A socially relevant compass
Rare earths are still among the most sought-after raw materials in the world, but soon the promotion of creativity and the extraction of innovations will determine the success or failure of entire societies. We know from economic and sociological studies as well as from our experience in other urban development projects: Space, ecology, capital, lifestyle and story attract talent and shape a progressive production system. The creative class includes not only the classic creative disciplines, but increasingly also entrepreneurs, scientists and employees in knowledge-based professions.
The function of a coach house has always been to bring together people from different backgrounds and walks of life. Nations, cultures and biographies meet randomly on a train. New and unexpected things can emerge here. With the weighty slogan “Prototyping Future. What is created here must first be invented.” Quartier A is making an announcement that it must prove with every phase, with every brick, with every intervention on the site. Simply revitalizing would not be enough. Something groundbreaking must be created here. This is not a rail replacement service, this is a new route into a new terrain.
The location of the coach house as an anchor point and its semi-circular layout, which we perceive as completing a circle, conjures up the image of a compass. It points the way to the future and is oriented towards the past. The completion of the circle is the juxtaposition of past and future. The compass needle is the symbolic setting of the course. The future does not replace the past, they complete, fertilize and complete each other.
The aim of the settlement policy at the site is to offer optimal space, networking and framework conditions for cross-sector cooperation in a collaborative network and to promote an ecosystem in which the tenants influence each other positively and thus further increase the attractiveness and dynamism of the location. At the same time, innovative fields of work are also to be developed – the fusion of traditional and creative industries creates a crisis-proof alloy that creates jobs, redefines professional fields and secures prosperity.
