In the beginning, the creators of the ICC set out to create a meeting point for the world, but after closing in 2014 the building has become dormant. Closed and abandoned, the ICC has been too expensive to open, too expensive to keep closed, and so it sits idle and empty.
Our re-imagining of the ICC aims to change that, by honoring the original vision for the building, but with a contemporary take. We believe through its diversity in cultures, Berlin in and of itself is a representation of the world – the ICC should be a gathering place for people of Berlin to be represented through their art, work, and culture, once again making the ICC the meeting point of the world.
Phase I: establishing a culture of circularity
Our first step will be partnering with the Messe Berlin trade fair grounds. Early on, we came to understand these trade fairs generate a huge amount of waste which is both environmentally harmful and also expensive to dispose of.
The calendar shows the 2024 trade fair schedule highlighted in orange, with the takedown days highlighted in grey. As it stands, trade fair participants have approximately 3 days post-trade fair to demolish and dispose of their materials. With this in mind, we propose a policy in which Messe requires trade fair participants to deconstruct their exhibition booths, and a partnership in which all waste materials are redirected to the ground floor of the ICC where a material bank will be established for collection and reuse of such materials.
Phase II: engaging "the makers" of Berlin
We plan to dedicate the parking garage as communal allotments that can be rented out for a small fee to be used as a freestyle space. This is a catalogue showcasing some ideas of how we think this space could be used. The idea is not only to let people define the space, but to bring back cultural relevance to the ICC, particularly amongst younger generations that haven’t seen it in its glory days.
On the ground floor of the parking ramp we will house our material library, populated with the materials collected from Messe Berlin. These materials will be free to take and leave for anyone participating in the communal allotment program within the ICC in an effort to keep the circular economy as local as possible.
Phase III: activating interior spaces to promote gathering
From the start, we knew we had an asset in the fact that the interiors of the ICC are a perfectly preserved time capsule of the style and spirit of the time. We wanted to activate the interiors while honoring the design identity, because the style is iconic and appeals to so many people for so many reasons. For some, the design aesthetic will feel nostalgic while for others it will feel retro. For this reason, we made the decision to make interventions that emphasize the interiors as they are, using the two advantages we see in the ICC: its quality of space and quantity of space.
The ICC has spaces unlike anywhere else in the world, so we wanted to focus on interior programming that defines the space and is defined by the space, all while tying into circularity, creative making, and community gathering. We put together a catalogue of potential uses, for example non-traditional exhibits that transform some of the unique ICC spaces, or workshops that can be held in the conference rooms.
Phase IV: connecting the ICC and its surroundings
Coming from North - you leave the Messe Nord/ICC station and immediately you see the giant spiral inviting your curiosity
Coming from the South - you leave the Westkreuz station and are greeted by an orange sculpture reminiscent of the spiral theme. An orange path guides you to the parking garage where you can choose to climb the orange parking spiral or enter the underpass leading either to the north spiral, or continue to the underpass exit heading towards Charlottenburg.
Throughout the area we will carry through smaller orange sculptural elements that intensify as one approaches as a playful wayfinding mechanism leading towards the ICC.
AAVS Urban Phoenix Berlin_july/august 2023_Mina Markovic, Daniel Poshtovenko, Jackie Orner, Vincent Yan
