#A kadawittfeldarchitektur exhibition in the shop window of the former department store Lust for Life in Aachen.
In a move to draw attention to the numerous vacancies, the shop window in Aachen’s city centre has been transformed into a kind of “production line”. The display includes an “idea machine” illustrating the office’s approach and dialogical method that has been responsible for the diversity of projects rolling off the line during the 20-year existence of the architects’ practice.
„The idea to fill the shop window of the vacant department store with life and thus to provide the urban space with temporary added value through little effort and small interventions is a good intermediate solution until a new utilisation concept is identified for this important location within the urban realm.“
Gerhard Wittfeld
The exhibition starts with the so-called “idea machine”. It presents the creation of architecture in a playful way – as the product of a process which includes numerous different aspects and participants: An INPUT funnel collects the requirements from the brief, the environment as well as the time and cost schedule. The team of 160 employees processes the information in cooperation with the clients, authorities, various experts and future occupants.
Cogs and gears, a report output, a news box and an automatic drawing ejector symbolise the process; passers-by can peep into boxes to gain a cinematic insight into kadawittfeld’s everyday office life and workshops.
The OUTPUT at the end of the idea machine process produces new worlds for working, living, culture and education, customised houses, communicative spaces and sustainable buildings with added value.
Finally, a conveyor belt transports 70 projects created by the Aachen-based architects through the shop windows on Komphausbadstraße accompanied by floor-to-ceiling banners displaying pictures, facts and figures.
