„Um 1910 müssen ein paar gute Jahrgänge gewesen sein. Sie haben
Mädchen hervorgebracht mit leicht athletischen Schultern. Sie gehen
so hübsch in ihren Kleidern ohne Gewicht, herrlich ist ihre Haut,
die von der Schminke nur erleuchtet scheint, erfrischend das Lachen
um die gesunden Zähne und die Selbstsicherheit, mit der sie
paarweise durch das nachmittägliche Gewühl der Tauentzienstraße und
des Kurfürstendamms treiben; nein, treiben ist nicht das richtige
Wort. Sie machen ‚crawl‘, wenn die anderen Brustschwimmen machen.
Scharf und glatt steuern sie an die Schaufenster heran. Woher haben
sie nur die hübschen Kleider her, die Hüte und Mäntel?“ Franz
Hessel, Spazieren in Berlin (1929)
The Winterthur Edition 2026 focuses on three projects that shape the
city’s public space. Public space is the essence of the urban and
the reason we love to explore cities. Standing before the Panthéon
in Paris, sitting on a playground bench in Prenzlauer Berg, swimming
at Geneva’s Bains des Pâquis, cycling across a curved bridge in
Copenhagen, walking past townhouses in Holland Park, listening to
the echoing streets of Midtown Manhattan, or exploring the weekly
market along Steinberggasse—these are experiences only public space
can offer.
However, since the Second World War, much of Europe has developed
areas that are collections of houses rather than cities. The Swiss
agglomeration exemplifies this: the buildings are arranged in a
haphazard way that produces open space, but not public space.
This pattern persists in new districts, including inner-city
neighborhoods in Winterthur and elsewhere, where attractive public
spaces that invite exploration, foster well-being, and help shape
identity are often neglected.
If urban sprawl began in the 1950s, the digital atomization of
public life is only beginning. Hannah Arendt’s insight remains as
vital as ever: public space is the foundation of democracy, and
politics can only find authentic expression when citizens gather in
public to discuss and decide on matters affecting the entire
community.
Design today must also address environmental challenges: how does
awareness of climate and microclimate influence the way we shape
streets, squares, and courtyards?
The full title,
“The Public Space: Where I Like to Be,” reflects the political, aesthetic, and functional dimensions of
urban space—and thus of life itself.
The idea that architecture and the city—therefore also public
space—belong together was a central thesis of the Milanese architect
Aldo Rossi: buildings alone do not make a city. Architecture shapes
the urban fabric, which in turn becomes an artifact—a work of
architecture in its own right.
In 1949, E. B. White described in
Here is New York the essence of a city:
“New York is the concentration of art and commerce and sport and
religion and entertainment and finance, bringing to a single compact
arena the gladiator, the evangelical, the promoter, the actor, the
trader and the merchant.”
However, Italian architects Maria Claudia Clemente and Francesco
Isidori note that urban design has gradually lost its meaning:
collective identity is marginalized, open space is treated as empty,
and architecture is increasingly separated from its context.
Bernardo Secchi, an influential Italian urban planner, observes that
many European cities of the twentieth century lack a coherent
experience of open space, depriving citizens of the opportunity to
share identity and enact public life. Rem Koolhaas noted that the
neglected state of public space is also linked to the logic of the
construction industry: the privatization of urban life represents
the gradual loss of the “human innovation par excellence.”
This pattern is visible everywhere: in the Swiss agglomeration,
where buildings are arranged haphazardly to produce open space but
not public space, and even in inner-city districts, where streets
and squares fail to invite exploration, social interaction, or
identity formation. Hessel’s boulevard “crawling” in Berlin,
standing before the Panthéon in Paris, or walking along
Steinberggasse — one experiences how meaningful public space shapes
urban life. Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman stresses that vibrant,
inclusive public spaces provide places of encounter and shared life.
Urban public space: democracy’s stage
Hannah Arendt, one of the most important thinkers of the 20th
century, emphasized its political significance, arguing that
democracy can only function when citizens gather in public to
discuss and decide on matters affecting the entire community.
In the nineteenth century, the École de Winterthour movement called
for greater democracy. Applying this demand to urban planning
today—especially in the creation of high-quality public spaces that
might even attract international attention—would represent a unique
opportunity for Winterthur.
Bibliography
-
Clemente, Maria Claudia & Francesco Isidori (eds.).
The Architecture of Public Space.
Zurich: Park Books, 2023.
-
Ghirardo, Diane Y. F.
Aldo Rossi and the Spirit of Architecture.
New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2019 (paperback
edition 2024).
-
Hessel, Franz.
Ein Flaneur in Berlin: Bilderbuch in Worten.
Berlin: Das Arsenal, 2011 (original work published as Spazieren in
Berlin, 1929).
-
White, E. B. Here is New York. New
York: Harper & Brothers, 1949.
-
Augé, Marc.
Un ethnologue dans le métro. Paris:
Hachette Littératures, 1986.
The past, present and future of the urban public space will be
comprehensively analysed. Decision-makers from the worlds of
politics, administration and lobby groups of three cities will all
exchange views. The workshops will be enriched by input from
artists, scientists and members of the public. By invitation only.
In the Blauer Saal (Campus Stadt-Mitte ZHAW) with decision-makers
from politics, city administration and interest groups from Berlin,
Vienna and Winterthur (including Martin Neukom, Government
Councillor and Director of Public Works of the Canton of Zurich).
Winterthur author Peter Stamm (Agnes) delivers the traditional
keynote; the New York Times calls him ‘a writer of extraordinary
precision and subtlety.
More coming soon.
