city of Arnsberg has acquired two classicist garden houses threatened by decay, which are among the last of their time in Westphalia, and the surrounding areas, thus saving them from decay and demolition. With the financial support of the “Lebendige Stadt” foundation, it was possible to develop the facility and design the paths. They are an important part of the overall concept and were created taking the historical situation into account.
Designed space
Federal initiative "deinSchulhof"
Together with the German Environmental Aid , the foundation launched the federal initiative “deinSchulhof”. Under the patronage of Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, the project partners are committed to transforming schoolyards into attractive living and learning spaces. According to the project partners, the initiative has a total volume of around 250,000 euros.
Redesign of the Leipzig Nikolaikirchhof - memory of the peaceful revolution of 1989
With the support of the “Lebendige Stadt” foundation, the historic churchyard of St. Nikolai in Leipzig was redesigned into a place of reflection. The key elements of the redesign are the light installation by Leipzig artist Tilo Schulz with light cubes and a granite fountain designed by David Chipperfield . The light installation with its 150 colored light cubes symbolizes the slow build-up of peaceful gatherings like in 1989 during the Leipzig “Monday demonstrations”.
The renaissance of the Jungfernstieg
The redesign of the Hamburg Jungfernstieg was initiated and funded by the "Lebendige Stadt" foundation. To this end, the foundation set up the "Lebendiger Jungfernstieg" association in 2002, which was responsible for the water-side redesign. This brought together all those involved in the renovation and collected the necessary donations for this project. The foundation launched a nationwide architectural competition for the redesign. Its winning design included a spacious staircase that takes up the entire width of the Jungfernstieg and leads to the water. In this way, the spatially cut off Alster pier was regained and is now a popular place to stroll and linger. The city was responsible for the road and house side measures in this PPP project . The Jungfernstieg was awarded the BDA Architecture Prize for this.
Redesign of the school yard at the cathedral school in Lübeck - life returns to the school yard
On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Lübeck Cathedral School, the playground was redesigned with the support of the “Lebendige Stadt” foundation. In the future, the new schoolyard will offer around 260 pupils between the ages of six and eleven for sensory and motor experiences as well as relaxation, movement and communication. The use of the schoolyard was severely limited due to missing and outdated play equipment and many nooks and crannies were used as storage areas, so that valuable space for the children to play was lost.
Foundation award
Every year the foundation awards prizes in a different category to projects in cities and municipalities with exemplary character ( good practice , best practice ). At the beginning of each year, the foundation calls on cities, municipalities, institutions, universities, associations and private individuals across Europe to apply with their projects. An expert jury evaluates the applications and selects the winner (s). In the past, prizes and recognitions were given for particularly innovative and successful concepts such as museums , town squares, inner-city living spaces, sports facilities , playgrounds and leisure areas or for senior citizenship . The prize is endowed with 15,000 euros.
2018 - The most digital city
The cities of Dortmund and Vienna were honored as winners. Acknowledgments went to Coburg and Heidelberg
2017 - The liveliest city partnership
The “Lebendige Stadt” foundation honored Iserlohn, Chorzów (Poland) and Nyiregyháza (Hungary) for their joint city partnership. The extensive cultural exchange and cooperation between the three cities in EU projects were particularly recognized. Acknowledgments also went to the town twinning between Bordesholm and Kekava (Latvia), Münster and York (Great Britain) and Pforzheim and Irkutsk (Russia). Cologne, Bethlehem and Tel Aviv received a special award for their partnership.
2016 - The integrating sports city: cosmopolitan - active - intercultural
The "Lebendige Stadt" foundation and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) have recognized the city of Nürtingen as an "integrating sports city" for its extensive range of sports and integration options for refugees. The cities of Bensheim, Falkensee, Hamburg, Maxdorf, Nuremberg and Stuttgart received recognitions.
2015 - The most exemplary public building project: needs-based - well planned - transparent
With the redesign of the Drachenfels plateau, the city of Königswinter was awarded the 2015 Foundation Prize. The cities of Celle (new fire brigade main station), Dinslaken (mountain park in the Lohberg creative quarter), Kirchhain / Hessen ("Haus Bürger"), Neunkirchen / Saarland (new blower hall), Posen (Porta Posnania) and Reutlingen (Reutlingen town hall) received recognition ).
2014 - The liveliest city of remembrance: Remembering - raising awareness - creating identity
The winner of the 2014 Foundation Prize is the city of Leipzig with the "Leipziger Notenspur". The music track illustrates the 800-year music history of the city at various locations in Leipzig. In town houses, churches, coffee houses, publishing houses and training centers you can find out how u. a. the composers Bach, Mendelssohn and Schumann worked. A path and audio guidance system connects the locations and explains their musical meaning. At the same time, new approaches to music are created through urban and cultural history, urban development, education, urban green spaces and mobility.
2013 - The most beautiful city festival: innovative - close to the people - popular
The winner of the foundation award is the city of Karlsruhe with its city birthday. Since 2001 around 200,000 people from Karlsruhe and the surrounding area have been celebrating the city's birthday for three days every two years. The citizens of Karlsruhe are involved in both the planning and the implementation through workshops that start a year and a half before the event. The Karlsruhe city birthday contributes to the identification of the citizens with their city as well as to the integration of the different population groups. Topics and content related to the city are conveyed through the festival activities, which makes it possible to bring out the city's strengths.
2012 - The barrier-free city - independence; Mobility, participation
Two projects from the state capital Schwerin share the first prize. This makes it all the more clear that the city has earned the title of barrier-free city . With the 1st prize, the foundation honors the work of the non-profit association Haus der Treffen Schwerin e. V. and the Schwerin Office for Urban Development.
2011 - The unmistakable city: identity, home, brand
Due to their convincing concepts, the independent expert jury decided to choose two winners, Hiddenhausen and Ingelheim. The East Westphalian municipality of Hiddenhausen relies on the concept of “young buy old”: It arranges advisory services and subsidizes old building appraisals and the purchase of old buildings. 133 houses have already been renovated in this way; the conversion of open spaces into settlement areas is avoided. Ingelheim am Rhein is an example of how the balance between monument preservation and urban redevelopment can be achieved. In Ingelheim, the medieval imperial palace was brought out of its neglected existence by Charlemagne late. The urban redevelopment was based on the historical building forms of the Middle Ages; the unique design of the imperial palace was emphasized and made visible again.
2010 - Most senior-friendly city
The expert jury unanimously decided in favor of the competition winner Arnsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia. The jury was impressed by the approach taken by the city, which has almost 80,000 inhabitants, to actively involve citizens in the implementation of senior-friendly measures. With its holistic concept, the city aims to do justice to the aging society.
2009 - Most child-friendly mobility concept
Griesheim in Hessen received an award for its child-friendly mobility concept for routes into the city. Acknowledgments went to Kiel , Kaiserslautern and Oberursel . Concepts and projects that contribute to the safety and mobility of children in public transport were awarded prizes.
2008 - Most beautiful weekly market
The green market in Nienburg was named Europe's most beautiful weekly market . Recognitions went to Bremen , Munster , Freiburg im Breisgau , Frankenberg and Wuppertal . Innovative and lively weekly market concepts, which are characterized by a wide range of offers, quality and attractive product presentation, were awarded prizes.
2007 - Best parking concept
“Lebendige Stadt” awarded Europe's best parking space concepts . The winner was the “P23” parking garage in Amsterdam . The parking garage is part of the restructuring of the Amsterdam-Zuid-Oost district with social housing from the 1960s and 1970s. The parking garage is located under an existing elevated road. A “problematic open space” could be converted for parking spaces and also increase security in the district. In addition to the concept, the special design of the parking garage was impressive. Recognitions went to Bruchsal , Göhren (Rügen) , Graz , Innsbruck , Munich , Ulm and Wiesbaden .
2006 - Best playground and leisure area
The Georg-Freundorfer-Platz in Munich was awarded the prize as the best playground and leisure area or adventure playground . Playgrounds and leisure areas that offer creative and innovative solutions - in terms of design and type of operation - were worthy of the award. Seven further recognitions were given: the Tempelsee forest school in Offenbach , the “H2O” project in Hanover , the old airfield in Frankfurt , the “Dreirosenanlage” in Basel , a nature playground project in Freiberg and the “Pinke-Panke” children's farm in Berlin . The “Senses and Experience Spaces” in Würzburg were also recognized with a special educational all-day offer . The focus was on the integration of visually impaired and non-visually impaired children. The playground is equipped to appeal to and train the senses of the disabled children. In addition, the jury saw the consistent cooperation with the Würzburg Institute for the Disabled as exemplary.
2005 - Best Sports Venues
The trend sports hall Funbox Amalie in Essen (closed since 2011) and the school at Mummelsoll in Berlin have been recognized as the most innovative sports facilities. The school at Mummelsoll is a school and sports building for the mentally handicapped . The jury praised the architecture, which contributes to the integration of the building into the environment: Skilful shielding from the outside, but great transparency inside help the children to bridge emotional barriers, to open up themselves and to approach others. Seven other sports facilities received recognition: the sports hall on Europastraße in Tübingen , the game and sports facility Niebuhrstraße in Berlin, the Flandernhöhe sports park in Esslingen am Neckar , the Bendix-Gymnasium / Annette-von-Droste-Hülshoff-Gymnasium in Dülmen , the Dreifeldsporthalle in Barleben , "Camp 24 | seven" in Kiel and the sports garden in Bremen .
Partnership R20 Regions of Climate Action
The international partner of the foundation is the climate protection organization R20 Regions of Climate Action, founded in 2010 by Arnold Schwarzenegger in cooperation with the United Nations . Both partners work closely together on topics such as energy efficiency or renewable energies and exchange best practice projects. In September 2015 both partners certified their cooperation in a memorandum of understanding.
criticism
The foundation came under criticism mainly due to conflicts of interest that arose from the foundation's integration with ECE project management and political decision-makers on the foundation board. Alexander Otto is not only Chairman of the Foundation's Board of Trustees, but also ECE Managing Director and Chairman of the Advisory Boards of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) . The Lebendige Stadt Foundation also shares an address with ECE. However, it submits to the generally recognized principles of good foundation behavior of the Federal Association of German Foundations and documents this on its website. Furthermore, the Lebendige Stadt Foundation is a member of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative and thus voluntarily undertakes to provide information, etc. a. on the articles of association, to make the names of the key decision-makers as well as information on the source of funds, use of funds and personnel structure easily accessible on their homepage.
The transparency organization Lobbycontrol accused ECE of using the non-profit Lebendige Stadt foundation to exert political influence and to improve its own public perception.
In October 2010, State Transport Minister Tanja Gönner was accused of a conflict of interest due to her membership in the Board of Trustees in the ECE project “Quartier am Mailänder Platz” planned as part of Stuttgart 21 . Finally, under political pressure, it suspended its membership.
literature
- Hans-Hermann Albers: Corporate Urban Responsibility: the social responsibility of companies in urban development. Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2011, ISBN 978-3-593-39506-7 .
- Holger Pump-Uhlmann: The Living City Foundation. In: What holds the city together at its core. Urban development as a joint task. In: Almanac 2005/2006 of the German Academy for Urban Development and Regional Planning. German Academy for Urban Development and Regional Planning, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-9809331-3-X , pp. 80–86.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Lebige-stadt.de
- ↑ a b See ece.de
- ↑ http://www.lebendige-stadt.de/web/view.asp?sid=676&nid=&cof=706
- ↑ child-friendly mobility concept (September 12, 2010)
- ^ City of Griesheim (September 12, 2010)
- ↑ Foundation Prize 2008: Most beautiful weekly market. (PDF; 3.5 MB) Lebendige Stadt Foundation, accessed on October 26, 2018 .
- ^ City of Nienburg / Weser ( Memento from December 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Restructuring of the district (September 12, 2010)
- ↑ a b c Foundation Prize 2001-2007 complete documentation. (PDF; 23.1 MB) Lebendige Stadt Foundation, accessed on October 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Construction and Transport Department of the Canton of Basel-Stadt ( Memento from June 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Freiburg Agenda 21. e. V.
- ↑ Click on the map and explore our farm (September 12, 2010)
- ↑ "Living City" Foundation (September 12, 2010)
- ↑ Tobias Fülbeck: Safety deficiencies - Essen's “Funbox Amalie” skater hall closed . ( derwesten.de [accessed October 26, 2018]).
- ↑ School at Mummelsoll (September 16, 2010)
- ↑ berlin.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (September 16, 2010)
- ↑ Cf. Plusminus: Shopping centers - Do covered centers liven up inner cities?
- ↑ Patrons rumble against felt accusation. In: Handelsblatt online. October 11, 2010, accessed October 11, 2010.
- ^ Dissertation by Hans-Hermann Albers : there u. a. Analysis of the Living City Foundation (ECE GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg)
