Kurzbeschreibung
Das Ruhrgebiet war seit Anfang des letzten Jahrhunderts das industrielle Herz Deutschlands. Mit dem Niedergang der Montanindustrie steht die Region nun vor einer existenziellen Frage: Wachstum oder Schrumpfung? - Eine Frage, die Ausgangspunkt für die Entwicklung verschiedener Zukunftsszenarien ist: Lässt sich ein neues Rhein-Ruhr-Gebiet definieren und durch substanzielle Eingriffe fit für den globalen Wettbewerb machen? Oder sollte durch zurückhaltende Bestandspflege ein struktureller Rückbau unterstützt werden
Synopsis
At the Hanover EXPO 2000, the Rotterdam-based architectural firm known by the abbreviation MVRDV caused quite a stir with its pavilion. The motto of the Dutch contribution was "Holland Creates Space", a topic skilfully converted by the team of architects into a facade-free building with stacked up landscapes. A more recent project by the group, a structural exploration about the future of the Rhine-Ruhr region, implemented in co-operation with a number of universities in Germany and the Netherlands, has been extensively documented in this book - a commentary on the meaning of region, identity and tradition, issues ever more consciously present in the face of globalization. The exhibition is at NRW-Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft, Dusseldorf from November 15, 2002 - February 15, 2003. From the beginning of the last century, the Ruhr Area has been the industrial heart of Germany. With the demise of the coal, iron and steel industries, the region now faces an existential question: growth or shrinkage?
This question is the point of departure for the development of various future scenarios: is it possible to define a new Rhine-Ruhr Area, and, with substantial interventions, prepare it for global competition? Or is it preferable to encourage structural re-building by means of an unobtrusive cultivation of the already existing?