Europan Germany

"Adaptable City" means a culture of adaptation in the process of change and refers to a city that changes and renews itself from within, that can expand its possibilities and yet retain its idiosyncrasies. This requires a rethinking, in terms of our ways of life and the morpholo- gy of our cities, formal and spatial concepts, mobility and temporal configurations.

Time - both stimulating and uncertain in its course - as a dynamic factor to make the city both more adaptable and more resilient. Adaptability in this context refers to the quality of changing in line with future changes in use or those that have already begun, while resilience refers to the ability to continue developments under changed conditions after profound cuts.

Applied to the city, this means further developing urban quarters, restructuring sites that have become obsolete, and adapting them through reorientation to the programmatic change caused by the fast pace of our times. EUROPAN 12 offers 6 categories of sites with specific issues to work on.

PLATFORMS OF URBAN DYNAMICS

Revitalizing currently unattractive public spaces requires consideration on a broader scale. These spaces are often strategic "levers" for activating urban life. They can create identity, shape a new image, and thus overcome boundaries and initiate a comprehensive transformation of existing structures. They serve as a platform of activation and adaptation in terms of mobilizing residents or a broader public. How can these spaces be developed and new rhythms of intensity be discovered?

DON BENITO (ES)
GJILAN (KO)
ZAGREB (HR)
BUDAPEST (HU)
MARSEILLE PLAN D’AOU (FR)
SAINT-HERBLAIN (FR)
AALBORG (DK)
BITTERFELD-WOLFEN (DE)
KRISTINEHAMN (SE)
SCHIEDAM (NL)
WITTENBERGE (DE)

ECO-RHYTHMS

Today's city strives to anticipate the future and adapt to unpredictable change. Working with eco-rhythms means closely linking urban development to a strong synergy between urban and ecological environments, in order to resolve today's prevailing oppositions between urban dwellers on the one hand and natural realities on the other. In contrast to the urban planning of modernity, which pushed the separation between urban rhythms and nature, the emphasis today is on initiating a functional process based on the continuation or reintroduction of these eco-rhythms.

BAERUM (NO)
FOSSES (FR)
HÖGANÄS (SE)
KAUFBEUREN (DE)
MILANO (IT)
ORSAY (FR)
VICHY VAL D’ALLIER (FR)
KREUZLINGEN (CH)
KONSTANZ (DE)

HERITAGE OF THE FUTURE

The term heritage, usually associated with a look back to the past, is here applied to the future. Architectural heritage is usually considered extraordinary, but shouldn't the definition of "ordinary" heritage also be considered? Can "generating heritage" also mean increasing the adaptability of future cities? The sites in this group are looking for new ways to "generate heritage", related to different contexts that have very basic deficiencies.

AMSTETTEN (AT)
KØBENHAVN (DK)
REGIONALE 2016 (DE)
WARSZAWA (PL)
NÜRNBERG (DE)
ASKER (NO)
COUVET (CH)
HAMMARÖ (SE)

INTERIMS

Adaptability means enabling creative processes that incorporate uncertainties, funding shortfalls, the unresolved future role of the site, or even the long-term evolution of the overall environment as the project develops. So how can the "waiting period" before the implementation of the project be structured in such a way that different scenarios are possible, different stakeholders are involved, and finally new visions are created?

ALGODOR (ES)
ANDALUCIA (ES)
KUOPIO (FI)
VILA VIÇOSA (PT)
ASSEN (NL)
DONAUWÖRTH (DE)
ROUEN (FR)
SERAING (BE)
WIEN KAGRAN (AT)

FROM MONO-LARGE TO MULTI-MIX

Two types of transformations come together in sites: On the one hand, the change from a single large unit to many smaller parts; on the other hand, the change from a mono-functional unit to a mix of different functions and uses.

This creates a higher degree of spatial and programmatic complexity, an essential prerequisite for urbanity. Basically, a system of several smaller and different parts is also particularly adaptable. New requirements can be integrated more easily. Outdated lots can be changed or replaced more easily without disrupting the overall concept.

HANINGE (SE)
HEIDELBERG (DE)
HELSINKI (FI)
MARLY (CH)
GRAZ (AT)
GRONINGEN (NL)
KAISERSLAUTERN (DE)
URRETXU_IRIMO (ES)
WIEN SIEMENSÄCKER (AT)

PLACES IN THE INFRASTRUCTURAL NETWORK

Places can have a high urban potential because they are widely connected, for example by transport infrastructure. Although the use is limited - especially because of the location on a superordinate road - and the area seems rather isolated, the linkage and interaction with the existing network can open up possibilities: Mix of functions, complexity, and a more diverse urban life. Of course, the infrastructural network and conditions on the ground, and therefore the role of place in the network, may change. A particular, strong urban and architectural character is needed to adapt to and outlast change.

ÅS (NO)
BARCELONA (ES)
CINEY (BE)
KALMAR (SE)
PORTO BRANDAO (PT)
VENEZIA (IT)
MANNHEIM (DE)
MÜNCHEN (DE)
PARIS (FR)