On the occasion of the design festival PASSAGEN, ArtAsyl e.V. and JACK IN THE BOX e.V., together with Köln International School of Design of TH Köln, will present works of four refugees searching for a new center of their lives after their arrival in Germany. Their attempt is to compare and contrast their current housing and living conditions in Cologne with their past conditions in the home country they have left.
What are the spaces to unfold oneself, which areas are open for creative freedom, and what are the limitations of these new homes of a rather functional architecture? Under the supervision of Simon Meienberg and Heribert Weegen, the refugees could over the course of several weeks and meetings visualize their memories, aspirations, and ideas. First, the exhibition focuses on what has been left. How did the past homes look like? What memories, images, stories have prevailed the most? These findings will be juxtaposed with the current housing and living conditions in Cologne. Is there any possibility to leave the architectural restraints of their new homes and rooms? Are there any opportunities to design these new spaces according to individual needs and individual aspirations, memories, and models? The result is a multi-perspective approach consisting of various drawings, models, stories, and design narratives.
The project is part of the Master’s thesis of Simon Meienberg at Köln International School of Design of TH Köln. His final thesis is supervised at KISD by Prof. Dr. Carolin Höfler (Design Theory and Research) and Prof. Philipp Heidkamp (Interface/ Interaction Design) and is being supported by the research cluster “Real-Time City“.
Exhibition design and realization: Simon Meienberg and Heribert Weegen
Venue: Atelierzentrum Ehrenfeld, Hospeltstrasse 69, 50825 Cologne
Opening hours: January 14 to 20, Mon – Fri 5 pm to 8 pm, Sat – Sun 12 pm (noon) to 8 pm
Vernissage: January 17, starting 5 pm