The project “Plattenbau Promenades” focuses on mass housing districts in four cities on four continents: Berlin in Europe, Hong Kong in Asia, Havana in the Americas and Zanzibar in Africa.
The four locations have been selected to represent all neighbourhoods around the world that have been erected during the second half of the twentieth century, typically in the urban peripheries, to resolve problems of housing shortage.
The intentions were usually noble: they were supposed to offer a new, better home to tens of thousands of people, often underpinned by theories at that time considered future-oriented, but which often turned out to be rather utopian. The construction techniques were highly efficient and typically based on prefabricated concrete slabs; the term “Plattenbau” for these type of buildings derives from German “Platte”, meaning “panel” and “Bau” meaning “construction”.
Many of these neighbourhoods have also become social hot spots, and its inhabitants often feel marginalised. Without glossing over these issues, the project tries to elaborate on the potential of these neighbourhoods and their inhabitants, with the ambition to ultimately contribute to the debate about the future of our cities.
The series is composed of 100 colour photographs.