IHME-ZENTRUM - Dream, Ruin, Future

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Overview

The Ihme-Zentrum is a residential, shopping and economic center in the German city of Hannover. Planned in the roaring 1960ies the building has been subject of discussion for many years. The shopping mall is abandoned after the investor, the Carlyle Capital Corp went bankrupt in the Financial Crisis of 2007/2008. It is considered one of the ugliest buildings in northern Germany and a symbol for bad planning in Urban Science. In 2014 the journalist and expert on sustainabilty Constantin Alexander moved into the complex as an experiment linking a New Journalism approach with an environmental scanning. This blog documents his analysis. In spring of 2016 together with a group of inhabitants, architects, artists and other experts he founded the group Zukunftswerkstatt Ihme-Zentrum (future workshop). The goal is to transform the Ihme-Zentrum from a ruin into a new landmark for Hannover and a symbol for a modern, sustainable and creative city.