Edited by Peter Lényi

design
ISBN 978-80-969392-8-2
EAN 9788096939282

handbook
for cultural
centres
3
4
5

place (re)construction inside outside temporary small big

 1 intro
architect — would like to consider as
Designing the environment we live in manual or diary. It is dedicated a starting point for work within the
is a never-ending process. It is based to centres existing and emerging, independent culture environment.
on an effort to become better, more to architects and non-architects.
vivacious, and to respond to how the The research has been focused on I would like to thank everyone who
society and social needs are developing. revealing and naming architectural somehow contributed to the process of
stories and solutions, from small and creating this book: my collaborators,
In Trans Europe Halles member low-cost designs made in one week consultants, respondents, the whole
cultural centres, design is firmly workshops to long-term processes, Trans Europe Halles network and
connected to other cultural activities examination of the centres' needs, particularly Stanica Žilina-Záriečie.
that take place there. It is not just about context and problem solving.
results. Its strengths consist chiefly in Peter Lényi
processes of formation and subsequent I started at the end of 2011. The first
use. Architectural design (as well as centre I visited was Bakelitstudio in
urban planning) and the art/culture Budapest in May, the last one Village
programmes are reciprocally formative. Underground in London in December
This is the biggest difference when 2013.
compared to large public institutions.
I have tried to render what I have seen
It is not a question of facades, and heard, in the most authentic form
sculptural volumes and investment possible. My aim was to act neither as
amounts. The interesting part lies in an architect nor critic who would give
the close relationships between varied advice. It was rather to humbly try
programmes, activities, employees, and collect the moments I considered
artists and their audience. The extraordinary, most often through their
solutions brought about in the world authors' testimonies. The presentation
of cultural centres are often unheard of information is restrained, even
of in other sectors. They result from crude, free of anything superfluous.
the creative clash between architects, The vehicle is sometimes a picture,
designers, artist, managers, volunteers, sometimes text. I wanted to interpret
students, technicians, audience and the world as I have seen it — without
neighbours. stylization and with a minimum of my
own comments — so as not to reduce
The book is a collection of personal the range of possible interpretations
experiences, observations, opinions and applications.
and positions on cultural centres.
It includes examples, stories, schemes, The result comes as 123 stories from 30
plans and diagrams. The book can centres. Together, they form a mosaic, Peter Lényi recieved his degree in architecture at Slovak University of Technology.
be read as an encyclopaedia, guide, an information base that I — as an He is leading a studio 20-21 architects, based in Bratislava.

6 7
 2  culture factories
integrity and even nobility in honest who built our society. They don't have
Since the founding of Trans Europe and the ideas of equality, solidarity labor. monuments to their memory, but
Halles (TEH) there has been and international networking were Throughout Europe from the 1960s these structures, where they built our
a strong association with old factory advocated. onwards, the idea that culture was prosperity and possibility for future
premises. Even today the criteria for not just reserved for ruling classes generations represent their spirit.
membership of TEH states that centres Similarly, the social and cultural lives and that everyone had an equal right There is an allure to these buildings,
should ‘preferably originate from of workers and their families revolved to a cultural voice was vigorously sometimes a simple and beautiful
a commercial or industrial heritage’. around these hubs of industry with pursued by a new youth movement. form like the former creamery now
While it is understandable that young the central human need for individual This meant finding places to make the occupied by Mejeriet in Lund, Sweden,
activists and artists might squat or rent and communal expression and idea manifest, as the establishment was or the cathedral-like vastness of
these old buildings because they are communication at their heart, forming not about to allow ‘revolutionaries’ into Kaapelitehdas (Cable Factory) where
abandoned or cheap, it is perhaps more their own neighbourhoods and adding their palaces of culture. The abandoned they once made the transatlantic
difficult to comprehend what attracts their own amenities. For almost two industrial sites were called back into communication cables for Nokia, that
them to these spaces other than centuries these neighbourhoods grew service, as factories of a different represents a different kind of history,
necessity. Occupying dilapidated, cold up around industrial buildings and this kind: culture factories. New forms of the unspoken people's history, survived
and dysfunctional warehouses might relationship is ingrained in the DNA of music, dance, performance, visual by new generations who continue the
seem obvious when you have no other cities and citizens. art and, in fact, any innovation that struggle for a non-hierarchical culture.
option, but surely a comfortable, new signified change and freedom, filled
and working building would be much As the great manufacturing age ended these former halls of industry. From All across Europe you can find these
more preferable, given the chance. Why in Europe in the 1960s and 70s, the counterculturalism to punk, communes cultural and art centres and these
make it a principle? buildings of the industrial age emptied. to eco-collectives, neighbourhood buildings. Go and discover them.
Still, these places seemed to attract centres to anarchist squats, this
Perhaps the answer lies in the history new generations who had different rehabilitation of our industrial heritage Sandy Fitzgerald
of these places. Our industrial heritage ideas for their use. It is no accident continues. With the fall of the Iron
is also the history of communities that what might be considered the Curtain in 1989, a whole new landscape
and, by association, the history of first symbolic transition from the old with respect to these old buildings
grassroots movements. Most of our to new was called The Factory. This, opened up, with many now undergoing
recent ancestry is rooted in the of course, was Andy Warhol's studio similar transformations to their
industrial revolution, in the factories founded in 1962 at 231 East 47th Street, Western counterparts.
and depots, storehouses and mills of Manhattan. If you look at the pictures
mass manufac­turing and distribution. from that era in NYC, you notice Trans Europe Halles has recognised and
It is in and around these places that how the architecture reflects most embraced this trend from its founding;
people lived out their lives, fought for concomitant arts or cultural centres its original members themselves were
and built society from: the ground that occupied old industrial buildings: housed in abandoned covered markets,
up. This is where our modern cities brick walls, iron metalworking, surface old factories, and the like. The pioneers
come from, fashioned from the labour, pipes, mechanical boxes and lots of of new cultural movements also
skill, ingenuity and creativity of the support pillars. Warhol was the son of protected these former industrial sites
working people. Here the principles working class parents, suggesting that, and advocated for their preservation.
of the labour movement were forged to venerate our forefathers, we seek This heritage represents the people

8 9
 Fabryka Sztuki, Łódź

3 to love buildings
The relationship of the peolpe with the place where
they work is always felt from the outside also.

“We were using these buildings before

the renovation. We loved them as they
were: slightly desolated but with a very
special, post-industrial touch to it.
There were festivals organised here,
theatre and dance performances, film
screenings, workshops, conferences
and many more. Buildings needed
renovation though, because at some
point they would have fallen apart.

Before heavy equipment appeared we

organised a ‘goodbye party’ inviting
all our friends, partners, audience. It
was a very tearful moment. We were
walking around, touching bricks, happy
that ‘new’ is coming at the same time
hoping that the ‘old‘ is still going to
be visible. And as you can see we've
succeeded! Renovation was done with
a great attention to details.”

Agata Etmanowicz

10 11
 4 location
Is the culture centre in city or in the countryside?
Is it in the centre or in the suburbs?
Is it a standalone building or a part of a complex?
Moritzbastei, Leipzig, 521 000 inhabitants

Village Underground, London, 15 000 000 inhabitants (metropolitan area) Stanica Žilina-Záriečie, Žilina, 82 000 inhabitants

Antic Teatre, Barcelona, 5 300 000 inhabitants (metropolitan area) OZU, Monteleone Sabino, 1257 inhabitants

Röda Sten konsthall, Göteborg, 522 000 inhabitants Not Quite, Fengersfors, 345 inhabitants

12 13
 Creative Centre Carnation, Tartu

5 ambitions
It is nearly impossible to imagine that it could work,
which is why it is suitable as the greatest ambition.

Lemmit Kaplinski is showing us a huge

run down estate. We're walking through
many buildings, the last one seems to
present the biggest challenge.

It is furthest from the entrance to the

estate, the largest, the most damaged, it
and would need the biggest investment.
It's inspiring due to its ability to devour
all the time and money one is willing to
dedicate to it, to see it shine.

14 15
 6 old vs. new

Verkatehdas, Hämeenlinna A38, Budapest

Melkweg, Amsterdam Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius

Röda Sten konsthall, Göteborg

16 17
 NOASS, Riga

7 this is how it usually

happens
“People come together because they
are friends. They have common goals,
common interests, therefore they start
to do bigger projects and finally they
need an organisation.

Our organisation was not an exception;

it was created by friends who were
supporting creative work. When I was
an active visual artist, my friends were
poets, writers, filmmakers and art
critics. Common ground was of course
wine drinking, partying together, book
presentations, opening exhibitions.
Then after parties, discussions about
what's important in art, what we
need to support, what more we need
to create an space for creative people.

Step by step we started an organisation

in my art studio. Then it turned into an
exhibition space. Later, it turned into
a public space for various art events,
not only for visual arts. We found out
that we had visitors and friends coming
to our events and they were more
than one hundred and no longer fit in
a small room, which is now our office
space. Then we found out that it was
really necessary to create a bigger space
to hold all these projects.”

Dzintars Zilgalvis

18 19
 Moritzbastei, Leipzig

8 the programme follows

the building
A limitation on one hand, unique characteristic on the other.

“It's a really big building — 1400 square We do events that use the whole
metres, but the space is divided into building. You can walk around in
a lot of small rooms. We would like to a circle and in one night you can dance
have more people in one room. Overall to radio music or hard rock or techno;
we can host about 1200 people, but not it's like a small festival. If you are in
in one room. the electronic room, you can't hear
anything from the heavy metal floor.
It's quite unique — we can have It's completely separated, but you
different events. In one room we can can easily walk to the next floor and
have theatre, in the second music, in see it. Walls are made of stone, three
the third reading. It's an advantage on metres wide.
one hand, and on the other it's difficult,
because we are limited, we can do We are not able to change the main
concerts for 300 people maximum. construction to widen things. Our
challenge is to use the space we have in
an intelligent way and to structure our
programme so that it fits the building.

You cannot change the building for the

programme; you have to change the
programme for the building.”

Torsten Reitler

20 21
 Pekarna magdalenske mreže, Maribor

9 time to squat
The trigger was the feeling of one's right
for space being endangered.

“In the beginning there was a network

formed of different kinds of
organisations, mainly from culture,
and artists: musicians, painters, who
tried to ensure, that there will be
some production places in the city.
They intended to make Pekarna such
a cultural centre. This was in ‘92.

An architecture studio made a draft

plan which was enough to start the
process of the renovation. But it
got stuck because at that time the
political change was very shaky and the
main focus was on building bridges,
something that was politically more
important.

In ‘94 we noticed that somebody was in

the complex — in very expensive cars —
measuring the whole place. Somebody
saw this and warned us. This was the
main reason why [we wanted] to squat
[in] it. We wanted to protect it, make
sure that it would keep the purpose it
was meant for.”

Borut Wenzel

22 23
 Centre for Creative Industries Fabrika, Moscow

10 no grants
“Fabrika pays and produces cultural
content by itself. We don't have any
funding nor sponsors. Our factory is an
umbrella center — we have tenants, we
deliver spaces for them, and they pay
the rent. This rent is low, so it is a kind
of discount for creative industries. This
money is more or less enough to pay
salaries, to pay taxes, to renovate our
buildings and to arrange and produce
exhibitions. So we are completely
independent and we do not use any
financial support.

It is easier for me to make some

decisions about money and to do
something to earn this money myself
rather than to fill in thousands of
application forms asking somebody
to give me money. I really believe that
if I spend 10 hours doing something
by myself to earn the money and if
I spend 10 hours filling in the forms
to get the grants, I would much prefer
the first way. This is a sacred principle
of punks in Europe — Do it yourself
— DIY. I know that I would have to fill
in thousands of forms to get the grant
and then write up thousand of reports
about how I spent the money, so for me
that would be quite a problem.”

Asya Filippova

24 25
 Fabryka Sztuki, Łódź

11 private-public
partnership
Forms of self-governance adapted from the non-cultural
sector offer new possibilities for funding.

"We are based on a private-public

partnership. Fabryka was created on
the basis of agreement between two
NGOs (Chorea Theatre and Łódź Art
Centre) and the city of Łódź. We are
registered as a municipal organisation.

Financing for establishing

Art_Inkubator came from EU structural
funds. What might be interesting
is that grant didn't come from the
strand dedicated to culture, heritage
nor tourism but from the one aiming
at strengthening entrepreneurship.
Match funding was granted by the
City of Łódź. Fabryka had to re-think,
re-organise and develop new functions
to become a business. That's quite
unique. And it wasn't easy. The process
required convincing officials to invest
a little trust (and lot of money!) in
a new model. In practice that meant
changing attitudes towards the creative
sector: from “grant-takers” to producing
economic and social value. It was
difficult, but as you can see, possible.”

Agata Etmanowicz

26 27
 Moritzbastei, Leipzig

12 protected building
Besides some advantages, the status of a historical
monument brings along with it a lot of obligations.

Moritzbastei is a medieval fortress —

the last remaining part of the old city
wall in Leipzig, built in 1551-1553. It has
served as a cultural centre since 1982.

For 150 years, the building was used

only as the foundatios for a school,
which was standing on it.

“Moritzbastei was filled with earth,

it was not used as a building, nobody
knew what to do with it. It was rebuilt
in the 70's and they started to renovate
it — literally — to dig it out of the
ground.

We have to deal with restrictions — we

have a concert hall with a really bad
acoustics, like a cave from the 16th
century. It was a room for the soldiers.
It's quite hard to get a good sound. We
want to improve it — but if we take
a textile structure or something to
have a better sound, we would hide the
original architecture, and so it's not
possible. It's a challenge for us, we try
to experiment with temporary things
like textile and wood to improve the
sound.”

Torsten Reitler

28 29
 ufaFabrik, Berlin

13 throwing out ghosts

If a place has historically become a symbol
of something negative, it is necessary to take
a stand, say it aloud and start again.

“UFA was the most important film

company in Germany before, during
and also after WW2. Nazi propaganda
was produced here in this factory. When
we found out, we were wondering, what
do we do with this heritage?

There was a tendency in West-Berlin

and many other places to destroy all
buildings that remind people of the
history they don't want to be reminded
of anymore.

Through squatting we preserved these

buildings. We discussed for a while and
then we decided to go on: We celebrated
a ceremony like a healing process
and threw the old UFA ghosts out and
invited new spirits. We are the second
life of the UFA-buildings and we fill
them with new ideas and creativity.

Since that time it's been okay for us

and we went to produce other forms of
art here.”

Sigrid Niemer

30 31
 OZU, Monteleone Sabino

14 hidden defects
Even the use of an almost new building might involve
hidden defects, left behind by the previous user.

“This place was built in the 80's. It was to carry water away was fake! It was
supposed to be a typography workshop. closed. This was only the beginning of
It was open for six months and then it, and then there was a wall.
they closed because it was too isolated.
The streets were too narrow for the Why should people build a factory here,
truck to bring paper. in the middle of nowhere? Without
foundations? The answer is there was
Then it was a candy factory for four some public money to build industrial
years. They were supposed to produce areas in the mountains, probably for
candies here, but they were only financing new activities. They decided
packing them. Sometimes they were to build this, they stole money from the
also packing candies that were too old building, and this is the result.”
to be sold. This place belongs to the
local community. They managed to Paola Simoni
get rid of them but the place was filled
with all the stuff. Tons of old candies
everywhere... 18 tons' worth. It took two
years to fix and empty the space.

We had to dig all around the building to

find the foundations, and we discovered
that the foundations were not made
the way it had been described in the
project. While doing the structural
work we discovered a lot of things that
had been done like this. For example,
windows which do not close.

There was also supposed to be a kitchen

in the factory. There were pipes for the
water coming out. We said — perfect,
we can put a sink here. Then we did all
the work and discovered that the pipe

32 33
 Village Underground, London

15 warehouse
A warehouse = lots of space.

High ceilings, good access from two

streets with surrounding space suitable
for setting up a lobby, toilets, bar and
a storage room.

Hard surfaces with high acoustic

reverberance and a roof with bad
technical features are adaptable.

Ideal ground for a venue.

34 35
 Bakelit MAC, Budapest

16 loft
Every disadvantage of a space which makes it more difficult to
use compared to others decreases interest and, as a result, also
its market value. That's when it starts to be interesting for us.

Bakelit MAC is located in the centre of

a big fenced complex with a working
reception, neighbouring workshops,
shops with building material.

In 1999 Márton Bauer, the owner

of Bakelit MAC, paid for 1600 square
metres of loft space in a factory.
Today it's 2200. Wherever possible
(construction and programme-wise),
people from Bakelit MAC divided the
high space into multiple levels. They
built a new floor 3 metres high and
multiplied the working space. Even
today there remains space where
this is possible. The ceiling above the
kitchen, where catering is prepared,
is unnecessarily high. It will soon be
knocked down and built again, a bit
lower. This will make the space above it
high enough for an office.

At the time of purchase, the loft was

cheaper than the ground floor due to
complicated access. The access problem
for people, equipment, beer barrels,
sofas and wheelchairs was solved with
a giant lift at the main entrance.

36 37
 A38, Budapest

17 ship
Rent on the river bank is expensive and usually the
best in town. The idea of creating a cultural centre
on a ship looks like a very effective one.

It has a clear competitive advantage town. Proximity to the city centre,

over the others — they are all on which is UNESCO-protected and
land, you are on a ship. A ship is bordered by Petőfi Bridge, is a priority.
a strong symbol. Even when it's firmly The ship is anchored only 135 metres
anchored, it has an air of exploration from the bridge.
and adventure; when there are waves,
the floor rocks a bit the atmosphere is Thanks to a good project, enough
that of bravery and newness. funding, and enthusiasm, it has been
possible to fit 5 fully-fledged bars, 2 roof
A38 is what the ship is called today. terraces, and a concert hall (house
A stands for Artemovsk, the name of in house system) with a 700-person
the ship prototype, and 38 is its serial capacity on board. The ship has
number. The Ukrainian ship originally excellent acoustics, a restaurant,
served as a stone carrier. In place of gallery, recording studio and offices.
the former main cargo space is now
a concert hall, where rock is played.

It took the architects three years to

design the ship. It was repaired in the
dockyards in Komárno; in Budapest
the interior was built and the technical
equipment installed, which they
managed to do in only three months.
The opening was on 30 April 2003. The
initial investment of 3 million Euros
was earned back in 6 to 7 years. That
enabled the owners to build a second
ship, this time a brand new one, which
is anchored beside the original one.
The location of the ship was chosen
very pragmatically. It's not about the
views, sights, or a Bohemian part of

38 39
 DOM, Bologna

18 circle venue
A circular floor plan, with an evenly distributed technical
structure, enables a versatile configuration.

"You can actually stage almost

whatever you want. Scenes go up and
down, you can have black curtains, you
can close them if you want and do black
box theatre shows."

Federica Rocchi

The technical infrastructure, which

is on the same level above the whole
interior, allows for a great variability of
space configuration. Lights can be hung
anywhere, the space can be divided.
The stage can be in the centre, with the
audience pit around it, or the other way
round. The stage can be on an elevated
podium with the crowd in front of it, or
vice versa.

40 41
 Village Underground, London

19 spaces with potential

Every day we walk past perfect spaces for a cultural
centre that we can't see. When somebody shows us how
it can be done, it suddenly becomes so obvious.

Everything is most intense and most

expensive in the centre of the city.
There's the biggest supply and the
biggest demand, the most expensive
land and most expensive rent. Village
Underground hit the jackpot with its
location — central London — thanks to
the ability of Auro Foxcroft to see the
potential of creating a feasible space
where no one else could see it before.

After dismantling the bridging of

a viaduct across East London there
were a few sections of big pillars (15×20
metres), which offered a levelled
area three floors above ground. Tube
carriages and shipping containers
were placed on the pillars, forming the
working space of Village Underground.

42 43
 Suvilahti, Helsinki

20 gas holder
A grand space has closed one chapter of its existence; its
future has not been decided yet. It is already clear that
whatever will be created in it will be extraordinary.

Two huge, industrial gas tanks are

emptied, cleaned and adjusted to the
technical conditions that were possible,
but it is still unclear what their new
purpose will be.

The space inside is crudely beautiful,

similar to all big spaces constructed for
technical purposes, where no attention
was paid to their actual aesthetic effect.

44 45
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

21 train station
Stanica still functions as a station.

“The negotiations with Slovak National Hundreds of people pass through every
Railways to rent the building for day on the local route Žilina-Záriečie.
a symbolic price took us two years. Everyone, even those who have never
We were too young to be accepted been inside to see a performance
as partners for negotiation by the or have a coffee, feel the benefit of
company. That is why there was it being a cultural centre. It is clean
Marek Adamov's father to make the and safe throughout the day, and the
appointments and even accompany surrounding area is held to an above-
us to the official meetings. We started average standard.
the renovation of the whole building
with our first short-term contract that Thanks to the train live, in space is
allowed us to use just one room. It vivid also besides cultural ewents, all
was only later that we finally got the the day.
contract to use the whole building for
the next 30 years for a symbolic annual
fee. The contract included an obligation
to invest a minimum of EUR 300 000
into the renovations.”

Robo Blaško

46 47
 Village Underground, London

22 studios in wagons
In the beginning there was a personal need.
Its fulfilment brought along unplanned fulfilment of the
same need for a broad group of other people.

“Auro Foxcroft studied furniture design Together with forty other artists,
at university. When he finished it, he he used four decommissioned tube
found it hard to find a studio space carriages of the Jubilee Line and two
in central London that wouldn't cost shipping containers.
a lot of money. He was on a train to
Switzerland when he had this idea In the meantime, he doesn't need
of getting old cheap carriages and a studio anymore since he stopped
transforming them into offices. working in interior design — he has
become the director of a cultural
centre."

Amelie Snyers

48 49
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

23 beer crate venue

The theatre under the bridge with 150 seats, built
without a permit, is legally documented as an
art installation by the local authorities.

Materials:

| 3000 beer crates,

| 800 straw bales,
| 10 m3 of regular wooden boards,
| 60 sheets of chipboard,
| 120 old railway sleepers,
| two 12-metre shipping containers,
| two skips of clay loam,
| ten thousand nails,
| 1 km of screw rods,
| one thousand screws,
washers and nuts,
| fifteen-hundred wood screws,
| one skip of gravel to level the ground,
| one extension cable
for the electricity supply,
| two barrows,
| one small scaffolding,
| 100 volunteers
| 3 months
| 10 000 euros.

Already in the 1st year the money spent

on inviting performers has exceeded
the cost of the construction threefold.

50 51
 Melkweg, Amsterdam

24 growth
From a two-month event to the top of cultural
centres in Europe. Step by step, forty years.

2000
70s 80s

| In 2000 Melkweg was completely | They started building in 2005 and

| In the summer of 1970, Melkweg | In the 80s, the social atmosphere
redone. All the spaces were on the space was opened in 2009. Both
hosted a two-month event with changed. Amsterdam changed with it,
a high level and they were finally previous reconstructions cost 2.5
a varied programme on a similar and Melkweg had to change too. The
technically adjusted to what million Euros, this cost 50 million.
scale as they do now. It was dark building opened up for the light.
they'd always been used for. | It seems that this was the last
much smaller at the time. | They still didn't own the whole
| Suddenly it was possible to thing to be built in the small
| After the intensive event they closed building, so when the remaining
organise bigger events, invite area. Everything is working.
for a week, and when they re-opened, part of it became available in 1986,
more well-known artists.
the whole building was dedicated they took the chance to annex it
| Cor Schlosser thought — “that's it, Notes on lecture by Cor Schlosser
to a four-week performance about under their administration.
the building is finished, I can go and
death. It wasn't about changing
do something else.” That's when he
the building then; they only made 90s
saw the plan of a resident theatre
the inevitable renovations.
company from the city theatre
| They received money from the city | In 1995 they built a hall with a capacity
(their neighbours), who did not want
to do construction, at least to make for 1000 people and widened the
to perform in the old city theatre
it conform to the safety regulations. entrance. Everything doubled: the
anymore. They needed a new space,
| After the following summer, they number of performances, audience,
one that wouldn't limit them,
closed the building for a whole year. staff, profit. It was a great success.
as the old one in the historical
| However, new spaces caused people to
building did. He asked an architect,
| In 1972 they got the perceive the building as divided into
who was managing the previous
building on leasehold. two parts: new (hall, entrance) and old,
reconstruction of Melkweg, whether it
| They started reconstructing it, which was considerably less developed.
would be possible to create the space
which they continued for the next
somewhere between the buildings of
25 years. It was do-it-yourself at
Melkweg and the old city theatre.
the beginning, everyone did what
| The architect designed a box,
they could. They interrupted the
to float above Melkweg.
programme for 10 days to focus fully
on construction and improvements.

52 53
 Melkweg, Amsterdam

24

54 55
 Interzona, Verona

25 re-location
Relationship to the place where we work is
important. The team is even more important.

„The whole area was built in the 20s,

during the Fascist era, under Mussolini.
It was a place for stocking goods, fresh
and frozen food. The building we are in
used to be a warehouse. We used to be
in a slice of this place, because it was
really huge and it's like a labyrinth. We
just took one part.“

A few years later the conditions

changed with the owner planning to
refurbish the building for a different
purpose. Interzona had to move to
a different building in the area. We are climbing over the barriers and visiting the original venue, now an empty building.

„At the beginning it was very difficult

to leave this place and go there. As you
can see, this was very peculiar, while
the other one is a rectangle, completely
empty, and we felt like we didn't belong
there. But then we started to like it and
then to love it. In a way we can say that
we understood the importance of being
a strong group. And the place doesn't
count anymore.“

Ada Arduini

56 57
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

26 mistakes
| Build the biggest cultural centre. Living Underground workshop 2012
| Artists are the best accountants. participants
| Don't get involved with
the community.
| Don't make a storage space.
| Keep secrets from each other.
| Don't inform people; surprise them.
| Ask sponsors for money and
don't contact them ever again.
| Buy the smallest, cheapest
and oldest car.
| Ignore the town planners
and architects.
| Finish your space at the beginning,
so you don't have to improve it later.
| Follow the rules and
strictly obey the law.
| The profit from a bar or
a shop? You don't need it.
| Trust everything that's said,
don't put it on paper.
| Do several projects at the same time.
| Focus on the aesthetic,
not on content.
| Use one space for all activities,
don't try it out before the opening.
| Don't rent equipment, buy it.
| Don't measure, just cut.
| Don't set deadlines.
| Don't worry about how the
building looks from the outside.
| Don't bother with the mess
outside, it's not yours.
| Do things conventionally
and copy others.
| Be a dictator.

58 59
 Suvilahti, Helsinki

27 when it will be ready?

When is a building finished?

“We never have opening parties.

If people ask — when it will be ready?
Never. It's not something that becomes
ready. It's something that exists and
hopefully evolves forever.”

Stuba Nikula

60 61
 Buenaventura, Castelfranco Veneto

28 think tank
It is better to consult professionals with certain issues.
In 2005, Buenaventura was at the point of changing completely.
It was supposed to leave the old building for the new one
and redefine itself. The 59th Trans Europe Halles meeting
offered it the best possible people to help out with the decision
making — representatives of all other member centres.

1. 2.
| Residential accommodation: 10 places 3.
“The Oficina di Buenaventura Cultural "The meeting drew from the extensive for permanent resident BV staff
Centre is located in northern Italy, knowledge and experience of its | Private kitchen for per- “Whatever you decide for the future
40 km from Venice. Castelfranco Veneto members who were able to share stories manent residents. of Buenaventura, it is your decision.
is a small, prosperous town with 30,000 of the start of their projects. | 10 places for short-term art- What we advised are just our views and
residents. ists and guests. thoughts. My only advice (to misquote
Buenaventura should use existing | A Conference Hall for up to 100 seated. the father of Socialism) is that
We have: buildings. They should start with | A catering kitchen able to ‘philosophers and politicians spend
a small house with space around it and serve up to 100 people. most of their time talking and arguing
| A concert venue for 100 people develop slowly. | Offices with 20 work stations about what is wrong with the world —
| A bar | Technical storage (Minimum of 2) when what is important is to change it.”
| An apartment with rooms They should have: | Independent premises for
for five volunteers children's activities. Paul Bogen
| An Internet room with 12 PCs | A theatre with a seating capacity of 200 | Green space outside.
| A conference venue used also and good flexibility with the ability | Parking for cars and bicycles." 4.
for courses (tango, theatre, to become a flat floor throughout.
photography, video, etc…) | 2 Dressing Rooms TEH meeting report The old centre closed down. The new
| A kitchen for 40 people | A music venue for 300 standing one was never built and the group fell
| A darkroom.” people which may also be used apart. We can't be sure whether one day
for music rehearsals. Buenaventura won't be renewed or have
Buenaventura staff | A bar/café should be the hub of the a follow-up centre.
centre, serving all the spaces and able
to open to the outside in the summer.
| 4 workshops (e.g. photographers,
painters, artists, sculptors, etc.)

62 63
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

29 flux
Since 2003 the train station has been rebuilt many times.
It is already clear that the current state is not final.

64 65
 30 venues

Melkweg, Amsterdam

Interzona, Verona
66 67
 Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius Stanica Žilina-Záriečie, Žilina
Melkweg, Amsterdam

Noass, Riga Verkatehdas, Hämeenlinna

68 69
 Pekarna magdalenske mreže, Maribor Village underground, London
Melkweg, Amsterdam

Melkweg, Amsterdam Łaznia Nowa, Kraków

70 71
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

31 questions
to ask yourself
In the history of Stanica, there have 2004
been two meetings where together
they revised the positions of everyone | 8 x job descriptions
who works here and everything that | activities
represents Stanica — the activities | target groups
they are doing, the distribution | volunteers
of responsibilities, the mission, the | internal communication
vision and the future plans.. | mission
| reconstruction of the building
Most of the people are not the same; the | responsibilities
team has grown. Stanica has become | traffic management
a well-established institution which | where does Stanica see
deals with a different set of problems itself in 5 years?
and thus, the structure of its planning | to-do list
has changed.
2012

| 14 × job descriptions

| what don't we want at Stanica?
| what characterises us?
| what do we want to change?
| who doesn't want to do what?
| who has the main
responsibility for what?
| mission
| what are we successful at?
| what's our motivation?
| what are we not doing and should be?
| new system of bar management
| new system of meetings
| our history
| solutions for the space crisis
| organisation structure

72 73
 Antic Teatre, Barcelona

32 advice on renovation
My advice: To all of you who want to make changes
“In 2005 we managed to avoid being The basic renovation project comes
and are responsible for a cultural
closed down for not fulfilling certain to 950,000€. This includes work to
As the person responsible for the Antic centre, that is, who sign, pay and
health and safety regulations. This guarantee load-bearing standards in
Teatre I found myself in a very difficult have maximum responsibility for
marked the beginning of our project the performance hall, new toilets,
position, with absolutely no experience everything, You really must read the
to completely renovate a culturally, improving and extending the
in building renovation (much less for whole project through in depth. Even
historically and architecturally performance hall, a new terrace, all the
listed buildings!), with no knowledge if you aren't an architect and can't
significant building and put it to public new installations and restoration of the
of architectural blueprints, renovation understand it because it's not your
use as a theatre. façades. Our contract, signed in 2007,
projects, or official regulations. specialisation, you must do this. If you
gives us 20 years to complete these jobs.
read it over and over you will begin
Antic Teatre's renovation is important
to understand. You need to find an
for the following reasons: List of the completed renovations:
expert and technical manager of the
| Neighbourhood renewal: in this
project. Someone who is familiar with
neighbourhood, currently undergoing | 1. Structural reinforcement of the
all applicable regulations for work
transformation in the very heart floor in terrace, hall and bar.
according to law, to obtain all permits,
of the city's old town, many of the | 2. Blocking the windows in the perfor-
and in our case, the final or initial
buildings do not comply with current mance hall, soundproofing the hall
license favorable for control of the
regulations and are in bad condition. and reinforcing it with iron beams.
environment.”
Improving the environment gives the | 3. Construction of a cabin
neighbourhood new life, in addition for technicians.
Semolinika Tomic
to the residents themselves and | 4. Building a moving grid for
people who are passing through. lighting and other props.
| Performance arts: Barcelona has | 5. Reconstructing the whole
many theatres, but young and terrace and access steps.
experimental companies find | 6. Building male, female and
it hard to gain a foothold in the handicap-accessible toilets.
market. With affordable ticket | 7. Creating secondary access
prices and a welcoming policy, for the disabled, which doubles
Antic Teatre opens the doors to as an emergency exit.
innovation and new audiences. | 8. Fitting of a lift for access.
Social centre: in its original | 9. New electricity and
incarnation as the Circulo plumbing systems.
Barcelonés, the centre provided | 10. Installation of several fire doors.
cultural activies for poorer local | 11. Fireproofing.
people. Antic Teatre continues along | 12. Installation of smoke detectors
these lines, as a meeting place for and a hose connection point
people from the neighborhood. for firemen in case of a fire.
| 13. Installation of an air conditioning
system in the theatre, bar and foyer.

74 75
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

33 non-financial support
of renovation
“The hardest is to find money for
building (e.g., electricity) and the
easiest is for the programme. For the
building we use part of the money
from the bar and donations. For
reconstruction, you actually don't
need money — you need material
and people. It is easier to search for
volunteers or for companies that can
donate material than to ask for money.

More than half our reconstruction was

done that way.”

Marek Adamov

76 77
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

34 communication
of an architectural vision
The workshop, which dealt with the architectural vision of
the development of Stanica for the next 10 years, was unique
not only due to its content, but also because its results were
coherently formulated and presented to the public.

Reconstruction of the original building

of the station has not even been
finished yet and it's already necessary
to think about what to do once
it's complete. What are the boundaries
of Stanica? How much can it grow?
The goal of the Living Underground
workshop is a manual for use of the
area demarcated by the Rondel plan,
most of which is taken by a road,
railway track and parking lot.

All the outputs were published at the

end of the workshop in a detailed
brochure; a 6×6 metre model was
created on the platform. There it was
visible for people who don't come to the
performances and only use the station
to get on and off the train.

“A 3D model outside S1 was a must.

Most importantly, we had to let people
know what we are thinking about.
Here's the station, here's the rondel, the
structure will be here.”

Marek Adamov

78 79
 Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius

35 cover first
How to begin reconstruction? If a building is not going to fall
and it doesn't need a structural overhaul, it is necessary to
enclose its exterior, which protects it from atmospheric exposure.
The roof and façade are acceptable, but we need to close the
openings of the buildings. Then we can work inside year-round.

There will be a hostel, a café and

a cinema. One of the first steps in
any reconstruction is new windows.
The building is now under lockdown
— nobody unauthorized can enter,
it won't rain or snow inside. Order
outside, chaos inside.

80 81
 Mains d’Oeuvres, Paris

36 venue reduction
A big space can always be made smaller.

The hall, which originally served as Temporary solution Permanent solution

a gym, turned out to be too big to be
operated economically during the The hall will be prepared for winter A permanent solution will be to build
heating season; too many square mode every year. Simple scaffolding a permanent object — a box, whose
metres, even more volume. will be built, fixed on the bearing roof walls and ceiling will be offset from
construction, appropriate space will the external walls and ceiling of the
be delineated with textiles to offer building.
all necessary comforts, and it will be
easier to heat. Since a lot of buildings are being
demolished nearby, they can use
windows from them for free, or for the
cost of transportation and labor. This
is where the biggest challenge lies — to
coordinate the logistics of removing
windows from a building in the time
between the end of its operation and
the demolition.

The result is:

| Low budget
| Recycling
| Experimentation
| Socializing
| Advertising

82 83
 Röda Sten konsthall, Göteborg

37 temporary partitions
A big space offers more options than a small one.
You can't turn small rooms into a big one, but a big
room can easily be divided into smaller ones.

84 85
 Teatr Łaźnia Nowa

38 separating public
from staff
A lot of operational problems can be avoided by separating
the space for visitors and staff. It seems obvious — if only this
rule wasn't breached with almost every centre's conversion.

Teatr Łaźnia Nowa has the advantage

of being a building that easily enables
such separation.

Venues are in the center section.

The left section (by the garden) and

the front section (by the street) are
designated for the public. This way you
enter the venues and the bar.

The right section (facing the

neighbouring building) and rear section
(facing the stadium) are designated for
staff and performers.

86 87
 Antic Teatre, Barcelona

39 narrow venue
In a small, narrow venue, the capacity of the standing audience
can be low due to the inefficient arrangement of access corridors.
By reducing their number you can achieve a better balance.

“Antic Teatre's theatre hall measures Seating for an audience is designed in

22 m deep, 5.2 m wide and 4.4 m high. modules and specifically for a small
We can fit around 80 seats. space, where each centimetre counts.
The whole floor consists of moving
As our venue is multifunctional, we platforms, each measuring 90 cm in
want seats that can be put up and taken width. These platforms can be raised
down very quickly without need for or lowered along rails fixed to the walls
technical experts. The most important on either side. At first, we thought the
aspect for us was how to resolve the platforms could be raised and lowered
problem of audience access, how they on pulleys, but the final decision is
enter the hall and how they get to the to have a small motor attached to the
seating. We didn't want two aisles, one ceiling.
to come in and one to go up to the
seats. The audience enter the hall and
immediately on their right is
a stairway. Once they climb the stairs,
there is only one corridor where they
can enter the rows and sit on specially
designed cushions.”

Semolinika Tomic

88 89
 Röda Sten konsthall, Göteborg

40 industrial gallery
An exhibited object stands out more in a neutral environment. In a
space with strong character, the two are always in a dialogue with
one another. What has more value? The building or the exhibition?

“In Cathedral, we want to leave it the

way it is. We don't paint the walls —
that's part of the charm of the building,
to keep the industrial feel of it. It is
really appreciated, because more and
more galleries are white cubes. To come
in here and feel the concrete from the
industrial era is very nice. It's also
a challenge for the artist to make
exhibitions here.”

Mia Christersdotter Norman

90 91
 Manifatture Knos, Lecce

41 grid
Huge rectangular fields of poles are the only size
limitation for the programme in this hall.

92 93
 Manifatture Knos, Lecce

42 mobile furniture
The space is vast, the floor is even.
Tables, stage, dividing walls and other
furniture are constructed to be easily
moveable by a single person.

94 95
 WUK, Wien

43 instant blackbox
theatre
The theatre hall is a neutral space with blacked-out walls
and ceiling, so that full attention is paid to the spotlight,
where the performance takes place. That's enough.

On the ceiling there is a grid for the

lights and sound equipment. Walls are
covered by another black curtain.

These adjustments can be removed

anytime, and the listed building is
preserved.

96 97
 Not Quite, Fengersfors

44 flat floor
Some holes are better filled than covered.

In the past, this was the seat of some

big machine. A machine so big and
complex that the space around it was
tailored to place the controllers and
material input and output points on
a level where the workers could reach
them. After removing the machine,
the floor was left uneven with variable
depth.

Today the floor is even, filled with

compressed gravel. A quick, cheap and
temporarily sufficient solution. The
gravel can be taken away at any time,
still fully recyclable.

98 99
 Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius

45 telescopic seating
A venue that can offer facilities for theatre, projections,
dance, concerts where people are seated, concerts where
people are jumping, company parties, congresses, filming
— that is a profitable venue. To enable such a variety of
programmes, technical equipment needs to be adjusted.

The theatre seating is divided into

segments which can be mechanically
pushed into a panel by the wall. The
most time-consuming thing is to turn
each seat individually to a horizontal
position. Then it's enough to push
a button and, in seven minutes, the
seating is gone.

100 101
 Not Quite, Fengersfors

46 heat
For centres located further north,
the question of heating is crucial.

The old factory offers vast spaces, but

unfortunately their technical standard
corresponds to its age and previous
function. Not Quite cannot currently
afford to insulate the building or install
a heating system that would allow them
to use the whole building.

Although NQ has 45 members, they

are only using part of the building.
Many of the spaces remain empty. They
presumed that people would want to
rent them as studios. And they did,
but only in summer. In winter, it is
impossible to heat such vast spaces
economically.

Lowering standards for work space

has proven to be an effective solution.
Tenants are grouped into smaller
spaces. Shared space, shared heating
costs.

102 103
 Creative Centre Carnation, Tartu

47 historical layers
Every layer of a building carries its history. Even those
which weren't visible during its previous life… these walls,
ceilings, door handles, water pipes and lightning rods
are witnesses of faded fame. The extent to which they can
be exposed is determined by the ability to defend it.

“Pay attention to the floor: This

concrete thing is for a binding
machine, then the rest of the floor was
covered with 6-7 millimetre-thick metal
sheets. Underneath these metal plates
the floor was damaged.

This one has been impregnated with

glue to make it stronger, then polished
with a machine. It was a hell of a job,
because it was so broken. They spent
an enormous amount of time trying
to polish this floor. It would be much
easier just to cover the whole floor with
MDF boards and paint it with some
thick paint and say that's it.

This solution preserves the history of

the building, not just these very old
floorboards. The ugliness of it is also im-
portant, because this is where they used
to work with big machines and they
destroyed the floor doing it. If we came
here and changed it all and made it pret-
ty, that would be wrong. We would lose
that part of history. It isn't aesthetically
pleasing, but it's historically honest.”

Lemmit Kaplinski

104 105
 Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki

48 fake relic
Every piece of exhibited technical equipment, which
seems to be older than 20 years is automatically
considered to be an authentic relic.

"Since we don't have any of the old

cable machines left in the building —
they were all sold or moved or trashed
— people always ask me: where are all
the cable machines? We don't have any.
But when the last two elevators were
renovated, we took these parts. This
is an old elevator engine, and I think
90% of people passing by think — okay,
that's the cable machine!"

Stuba Nikula

106 107
 DOM, Bologna

49 renovation follows
competition
The local authority put out a tender to choose a company
to run the place. The winning party would get the opportunity
to make suggestions for the renovation of the building.

“This building was used for shows,

meetings, assemblies, things like that.
Around the 90s, it was closed because
they discovered that the roof was full
of asbestos. It took about 20 years to
renovate, to work on the whole thing to
use it again. When the local authority
finally had it ready to use again, they
put out a public tender to find an
association or some private company
that could do all the organisation.
We participated in the tender and we
won.

The local authority had a smart idea

for keeping a small budget for the
furnishings. They did the public tender
and had this small budget for all the
furnishing after they knew what kind
of association had won. Of course, it
would be quite different if there was
a music hall association that focused
mainly on music. Since we have
a theatre company and we mainly focus
on theatre, we asked for a stage.”

Federica Rocchi

108 109
 Pekarna magdalenske mreže, Maribor

50 renovation committee
“We made a committee which served as
a professional advisor in the renovation
process about the activities happening
in Pekarna. We did research in the city
— what would be the main activities
that needed a place somewhere,
activities that did not exist yet. We
put these layers together and this
was the starting point, which was
a reference for the architects. We made
a summary of what is happening, why
it's happening that way, what to avoid
and they formed their own opinions.

It went completely wrong with the first

building.

The rest is not so bad. It was done by

architects from Maribor, who used to be
the audience of the events in Pekarna,
so they knew the scene, they knew what
the needs were.”

Borut Wenzel

110 111
 Fabryka Sztuki, Łódź

51 main supplier
It is exceptional if there is enough funding to have all the
construction work done by a specialist company.

"I haven't been here for three weeks The renovation was intiated thanks
and it's a huge difference. I'm amazed to funding from structural funds, in
every time I'm here. Look! There is partnership with the local authority.
a little balcony! That's new!" With this kind of grant, there has
to be a tender published and there
Agata Etmanowicz is a professional contractor for
everything. All the regulations are
followed. You can only walk on the
construction site wearing a safety
helmet and a reflective vest.

112 113
 Bakelit MAC, Budapest

52 service supply
Self-sufficiency on a professional level saves money.
But certain things are better left to a third-party.

A carpenter-locksmith with his own

workshop shows us an unfinished steel
rack for wine glasses, which will soon
be placed above the bar. They can make
nearly everything themselves — props
for performances, small craft tools.
They have their own group of workmen,
who can do the majority of the building
work.

Currently Bakelit MAC are insulating

the biggest hall, the hangar. I'm asking
Márton Bauer whether the builders
I can see on the rooftop are from the
group. His answer is no; “Insulators
are third-party workers, because they are
working eight metres above the ground. We
don't want our people to fall down.”

114 115
 Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius

53 accessibility
To enable disabled people access to any part of
the building is an expression of politeness.

Between the landing, where you step

out of the lift, and the rest of the
floor there is a one-metre difference
in height. For an able-bodied person
it's just four steps, but for a disabled
person an impassable barrier. The
problem is solved with a lift.

116 117
 Pekarna magdalenske mreže, Maribor

54 the only
reconstructed building
The complex consists of five buildings. Only one of them
has been reconstructed — in a generically representative
building standard. In the meantime, the money for
reconstruction from the EU funds disappeared.

“The hostel is a public institution.

It was expensive. This is a typical
situation. If the city renovates
buildings like this, they have different
expectations for quality. This was
in public services category, where
it's defined what kind of chair has to
be inside, what kind of furniture. The
other side is that in the end, when
somebody has to actually choose that
chair, there's always an idiot doing it.

This building is the only one that has

security cameras. You can't touch it.
Otherwise you'll probably get caught
after some time.”

Borut Wenzel

118 119
 Laznia Nowa, Kraków

55 gate
Entrance to the hall can be divided into a number of small
doors, through which we enter our sector in the audience.
Or there can be just one big gate, which we don't even perceive
as an opening in the wall, but as blending of hall and foyer.

A massive gate leads from the main hall

directly to the foyer and through the
entrance all the way to the front door.
It can disappear in a few seconds.

120 121
 Verkatehdas, Hämeenlinna

56 lobby
The space between the concert and the
congress hall, which used to be external
when the factory was functioning, is
now covered with a glass roof. Thanks
to its size it can either be a luxury lobby
or a third, full-fledged venue.

A façade of corrugated iron on one side,

a wall of bricks laid in a lattice pattern
on the other. There is a black circle set
on the concrete floor, which together
with the second circle on the facade
creates a work of art. On the windows
of the multi-story part, which connects
the halls, there is a sheet of foil with
photographs, evoking an image of the
times when the factory was fulfilling its
original function.

122 123
 Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius

57 dressing room
Perfect, but unfortunately only a temporary solution.

The whole building with its furnishings

is designed and constructed at a high
standard, with quality materials and
precise finishing.

It is almost a shame that this perfectly

ergonomic dressing room sticks out too
much and probably won't survive the
arrival of a proper one.

124 125
 A38, Budapest

58 pathways
It's not always easy to get from point A to point B.

For those who know the space it's not

a problem, but for those coming for
the first time, in the evening when
it's raining, or for those who can't see
well, it can be a problem. What can
make it worse is that besides A and B
there is also C, D and E. Therfore, it is
worth considering considering a good
navigation system — the simpler the
better.

Next to the gangplank leading to the

ship there is a glass case with the
programme for the next month. Each
event is framed in a different colour
according to where it takes place.
Green for the restaurant, yellow for the
concert hall, blue for the gallery, red
for the roof terrace. There are also lines
— trajectories — on the floor, starting
from this point and leading to each of
the facilities.

126 127
 Verkatehdas, Hämeenlinna

59 infographics
Which way to the toilet?
Where is the cloakroom?
Where does this door lead?
Which room am I in?
Where can I change my baby's diaper?
What's on the third floor?
Where does this staircase lead?

Infographics solve the problem.

128 129
130 131
 Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki

601 contact 602

for moving tenants
Given the high number of studios in Kaapelitehdas,
tenants are always moving out, moving in, or
swapping their studio with someone else.

Mailboxes space, we say ok, let's swap your spaces. Name board The graphic plate is divided into a grid
So there are tenants who have been in of smaller magnetic squares, which are
“Long-term tenants get their mail here. five different locations in the building, A big fixed sign at the entrance of the attached to a metal base. Every time
The property manager always has a list but the address remains the same. They building with the names and location someone joins, leaves or moves it is
with and somebody needs a bigger or have the same box here.” of the tenants residing in the building enough to change only one particular
a smaller space and the beauty of it is would become outdated too fast. square, and replace the old one.
that we can usually satisfy that need Stuba Nikula
within six months. Whenever somebody
is moving out or moving in and
somebody needs a bigger or smaller

132 133
 ufaFabrik, Berlin

61 photovoltaics
Implementation of photovoltaic panel in the last 20 years.

“We started in 1992. At that time we sun shines on the right frame and the
had the biggest solar roof in Berlin. left one is in the shade. The right one
500 square metres. Then some years heats up the liquid, which expands,
later we built an experimental field for goes through a small tube to the
development of new PV-Systems. other side, which is then heavier and
turns the panels to the most effective
For example, thin film layer or moving position.
systems. The problem is that when you
have a panel mounted on the roof, the We have about 750 m2 of photovoltaics
sun comes up and the panels produce panels, and in a sunny year we
little power. At 12 o'clock, the power is produce up to 50000 kwh/year —
on the top and less in the evening. So that's enough for 15 families. We
we thought about turning the panels. don't use this electricity ourselves,
because we can sell it to the market
We found a system with a programmed for a good price, and take it back much
computer, so that the panels know cheaper. That's economical. The initial
where the sun is and a motor on axis investment is paid and with the income
moves accordingly. But computers and we can finance new research and
motors need energy and you have to development.”
pay for them, so the benefit is smaller.
Werner Wiartalla
We'll leave out the computer. How to
turn the motor? There are two small
solar panels on the left and right sides
90 degrees to the big solar panels, so
when the sun comes up on one side
of the small panel, the motor turns
it to the right position without the
computer.

But we still have a motor. So we'll

throw the motor away. How to turn it?
There is a frame around the modules.
There's liquid in the frame. On the right
and left sides there is a metal plate. The

134 135
 Röda Sten Konsthall, Göteborg Creative Center Carnation, Tartu

621 fire exit 622

Technical regulations of every country prescribe
the requirements for the capacity of fire exits from indoors
in case of fire. If the capacity is not sufficient:
| a — they reduce the maximum capacity of
places of assembly to a safe level
| b — they insist on the construction of new routes.

“There is big trouble because of the

capacity of the big hall. The width of
the staircase is 10 centimetres too
narrow, so two people cannot pass at
one time, which reduces the capacity
to 250 people, which is an economic
problem. People are ringing, calling,
emailing every week, they want to rent
the place and that could be a really
good financial source for us.

But since it's expensive to do something

in the hall, you also need to have Roof fire-exit from hostel
a certain amount of people and you
can not have that. The stairs limit the
capacity because of fire exits.”

Mia Christersdotter Norman

136 137
 Tabačka Kulturfabrik, Košice

63 ventilation
If it's hot and not possible to cool the
air, let it move, at least.

138 139
 Korjaamo, Helsinki

64 green wall
In the centre of the building, where
daylight cannot reach, there's a green
wall by the tables.

Above are lights substituting the sun.

There's plant substrate in felt bags.
Below is a wide container to collect
water.

140 141
 Not Quite, Fengersfors

65 association
Situation | Karl just applied for Today
membership, paid his fees.
| There is a forest. | After a couple of years the original | some of the parts of the
| There are no highways. owners were burnt out, they had been factory are still unused
| The factory was built in 1795 for working so much that they were not | Not Quite is open all year round,
iron making, in the 19th century interested in collaborating anymore. Monday to Friday, 12 to 6 PM.
it was converted to a paper mill. | Things to watch out for: | there are not so many customers
| There was nothing here before the 1. don't work too much during winter time, but it's still very
factory, the village was built around it. 2. take care of accounting. important to have the feeling that
it is open when you come to us.
School Take-over
notes on Karl Hallsberg lecture
| Stenebyskolan was founded in | They opened up the association,
1934. There are craft and design had a discussion, everybody in
programmes at both bachelor the rental group could become
and masters levels, specializing an owner for a small fee. So
in wood-based furniture design, there are now 45 co-owners.
iron and steel / public space
and textile-garment-design. Village

Arrival | People in the village have a strong

relationship to the building.
| 10 years ago graduates were looking | Most of them think it's really
for a place to continue their work good what we are doing here.
| Demands: cheap, workshops | They rent our part from
where they can live and create. a private owner who inherited
| Reason: the advantages it from her grandfather.
of cooperative work. | We have a good relationship, but
| There were 10 people starting up. sometimes it is quite complicated.
| At first, everybody took a bank
loan of 2000 € to have the
security to receive other funds.
| There was help from the
unemployment office of Sweden.
| After a while they had a structure
that was working and other people
wanted to rent a space here.

142 143
 Centre for Creative Industries Fabrika, Moscow

66 industrial and cultural

production
To make a cultural centre from a functioning factory
and still maintain its production is great.

“In November 2003 this factory I decided to use those spaces for
produced technical papers. Actually, cultural events containing material we
the factory was not in the best could produce in the factory. The first
condition when I became the head of thing we opened was our exhibition hall
it; there were problems with workers in 2005. Since then, we have started to
as we didn't have enough money to develop this process and now we have
pay salaries to them, nor did we have three exhibition halls, a theatre venue,
enough customers to buy our paper. and a co-working area for the artist-in-
I came to the conclusion that we had residence programme, and lots and lots
to revise our activities and maybe of studios and offices for companies
downsize the production of paper. that work in the creative industries.
I started the process of transformation
by getting rid of some of the It was not any kind of switch. It was just
equipment, and after that I discovered this situation when all of my personal
that I had quite a lot of spare space that interests were in the field of culture
we hadn't used for production. and art.”

Asya Filippova

144 145
 Creative Centre Carnation, Tartu

67 living museum
The best way to present the past life of a building is to keep it alive.

We're entering the printing room.

At first sight it looks like another
museum, after a while I notice that
the ink on some of the machines has
not dried yet. A few girls are running
from one machine to another; there
is a confusion of buttons and levers, but
they know exactly which ones to pull.
The machines are clean, well-kept, and
their work continues regardless of our
presence.

146 147
 Pekarna magdalenske mreže, Maribor

68 tough times
"When I became the first director of the toilets. This created a very strong
Pekarna magdalenske mreže — the reputation, which has lasted until
institution, the first year I was only today. It's a stigma for the place.
dealing with getting drug users out of We had some security in the bars,
the complex. I had to ask the police because it was really tough. On Fridays,
twice for my personal security, because people I knew entered inside the bar,
they were really hunting me. I had zero I asked them and they gave me their
tolerance for dealing. gun. I put it behind and they got it
back when they were leaving the place.
The park has been a dark place since Fights were very normal. And blood
the beginning. In the '90s, there was and police. And ambulances and so on.
an underground crime ring, lots of It was a really tough time.
drugs and one person died in one of

Until you have a place so safe that children could come in

the morning, you can't really work in a normal way."

Borut Wenzel

148 149
 Nová Synagóga, Žilina

69 partial-opening
Since there's no end in sight to the reconstruction of the
synagogue into a kunsthalle, the exhibition programme is already
working, through the means of “partial-openings”. Construction
work is interrupted for a couple of days, any dangerous areas are
denoted with warning tape and the space is used for a while.

Nobody minds that it's not possible to

go everywhere and that there are few
toilets. With every partial-opening, the
building site turns more into a cultural
site — a synagogue and a kunsthalle.
The experience from the exhibition
is all the stronger due to the state of
the building existing only in that very
moment. Next time it will be different.

150 151
 Korjaamo, Helsinki

70 boxes in open space

For some parts of the programme, segmented
spaces on a smaller scale are appropriate.

Korjaamo occupies two halls.

On the left there is the smaller of the

two, with a bar on two floors, offices,
a bookshop, reception, exhibition
spaces and conference rooms. Besides
the hall, these are the spaces for which
the original empty hall was too big.

The space is partitioned by inserted

cubicles. They are divided into two
levels which makes it more structured.
The programme is distributed into the
cubicles and the spaces between them.
Each cubicle has one function. Each
one is different, tailor-made for its
content. Some have glass walls, some
are dark. Some are permanently open,
some are locked.

152 153
 Korjaamo, Helsinki

71 museum, venue,
restaurant
For some of the programme,
big spaces can be made even bigger.

Korjaamo occupies two halls.

On the right side there is a lobby and

a big space divided into three parts
by heavy curtains. In the central part
is a hallway, and there is a restaurant
adjacent to the courtyard and a tram
museum to the street.

The curtains that divide them can

be opened, which turns the multiple
spaces into a single one.

154 155
 Manifatture Knos, Lecce

72 tools
Tools and machines were left behind.
They were free and in good condition.

“We collected everything that was I use them for lighting design and
inside, it was a school for metal other things I build. When we make
mechanics, electricians. Most of the expositions inside we change the
things here are instruments from the space all the time, so we use all these...
school and we use them to build the For example, this was an oven, an
scenography or other things for the industrial one. We use it to melt these
space. plastic tops for lights.”

Maurizio Buttazzo

156 157
 Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki

73 crane
Not all machines in abandoned factories are
unusable just because they're old.

“The crane is used for almost every

event. It functions and it's inspected
regularly. You can rig a hundred tons
from that roof. There are three or four
rigging points on each of the columns.
Once, there was an annual party of
a newspaper and there was a car,
hanging from that. And at one point in
the show, they drove the car through
the air!”

Stuba Nikula

158 159
 WUK, Wien

74 workshops
The workshops are fully equipped and accessible for
everyone who can demonstrate that they won't hurt
themselves while working with machinery.

“The idea was to bring together

cultural people, but also people who
do workshop-things like carpentry.
Different interests were already there
in this group of people who were keen
to save the building.

If you are interested in doing

something, you just go to one of the
meetings where all the people meet and
then you go and ask if it is possible to
join in.

If you want to work you just have to

prove that you are able to use the
machines.”

general commentary during excursion

160 161
 ufaFabrik, Berlin Not Quite, Fengersfors

751 bakery 752

Running an organic bakery in line with the ideals of independent
culture is not for profit, just like culture. With high quality, local
ingredients and handmade products it is not possible to make a big
profit. This is equally true in Berlin or the Swedish countryside.

“I had this as a dream for a long I had a cafe and an organic garden in
“We had this brilliant idea to build
time and it was perfect. It's a good Gothenburg. When I had a child,
an organic bakery, generate income
complement for arts and crafts here. I moved back to my home. Then I found
and then spend the surplus on culture
All the bread we are baking is organic this. It was a good way of moving back.
and arts. Don't ever try this, it will not
and made from locally produced flour. This is a good atmosphere to be in,
work! We are happy when the bakery
that's why I chose to come here.
is not in the red numbers at the end of
This is our first year. In Sweden it's very
the year.
expensive to have a small company Many people in Sweden say there are
producing this type of bread. But no jobs in the countryside. If you have
Still the bread is delicious. But it is hard
it's not our aim to earn a lot of money. an idea, if you have courage, if you
to make money with such high quality.
We like to have a good life and also do have a lot of energy, positive thinking
It's all handmade, no automated
something we believe in and something and stuff like that, it can work. I hope
machines, and the materials have
that feels good from your heart, with to inspire people, show them that it is
their price.”
good people. That is the main vision for possible.”
me and for all of us working here.
Sigrid Niemer
I'm very happy it's working. When Sandra Ottoson
I started here, I was a bit afraid.
My God, I'll go bankrupt, it will not
work economically! But it has worked
out, better than we thought, actually.
There are 400 inhabitants here and
we can work all year. We're the only
bakery with this type of bread in all
of Dalsland. The closest bakery of
this kind is 200km from here. We're
quite unique.

162 163
 WUK, Wien

76 iranian resistence
library
Thousands of kilometers from Iran, an intellectual
resistance platform with no opportunity to present
itself at home has found its place.

Since the beginning of WUK, the upper

floor has hosted one of the biggest
Iranian libraries in central Europe.

After the change of regime, there

was very strong censorship in Iran.
Literature from Iranian emigrants and
the underground accumulates here.
The collection contains 5000 books;
most of them are political texts about
the situation in Iran. People from
Slovakia, Germany or Italy come here
because they know that they will find
books that aren't anywhere else.

164 165
 Pekarna magdalenske mreže, Maribor

77 bookshop
One of the spaces in Pekarna is
a bookshop — a place where books go
when they are replaced by new ones
in a library or when a whole library
closes down.

“We have only received donated books

and sell them. Prices are 1-2-3 euros for
a book. 700 000 books!”

Bukvarna Ciproš vendor

166 167
 Manifatture Knos, Lecce

78 Bicycle workshop
“It's very simple. You just need a space, a couple of old broken
bicycles, some tools, one or two volunteers and it's done.

This is a place where you can learn

how to repair a bicycle yourself.
Everything is self-managed. You can
not come here with your bicycle and
ask someone to repair it, but you can
learn how to repair it yourself. There
are some volunteers that help people do
it. It's also a place where you can leave
a bicycle if you have one that you no
longer use. It either goes to a storage
space or you can build a strange bicycle,
if you want.”

Andrea Alba

168 169
 OZU, Monteleone Sabino

79 kitchen
Sometimes it is not a stage, but another room
which is the most important space.

There are studios, offices and

a residential floor, but the kitchen is
the place where everyone meets up in
Ozu. Sometimes they hold workshops,
courses or tastings here.

It is huge, with bookshelves, wine and

ingredients. Bundles of herbs and
chillies hang from the walls, barrels
with homemade olive oil sit on the
bottom shelves.

The range and the countertop stand

independently, next to the dining table.
They are the focal points as people
stand around them: one's cutting,
another one is stirring, the third one is
washing and grating, the fourth one is
baking, the fifth, sixth and seventh are
giving advice. The range is the stage,
the dining table is the audience.

170 171
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

80 noise
Events sometimes produce noise and that affects the neighbours.
When it's not technically possible to keep the level down, it
is necessary to try to come to an agreement with them.

“Dear neighbours of Stanica Žilina- Please don't call the police immediately.
Záriečie, dear friends, For the rest of the six or seven
weekends you can enjoy the silence. We
Summer has arrived and with it will do our best to keep the music down
the open-air cultural events. They as much as possible and not to exceed
are linked to good feelings and the allowed limit. After the experience
entertainment, although sometimes, from previous years, we decided to
also to noise at night, which is difficult write to you in advance and try to come
to avoid. to an agreement...it is not pleasant
to experience a visit from the police
That is why we are writing to you. We during the climax of a festival.
would like to ask for your patience for
two weekends — only two weekends Or let's do it the other way round —
in the whole summer, when Stanica come and join us. The programme
Žilina-Záriečie will be hosting summer is attached to this letter which
festivals. includes a free ticket for one of the
performances."
Both include evening concerts and
DJs playing in the garden. We're not letter to neighbours of Stanica
planning to make a lot of noise, but the
sound might exceed the allowed limit.

172 173
 Röda Sten konsthall, Göteborg

81 light
In order to feel safe we need to have control over
the surroundings, to see what's going on around
us and be seen by others at the same time.

“It's very dark here. We made windows

for the restaurant, that was two years
ago. The building is like a square
plan, it's very deep and many people
get scared — they are afraid to come,
they don't know what it is, they don't
understand.”

Mia Christersdotter Norman

174 175
 82 bars

Antic Teatre, Barcelona

Interzona, Verona Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki

176 177
 Melkweg, Amsterdam DOM, Bologna

Village Underground, London Bakelit Multi Art Centre, Budapest

178 179
 Manifatture Knos, Lecce Korjaamo, Helsinki

Melkweg, Amsterdam Łaznia nowa, Kraków

180 181
 Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki

83 renting empty space

If the marketplace with spaces for rent for social events is big
enough, it is possible to offer a space which is specific due
to its shape and the fact that it is rented without any other
services. Inappropriate for some events, ideal for other.

"When the building was abandoned,

nobody had any use for a space like this
— it's too big, too narrow, too long, too
everything. This year we are going to
rent it out for maybe 170 days.

Everything from small fairs, concerts,

art exhibitions, even corporate
events. We rent it out as an empty
space, without any equipment, gear,
technicians. You can bring in your own
bar, your own crew, your own anything.

In the beginning, the company didn't

have any equipment; we had to
rent it out like this or not at all. But
surprisingly, there was a need for
a space like that.

The events have a much stronger

identity, especially due to the changing
staff. We have Helsinki design week,
we have a rock concert and then we
have a pet show. Show me a crew that
could take all these different audiences
and relate to them. Since the producer
is bringing his own crew and bar, the
selection is best for that and it doesn't
feel like a congress centre.”

Stuba Nikula

182 183
 Interzona, Verona

84 paid by dinner
The only paid personnel are the custodians and one sound
technician. Everyone else is doing it because they believe
in it. And for a special dinner, which always takes place
before a performance in the company of artists.

“This kitchen is the liveliest area of

Interzona — this is where we meet.
What makes Interzona special for us
is that we have a huge dinner each
night when we have a concert here all
together — us (staff ), the volunteers
and the artists. Normally we have
a cook who cooks for everybody. He
is very good. We have a very big meal,
very tasty. We drink a lot, so this way we
can start the evening in a proper way.”

Ada Arduini

184 185
 Metelkova, Ljubljana

85 carpenters' guild
Projects which are interesting, daring and progressive enough, or
have a big social impact, can attract volunteers and professionals
who are then willing to work for free, pro bono publico.

Carpenters from the German guild

Axt und Kelle have to travel to work
outside of their homes for two years
as a preparation to enter the guild. To
a large extent, they work on pro-social
and non-profit projects.

“They did a lot. The first action was in

2000, but later they came again. Then
we extended the balcony. In the first
year there were 30 of them, and our
people also helped a lot. A lot of people
were involved.

Later, I think it was 2005, there was

another action, and then there were
only 10, I guess.

This was called Sommertreffen, as

they call it, summer camp. This is
a common action of Axt und Kelle.
At the winter meeting they decide
where to go and which place is worth
their time, energy, and strength to
help. That winter our friend from here
presented our plans at their winter
meeting. They had some other offers
as well, but they decided to come to
Metelkova.”

Nataša Serec

186 187
 NOASS, Riga

86 anniversary party pays

construction
“One of our friends from a building
company was celebrating his 15th
anniversary and we were celebrating
our ten-year anniversary the same
year. They said ok, we will do the
construction for your boat if you allow
us to have the party there. They did the
construction in two weeks. I was really
surprised how fast people can work if
they decide to. They had their party
in three weeks, so they did it. They
were really interested in finishing on
time. As a building company they did it
really properly with all regulations and
proper documents.”

Dzintars Zilgalvis

188 189
 Interzona, Verona Mains d'Oeuvres, Paris

871 carpets from the fair 872

Materials with specific technical characteristics, such as
fireproofing or soundproofing, are usually not cheap. However,
you can get them from places that only use them as a one-off.

“When we came here we wanted a place

“We can't afford to buy a lot of material,
that was good for music, because
so we try to look for material that
that was our main source of income.
fits with what we need and also with
The ceiling was awful, because music
security regulations. You need to have
resonates inside. It echoed. We had to
specific fireproof material.
find a solution. We did everything by
ourselves and with very little money.
In big fairs they use a lot of material
We went to the fair building to ask for
and, because they host audiences,
the carpets.
they have to have this material. After
the end of the fair, when they are
They gave us the carpets for free
dismanteling, we go there with a big
because they were going to throw them
truck, four guys, and try to take all
away. We hanged them on the ceiling.
the things we need that people would
The acoustics are really good now and
otherwise throw away.”
the musicians are very pleased.”

Camille de Wit
Ada Arduini

190 191
 Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius

88 rain ponchos for free

Some companies give out free plastic
bags, pens, notepads or T-shirts as
merchandising. Menų spaustuvė give
out free raincoats every time it rains.
And in Lithuania it rains often.

192 193
 Manifatture Knos, Lecce

89 lending
Anything borrowed for a long time has
a tendency to change owners.

“All this equipment (bar and kitchen)

that is very expensive is public.
The local authority wanted to run
a restaurant in a castle, which was
renovated by them. They installed it,
but after a year they didn't use it. They
changed the idea for the castle.

They didn't know where to put all

these things. We were working on our
renovation, so we told them, 'OK, you
can leave them with us.' We installed
them. We just made some changes to
give them some sort of identity.”

Michele Bee

194 195
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie, Tabačka Kulturfabrik, Lúč, KC Dunaj

90 reusable cups
Four independent cultural centres in
Slovakia started to use plastic cups
that are washable and can be used
indefinitely. When buying a drink, the
customers pay a 1 € deposit that is
refunded after the cup is returned to
the bartender.

They ordered them together and saved

money: with a higher number, the price
goes down.

196 197
 Bakelitstudio, Budapest Moritzbastei, Leipzig

911 toilets 912

Must be clean.
If the typically dirtiest place is perfectly clean, the rest will follow.

“Culture itself generates loss, we “People love to leave messages on

organise weddings and company the wall. It's a problem for us to keep
events, during which the state of the the toilets clean, because as you
toilets is very important.“ know, business people like to have
clean toilets.”
Márton Bauer
Torsten Reitler

198 199
 DOM, Bologna

92 directional light
Making directional light from a spot
light by painting half the bulb.

200 201
 Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki

93 logo
An old object in a new context acquires new meaning.

“That 'Z', for Zodiak (name of our art

collective), is actually 'N' for Nokia
Kaapeli. They found it in the trash... ”

Stuba Nikula

202 203
 Not Quite, Fengersfors

94 business cards
At NQ, the business card rack is
a symbol of a work-in-progress; a place
where people are doing something.
Craftsmen/artists present themselves
with a small piece of paper. Some of
them try to squeeze a small work of art
onto it and persuade us of their talent,
others give up and just offer plain
contact information.

204 205
 Not Quite, Fengersfors

95 culture of posters
NQ posters immediately caught my
attention.

206 207
 Manifatture Knos, Lecce

96 openness
All the doors are unlocked. Even those to small rooms with no
surveillance. That creates a feeling of trust, of commitment.

“Puta, perché! I am against all this

closing of doors but niente! They want
to close everything all the time.

Antonio has his books here. This is

his little place where he stays during
the evening, waiting for the people to
finish so he waits here studying. But
the problem is that young people come
here for love. So there is a conflict.”

Michele Bee

208 209
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

97 mess
Production of "cultural smog" is big in cultural centres.

“At the beginning of the Living

Underground workshop, the air was
filled with a need to do something
significant.

Lately a lot of work has been done

building the garden. There were
problems with all sorts of things. It was
necessary to fundraise, discuss, a lot of
pressure from all sides, a lot of work.
After such an investment of time you
don't feel ok. There was no time for
some things, some things went wrong,
no energy was coming back. There was
a need to put things in order.

Workshop participants are people from

outside. They came unburdened, from
a different environment, and thanks
to that they could show us what to
put where. They created a basic order,
which has been working ever since.
They brought energy and a fresh
perspective.

From one point of view, nothing got

solved, from another, a lot did.

Things need to be in order, because

it's only when it's tidied up that you can
start actually doing something.”

Marek Adamov

210 211
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

98 access
Stanica is located behind a busy road, which separates the city
centre from the suburbs. An underpass is the only way to cross
it and it has been a long-term problem ever since the beginning.

2005 Future

Stanica raised 3300 € and all the The idea to build a bridge over the
money went for the renovation of the road and close the underpass has
underpass. 25 people took part in the lived for a short while. It is not
workshop trying to solve the problem necessary to invest in something that
— architects, graphic designers, artists, is in a way working, when there are
students. The results are unbreakable many important things which are not
lights (still on today), white paint to working at all or do not even exist yet.
optically brighten up the space, and
colour-distinguished entrances.

2012

There is a new paint shop at the exit

of the underpass. Upon their arrival,
they invest in its environment and
reputation — they donate white
paint for another renovation of the
underpass, which was graffitied in the
meantime. Volunteers paint the walls.
Everything is ok again for a while.

212 213
 Suvilahti, Helsinki

99 beauty
If a thing is simply beautiful, it doesn't require
a lot of intellectual advocacy to be accepted.

“The headline of one interview

about Suvilahti was Maria Sharapova
of cultural centres.

She's a really beautiful tennis player.

She's not the best one, but she is just so
good looking that there is a lot of press
coverage about her. And in a way many
of the Trans Europe Halles centres are
just such beautiful places that even
a bad photographer can take a good
photo of them.”

Stuba Nikula

214 215
 Teatr Łaźnia Nowa, Kraków

100 entrance
Between parking the car and entering the building, I'm already
walking through something. It doesn't take long, but it's pleasant.

The street is widened before the

entrance. It creates a dignified
entryway that gives the building not
only a certain amount of seriousness,
but also creates a pleasant place to
stay, which is already the property
of Teatr Łaźnia Nowa. More people
are entering, passing by groups of
smokers, the atmosphere is tightening,
through a row of glowing columns,
we're entering.

216 217
 Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius

101 bicycle stands

Bicycle stands, a cloakroom for coats. Basic infrastructure
for a place where people go for culture.

Beauty and simplicity harmonize with

the main entrance of the building.

218 219
 Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki

102 two façades

We leave through the other side of the
It's Saturday afternoon, we've been
building. The opposite of the sleepy
sitting by the sea in the front of
atmosphere of the seafront. People are
Kaapelitehdas for three quarters of an
coming and going to the tube station
hour. There are a few people sitting
nearby. The courtyard entryway is long,
at the tables that the cafe owner has
narrow and tall. There are entrances to
pulled out. The whole time, only about
halls, studios — a lively world.
five people have passed by.

220 221
 Village Underground, London

103 façade gallery

What look like windows are not The exhibition programme that can
windows. They are frames of an be supported here is specific, which in
exhibition behind glass, against the context of the broad cultural offer in
one-to-four metre wide walls formed by London is actually a good thing.
the pillar of a demolished viaduct.

222 223
 NOASS, Riga

104 temporary façade

Load-bearing steel construction is ready
for a glass façade to be hung, which will
fulfill all the requirements that a façade
should: insulation, acoustics, safety.
There's only one requirement it doesn't
meet: an affordable price.

Until the price goes down (which is

unlikely) or more money comes to
their disposal, the glass façade will
be substituted with rubber tarpaulin
sheets.

224 225
 Röda Sten konsthall, Göteborg

105 graffiti
Grafitti appears whether we want it or not. There are ways to
supress it, but the question is whether directing it to a place where
everyone accepts it could be a solution. It requires willingness
on both sides, which doesn't always work. It works here.

"The house was called graffiti house for

a long time. It was really spectacular
and liked by many people, but of course
some people didn't like it at all.

We had zero tolerance for graffiti for

a couple of years, but this year we
managed, by working a lot with young
people and having art classes for them,
to have the first legal graffiti wall in
Gothenburg. We call it the dragon.
84 metres of legal painting space.

It's really appreciated. People paint

here all day and night. It's changing
every day. The better the picture, the
longer it usually stays.“

Mia Christersdotter Norman

226 227
 Suvilahti, Helsinki

106 communication with

graffiti community
The grafitti community is closed, since what is considered by spray
painters (or artists) as beautification is seen as vandalism by the
public. Opportunities for establishing constructive communication
are rare. A specialized shop is one of the ways to achieve this.

The area contains one of very few legal “We had a graffiti problem. Suvilahti
graffiti walls in Helsinki. Nearby is was a closed area, now it's suddenly
a paint shop, which is also a gallery. open. People were painting the walls
of buildings. So we said — here's the
spot to paint on, not the walls. It works
pretty ok, they really respect that.

The problem is not actually as having

the graffiti-wall there, but rather
who's going to do the cleaning. Every
morning our non-military service goes
there to pick up the cans and garbage.
It's amazing. There is a big trash bin
next to it, but 5 metres is sometimes
too far.

It's really hard to have a conversation

with people who like to do that. If there
is a problem, it's nice to have some kind
of link to them. This shop assistant is
the link.“

Stuba Nikula

228 229
 Metelkova, Ljubljana

107 hole
The hole is a memorial which comemorates an attempt to
demolish Metelkova, but also the fact that there were people who
stopped it. For them, it was important exactly in its current form.

“When they prepared the contract to

be signed with the municipality, it was
decided not to sign and the history of
this place started to go in a different
direction. In September of '93, between
9 and 10pm, a group of people heard
that some machines had come here to
start to demolish these buildings. They
came and protected the buildings."

Jadranka Plut

230 231
 Antic Teatre, Barcelona

108 pergola
If I want to see the sky, it's just a plain, subtle structure.
If I want protection from the sun or rain, I pull the cover over.

232 233
 Antic Teatre, Barcelona

109 courtyard
The courtyard of Antic Teatre is a lovely little world with pleasant
character, only a few metres from the streets full of tourists.

234 235
 Kultuuritehas Polymer, Tallinn

110 terrace garden

Amid bricks, corrugated iron, concrete and asphalt, representing
all shades of grey, the colour spectrum is complemented by
a small garden on the terrace. From spring to autumn it is
the main meeting point for all the visitors of the building.

236 237
 Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius

111 terrace with potential

Old buildings often hide seemingly nonsensical spare spaces:
an annex, an emptiness between two real functions.

At first sight it lacks potential. Upon

a second glance, their uselessness as
a space for a practical purpose makes
them be places with the potential for
hanging out, smoking, lying down,
sleeping, the occasional theatre scene,
reading, workshops, parties. Places,
which no one can name on the floor
plan properly, but where everyone
meets during lunch break.

The roof terrace is sheltered by the

building itself from three sides and by
the neighbouring building from the
fourth side, which creates potential
for summer evenings and nightlife.
The pioneer of this programme is the
ashtray by the entrance.

238 239
 A38, Budapest

112 terrace advertising

It is not necessary to build from cheap
materials if the sponsor is paying.

The roof terrace on the second

ship A38 was sponsored by a phone
company, whose visual identity is so
well-connected with the colour pink
that it's not even necessary to write
their name. It is enough to look at the
seats and the pattern on the floor and
everyone knows whose treat it is.

240 241
 Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki

113 roof garden

A zealous gardener can grow his plants even on the eighth
floor of a building with constant wind from the sea.

"A few of the tenants came to our office

two years ago, asking if we could have
a roof garden. This is what we managed
to do for them. The problem is that it
can't be too heavy and the wind is very
harsh. They actually have to choose the
plants so they can survive under such
circumstances."

Stuba Nikula

242 243
 ufaFabrik, Berlin

114 green roof

Thermal insulation, rain absorption, a place to stay

A tour of the UFA fabrik area is a tour The weight depends on the substrate.
of experiments with environmental For example, if you take soil, you
building solutions. have 16 kg/m2 in a water-saturated
condition. We use lightened substrate
“The standard tar roof can rise to with a weight of 6,5 kg/m2, it's less than
a temperature of 50 degrees when a half.
the sun is shining in the summer.
The foil beneath the surface is about You don't need a flat roof for a green
25 — 35 degrees. So the rooms under roof. We have a roof with a 25-degree
it are cool and there is no need for air angle, it is no problem. When you need
conditioning. more, 45 degrees, it's very difficult, you
have to protect it very well with slip
We have about 10 centimetres of thresholds and it's expensive. 25 degrees
soil which stores about 70% of the is the limit for environmental use.
rainwater. Before we've had a problem
— the water came out of the sewer In the 80s there was a programme in
because the water couldn't flow to Berlin supporting green roofs and most
the river fast enough.. We had all of the roofs were built with money from
the streets full of water, also here in the government. The city of Berlin
ufaFabrik. Since we have had the green wants to catch all the first flush from
roofs, it hasn't happened. The first the strong rain, so the black water
flush is collected by the green roof and doesn't overflow into the rivers. They
then it evaporates the water and this had to build very big halls, very big
also cools the area here in ufa. It takes cellars with concrete this is double the
the energy from the room down under, price of building green roofs with the
it's a very good air-conditioning system same effect.”
without electricity. The dust is filtered
from the air; we have a very good Werner Wiartalla
microclimate here.

244 245
 OZU, Monteleone Sabino

115 agri-culture
The olive grove is a regular part of the cultural centre.
Time slows in the countryside.
join us for a weekend. We pick olives Anybody can come. People pay for hospi-
“Our piece of land is a slice of hill. We through one morning, after Saturday tality, food and transportation. Families
bought it. 350 trees. Trees need care There are 2000 different kinds of olive usually. We have a barbecue lunch here with children enjoy it a lot. Children
every year. Every day. It is not difficult; trees with different characteristics. together. Then, in the afternoon, we go can play, rolling around in the grass and
it's simple. Just the work. We need to Red, black, green. We have the green to the press. Follow the whole process climbing up and down. If you talk with
cut the branches, prepare the soil and kind. Normally, the bigger ones are and take back the new oil so we can people in the village, they say, 'oh, today
prepare manure to get good olives. No not good for oil and the little ones are have a dinner cooked using the fresh I picked one hundred kilos of olives.' One
need to poison insects. At this level — good.” oil. On Sunday we make a little tour hundred kilograms of olives is 20 litres
over 600 metres above sea level — there of the area and go to a nearby lake, to of oil. When we come with people there
are no insects that could damage olives. Enrico Blasi visit Roman ruins. Then we have a taste are maybe 10, 12, 15 altogether picking
It's organic here. No enemies of olive “In November, when the olives are of typical products and a tasting of olives. At the end of the day, we go to the
trees. ready to pick, we invite people to different oils. press with one hundred kilograms of ol-
ives. The ground is very steep. It's slow.”

Paola Simoni

246 247
 Suvilahti, Helsinki

116 asphalt lot

A blacktop field forms a big part of the complex. In the summer,
it hosts festivals that require building tents. To make the
work easier, there are graphic marks on the ground indicating
where and how deep the foundations can be anchored.

“There were trees here, but the soil was

really polluted — asbestos, creosote,
cyanide. They dug out fifty-seven
thousand tons of polluted soil and took
all the trees with it. That's why we have
to have all the asphalt here.

These drawings are actually a guiding

system. When there is a festival here
they either use concrete weights or
spikes. This is the guiding system not to
hit any plumbing or electricity cables.
White is maximum 50 centimetres.
Grey is 120. Yellow is 30 centimetres.
Otherwise it's 150 centimetres. The red
one is zero.”

Stuba Nikula

248 249
 Suvilahti, Helsinki

117 open area

Complexes that originally formed a single production plant
usually split into many smaller establishments after a conversion.
The fence is taken down, the space inside can become public, it
can properly connect the former factory to the city structure.

“One of the biggest tasks we have in

addition to renovating and filling all
the buildings is to open the whole area
to the city. Factories like this are closed
areas. The purpose of them was to be
closed and now they become part of
the city.

Which fences can we get rid of? Are

there any new entrance points we can
open up? The outdoor area is an event
park. Even outdoor events need to have
fire exits, so you can't do it in a closed
factory yard.

We don't want to develop only one site,

but a whole part of Helsinki. People
walking here are not interested where
our lot ends and the city lot starts. They
are just using the city.”

Stuba Nikula

250 251
 Stanica Žilina-Záriečie

118 visibility and safety

In order to feel safe, we need to have control
over the surroundings, to see what's going
on around us and be seen by others.

The park behind Stanica has been

a problem. It has a fence now, but that
still doesn't keep the vandals out. After
dusk, when it gets really dark under the
trees, people used to drink, vandalise
the facilities and pile rubbish here. The
light, hung out of reach from below,
helped to get the park under social
control to some extent.

252 253
 Röda Sten konsthall, Göteborg

119 developing area

Every local authority has urban planning tools that it uses
to create a plan for the future operation of the city. If the plan
doesn't sufficiently define the space around the centre, or it
defines it incorrectly according to us, it is possible to formulate
a counterexample. It is important to define a place that we claim
from the outside; to show that we know it and we can do it best.

“The city is not connected to the Roda Sten invited STEALTH unlimited,
water much. There is a big planning who initiated the "testing the waters"
process to change that, to build up the project (Dis)assembled. The project
riverfront from the Roda Sten area all developed and communicated, in a very
along Gothenburg on this side. The city hands-on manner, possibilities and
plan decided to stop right there, by the opinions on what the surrounding of
nearest bridge. Roda Sten is outside of Roda Sten should look like according to
that plan. It's really bad, because they the people who come here and use the
have to work with the old plan. terrain.

Last week, for example, there was “We don't like other buildings around
a really strange thing that came up. us. We want to build something
Gothenburg has these luxurious ourselves. We don't want offices, flashy
cruisers coming in — the really big apartments. We want to control the
ones. They cannot enter the city, area; to use it as we have done for
because the bridge is too low. So they're twenty years. We want to use it for
now looking for a spot to put the festivals, for whatever people would
cruisers. There was a suggestion to put like. So in that sense the STEALTH
it here and if we had a plan, that would project was both a success and a failure.
never happen, it wouldn't have any People came and built things, it was
chance to go through. But now there is like a huge playground and it was really
a risk that they put the ships outside. great — arty, educational. But this
So I would like the plan to be in our doesn't mean we want buildings here.
hands for the right purpose.” We want something where people can
come and do whatever they like.”

Mia Christersdotter Norman

254 255
 Interzona, Verona Fabrika Sztuki — Lodz

1201 fences 1202

Construction of fence panels enable a simple and quick It is sufficient to use temporary solutions
designation of areas, shaping the flow of visitors. for temporary requirements.

256 257
 Manifatture Knos, Lecce

121 free field

The space of Manifatture Knos itself is not extraordinary
enough to invoke extraordinariness at the life inside it. It is
sufficiently big and open; the rest is a question of regime.

“This space has only been available

for five or six months. We are working
on a project to create a free park,
free garden. Knos is a free space of
indecision. That means there is no
direction, there is no coordination,
there is no group that manages it. It is
a place where everyone can do things
that he or she thinks are good and
can interact with others. We have only
one rule: whoever proposes it, does it.
It's enough. It's a space for spontaneity,
invention-really, really open. We would
like to do the same things here.”

Michele Bee

258 259
 Metelkova, Ljubljana

122 art vs. creativity

Official versus independent culture
(from the independent perspective).

The whole city quarter was originally

owned by the army. When it left, the
city divided it into two halves.

One half is run by the state. The

Ministry of Culture is investing
into state-representative culture,
constructing new buildings and
creating new institutions.

The other half is run by the local

authorities. Here you can find more
smaller organisations and artists, self-
regulated, independent culture.

The boundary between them is

designated by a narrow passage.
There's a demarcation line on it,
marking out the location of art and
creativity.

260 261
 Kultuuritehas Polymer, Tallinn

123 end
The centre has seen better days. Polymer is no longer a TEH
member, the pace of activities is slowing down, everyone
has their own projects. I sense an end coming soon.

“No future. I think there is no future

with the house. Maybe with other
people it can continue somewhere else
in the future. There are always some
ideas.

The landlord doesn't care about

anything that is going on here. I don't
know why he is keeping it in this kind
of condition. I think he's waiting for the
right moment to take it down and do
something else instead.

I don't believe that it is possible to

find a way to renovate this and make
it nice. I'm not sure if am I sad about
it or not. Maybe it's even a good thing.
A lucky thing.

A three-month contract with the owner

is somehow liberating, it makes you
free in this way — you know what to
do, you're not stuck, you don't make
roots for yourself. Maybe it's not such
big drama if things are collapsing
and something is going to happen
somewhere else.”

Tanel Saar

262 263
 124 credits
Published in 2014 Cooperation | Paola Simoni Photos, graphics Date of record 2013/05
1st edition, 700 pc. | Katarína Gatialová | Paul Bogen (with story number) | Pekarna magdalenske
| Marek Harčarík | Róbert Blaško | Peter Lényi: 6e, 9, 13, 14, 2005/05 mreže, Maribor
Publisher | Matej Veverka | Sandra Jõgeva 15, 18, 22, 25, 30b, 30g, | Buenaventura, | Metelkova, Ljubljana
| Truc sphérique, | Estelle Weiss-Tisman | Sandra Ottoson 30h, 37, 51a, 42, 43, 44, Castelfranco Veneto | Interzona, Verona
cultural centre | Marta Blašková | Sandy Fitzgerald 46, 52, 54, 58b, 61, 63, 65, | OZU, Monteleone Sabino
Stanica Žilina-Záriečie, Maňáková | Semolinika Tomic 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 2012/05 | Manifatture Knos, Lecce
www.stanica.sk | Jana Baierová | Sigrid Niemer 82a-b, 82e-h, 85, 91, 92, | A38, Budapest | DOM, Bologna
| Stuba Nikula 94, 95, 103, 105, 107, 108, | Bakelit MAC, Budapest
Printed and bound Respondents/ | Tanel Saar 109, 115, 120a, 121, 122 | Tabačka Kulturfabrik, 2013/07
| i + i print spol s.r.o. Contributors | Torsten Reitler | Peter Snadík: 5, 6a, 6d, Košice | Teatr Łaźnia
| Ada Arduini | Werner Wiartalla 7, 20, 27, 30c, 30e, 30f, Nowa, Kraków
Editor, author of texts | Agata Etmanowicz 30j, 35, 45, 47, 48, 51, 2012/08 | NOASS, Riga
| Peter Lényi | Agnė Tuskevičiūtė Living Underground 2012 53, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, | Stanica Žilina-Záriečie | Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius
| Amelie Snyers workshop participants/ 62, 64, 67, 70b-e, 71b, | Melkweg, Amsterdam | Kultuuritehas
Graphic designers | Andrea Alba lecturers 73, 82c, 82i, 82k, 83, | Antic Teatre, Barcelona Polymer, Tallinn
| Marcel Benčík | Asya Filippova | Adam Gebrian 86, 88, 93, 99, 100, 101, | Suvilahti, Helsinki
| Peter Liška | Benedek Vasak | Alison Killing 102, 104, 106, 110, 111, 2012/09 | Kaapelitehdas, Helsinki
| Borut Wenzel | Cor Schlosser 113, 116, 117, 120b, 123 | ufaFabrik, Berlin | Korjaamo, Helsinki
Photo editor | Camille de Wit | Juri Battaglini | Lucia Blanáriková: | Not Quite, Fengersfors | Verkatehdas,
| Peter Snadík | Cor Schlosser | Katarína Gatialová 16, 29, 31, 36, 38, 39b, | Röda Sten konsthall, Hämeenlinna
| Dzintars Zilgalvis | Karl Hallberg 43b, 58a, 70a, 71a Göteborg | Creative Centre
Co-editors | Enrico Blasi | Lea Linin | Stanica archive: | Moritzbastei, Leipzig Carnation, Tartu
| Marek Adamov | Federica Rocchi | Ľubica Segečová 21, 23, 30d, 33, 34, | Centre for Creative | Fabryka Sztuki, Łódź
| Róbert Blaško | Jadranka Plut | Marcel Benčík 69, 90, 98, 118 Industries Fabrika,
| Pavla Lényiová | Juri Battaglini | Martin Jančok | Melkweg archive: 6c, Moscow 2013/12
| Peter Hapčo | Karl Hallberg | Maurizio Buttazzo 24, 30a, 30i, 82d, 82j | Village Underground,
| Kate Zilgalve | Michele Bee | A38 archive: 6b, 17, 112 2012/12 London
Translation, | Lemmit Kaplinski | Natalia Novik | Google Earth: 4, 19 | WUK, Wien | Nová synagóga, Žilina
proofreading | Marek Adamov | Nina Vurdelja | Antic Teatre
| Monika Šusteková | Márton Bauer | Peter Lényi archive: 32, 39a 2013/02
| Sandy Fitzgerald | Maurizio Buttazzo | Peter Liška | ThisWayDesign: 3 | Mains d'Oeuvres, Paris
| Christopher Ketchum | Mia Christersdotter | Semolinika Tomic | Zuzana Godálová: 24
| Elena Agia Bountouraki Norman | Stuba Nikula | Attila Urban: 40
| Michele Bee | Yaroslav Taranov | ufaFabrik archive: 114
ISBN | Monika Chabanová | Zuzana Godálová | STEALTH.unlimited
978-80-969392-8-2 | Nataša Serec archive: 119
| Olli Hietajärvi

264 265
 125 list of participants
| A38, Hungary, Budapest, www.a38.hu
| Antic Teatre, Spain, Barcelona, www.anticteatre.com
| Art Factory Łódź, Poland, Łódź, www.fabrykasztuki.org
| Arts Printing House, Lithuania, Vilnius, www.menuspaustuve.lt
| Bakelit Multi Ars Centre, Hungary, Budapest, www.bakelitstudio.hu
| Buenaventura, Italy, Castelfranco Veneto, www.buenaventura.it
| CCI Fabrika, Russia, Moscow, www.proektfabrika.ru
| Creative Centre Carnation, Estonia, Tartu, www.nelk.ee
| DOM La Cupola Del Pilastro, Italy, Bologna, www.lacupola.bo.it
| Interzona, Italy, Verona, www.izona.it
| Kaapelitehdas, Finland, Helsinki, www.kaapelitehdas.fi
| Korjaamo, Finland, Helsinki, www.korjaamo.fi
| Kultuuritehas Polymer, Estonia, Tallinn, www.kultuuritehas.ee
| Mains D'Oeuvres, France, Saint-Ouen, www.mainsdoeuvres.org
| Manifatture Knos, Italy, Lecce, www.manifattureknos.org
| Melkweg, The Netherlands, Amsterdam, www.melkweg.nl
| Metelkova, Slovenia, Ljubljana, www.metelkovamesto.org
| Moritzbastei, Germany, Leipzig, www.moritzbastei.de
| NOASS, Latvia, Riga, www.noass.lv
| Not Quite, Sweden, Fengersfors, www.notquite.se
| Nová synagóga, Slovakia, Žilina, www.novasynagoga.sk
| OZU, Italy, Monteleone Sabino, www.ozu.it
| Pekarna magdalenske mreže, Slovenia, Maribor, www.pekarna.org
| Röda Sten konsthall, Sweden, Göteborg, www.rodasten.com
| Stanica / Truc sphérique, Slovakia, Žilina, www.stanica.sk
| Suvilahti, Finland, Helsinki, www.suvilahti.fi
| UfaFabrik, Germany, BerlinTempelhof, www.ufafabrik.de
| Verkatehdas, Finland, Hämeenlinna, www.verkatehdas.fi
| Village Underground, UK, London, www.villageunderground.co.uk
| WUK, Austria, Vienna, www.wuk.at
| Tabačka kulturfabrik, Slovakia, Kosice, www.tabacka.sk
| Teatr Łaźnia Nowa, Poland, Krakow, www.laznianowa.pl

266 267
 Engine Room Europe was a three-year programme (April 2011-May 2014) of activities dedicated to independent

cultural workers and their creative processes. It was initiated by Trans Europe Halles (TEH) and co-ordinated

by Melkweg (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) in association with 10 co-organizing TEH members. Engine Room

Europe has been funded with the support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the

views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of

the information contained therein.

268
We did it, because we did it well.
 Order the printed copy
of the book and you will
get all 123 chapters on 272
pages

By purchase of this book, you donate money that

supports the renovation of new cultural space "Nova
synagoga / kunsthalle Zilina" in Slovakia.

Price:
19 EUR (including shipping within EU)
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272 273