House of Statistics
Client
In cooperation with
self-initiated
Haus der Statistik Initiative / ZUsammenKUNFT Berlin eG
Our services
Initiative building and coordination, strategic communication, editorial work and public relations, development of organisational and governance structures.
The Challenge
The Haus der Statistik is a landmark example of an alternative approach to urban development in Berlin. After more than ten years of vacancy, the former GDR administrative complex at Alexanderplatz was originally slated for sale and demolition. In 2015, an artistic intervention by the Allianz bedrohter Berliner Atelierhäuser put forward a different vision: to create space for culture, education and social uses.
From this intervention, the Haus der Statistik initiative emerged, with the ambition to develop a mixed-use urban quarter for culture, social infrastructure, affordable housing and public administration — in close cooperation with politics and public authorities.
The Tactic
From 2015 to 2017, Simon Wöhr coordinated the initiative and played a key role in turning a loose network of initially 13 organisations, associations and initiatives into a coherent, visible and operational alliance.
This involved developing a shared strategy, establishing internal structures and creating a consistent public profile. His work included public events, press and communications, editorial content for the website and political advocacy, as well as preparing a cooperative governance structure. A central task was to transform many different actors and interests into a common voice for a public-interest-oriented development of the site.
The Result
What began as a civil-society initiative has become a long-term cooperative urban development project. Today, civil society and the public sector are jointly developing around 46,000 m² of existing floor area and 66,000 m² of new development.
Simon Wöhr remains a member of ZUsammenKUNFT Berlin eG and continues to follow and support the development of the site from within the cooperative. His current focus includes the future of the so-called Experimental Houses and the question of how their public-interest programme can be secured under changing economic conditions.