You feel the need to spend more time here to fully appreciate the many stories and faces in the highly poetic photos by Berlin architecture photographer Erik-Jan Ouwerker. But it is equally interesting to reflect on several highly surprising statements about the contemporary city, which today has a younger population or greater biodiversity than the country. Following 200 years in which big cities were repeatedly criticised, this exhibition passionately takes the side of large European cities, which are presented not so much as problems but more as problem solvers. The curators' central hypothesis is that only the gradually developed density, the social mix, public and semi-public spaces with their low use of ener- gy and space that are to be found in cities offer a way to avert climate change and social disintegration. Architect Matthias Sauerbruch and spatial planners Joern Walter and Tim Rieniets invited members of the Academy's architecture section to present their positions on these questions and their contributions make up the main part of the exhibition. In all, 34 members responded to this call and together with selected individuals they address quite different aspects of the contemporary city. The ways in which they do this are so individual and varied that in many cases it is hard to grasp the context or to find a clear statement about the city. New construction systems are placed directly and abruptly beside new culture buildings, urban districts, mobility hubs or climate simulations. With their contributions to cycle- and climate-friendly building, Gigon/Guyer, Lacaton Vassal or Florian Nagler/Roger Boltshauser are more successful in conveying urban complexity in an easily understandable - and very haptic - way.
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