Wohnkomplex

Wohnkomplex shows approximately fifty works by the artists Karl-Heinz Adler, Sibylle Bergemann, Manfred Butzmann, Kurt Dornis, Markus Draper, Wolfram Ebersbach, Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani, Seiichi Furuya, Peter Herrmann, Sebastian Jung, Gisela Kurkhaus-Müller, Harald Metzkes, Sabine Moritz, Henrike Naumann, Manfred Pernice, Uwe Pfeifer, Sonya Schönberger, Nathalie Valeska Schüler, Wenke Seemann, Robert Seidel, Christian Thoelke, Stephen Willats, and Ruth Wolf-Rehfeldt.

Installations, paintings, drawings, photographs, and films created since the 1970s will be presented. In the exhibition, Kito Nedo gathers works that approach the Plattenbau in various ways—as a living space, as a symbol of social utopias, and as a projection of societal changes. The Plattenbau is not only viewed as architectural heritage, but also as a cultural space of resonance that raises questions about belonging, community, and memory. The exhibition intertwines artistic works with sociopolitical issues and reflects on how urban spaces influence both social structures and ways of life.

Wohnkomplex opens new perspectives on a model of building and living that continues to resonate today. The Plattenbau was originally at the heart of GDR social policy, a place of socialization and a symbol of real socialist progress—until 1990. After the fall of the GDR, it became a stage for painful transformations, emblematic of social decline and racist violence. As modern ruins, the buildings awaited demolition, were renovated, or repurposed. The Plattenbau never became a monument, but has remained a living presence. It is a place of GDR memory, where life continues.

The series "P2" of Sibylle Bergemann shows the different interior furnishings of the same prefabricated apartment block in Berlin-Lichtenberg. “P2” stands for a series of apartment buildings developed in the early 1960s by the Institut für Hochbau [Institute for Construction] at the Bauakademie. It redefined living spaces with open floor plans. The use of pre-tensioned concrete made it possible to have floor plans without load-bearing walls. The slabs were industrially fabricated and then mounted. In a short time, apartments were constructed fast and at low cost. The new floor plan, which did not separate the kitchen from the living space, also helped to open up the traditional gender roles of women and men. The woman was no longer isolated in the kitchen, and the man was encouraged to do his share of the housework.