Since summer 2018, Piazza Zenetti in Munich has been an example of how a former parking lot can make neighbourly coexistence possible in a large city. Nevertheless, the planners responsible at raumzeug have to defend their project time and again.
Since summer 2018, Piazza Zenetti in Munich has been an example of how a rethought parking lot can make neighbourly coexistence possible in a large city. Nevertheless, the planners responsible at raumzeug have to defend their project time and again. G+L editor Theresa Ramisch presents the project here.
I always thought that the housing situation in Munich depended on how much money you had. But it’s actually a question of luck. At least if you believe the people of Munich. If you ask them where they live in the state capital, the classic answer is: “I was lucky.” Only after a meaningful pause is it revealed where the actual place of residence is. This is usually somewhere within or on the edge of the Mittlerer Ring. Well, or even in Großhadern. Happiness is subjective.
Yes, it takes a lot to find a suitable apartment in Munich. Money alone doesn’t always get you there. The pressure on space is enormous. So it’s no wonder that the financially weak creative scene in the Bavarian capital has little space left – for living and working. But also to initiate new projects. And this despite the fact that it offers so much potential for long-term urban development, as we discuss in the October 2019 issue of G+L.
But despite all these adversities, Munich’s creatives have managed to fight for a small inner-city area where creative bottom-up processes are once again possible. The Munich Schlachthofviertel. Here, players such as the Wanda e.V. association with Alte Utting or Bahnwärter Thiel are proving how creative projects can make a city like Munich – which is already considered to be highly liveable – even more attractive. What is special about the Schlachthofviertel, however, is that the Munich planning department is also jumping on the creative bandwagon that is currently thundering through the district. With the Piazza Zenetti.
Zenettiplatz led a dreary existence until the summer of 2018. There was no quality of stay here. Parking spaces defined the square. Nobody wanted to sit down and stay. But then, as part of the “City2share” project, the city invited tenders for the design of Zenettiplatz as a mobility station including a temporary neighborhood meeting place. The Munich office raumzeug was awarded the project and landscape architects Johann-Christian Hannemann and Felix Lüdicke developed a two-part square design, which is now – with further additions – in its second year.
The design
The southern area accommodates a wide range of mobility options with car-sharing parking spaces, e-charging stations and public transport bikes. The planners developed the northern area, which is part of the recreation and communication area, together with the residents in a needs analysis and a design concept. The result is a multifunctional, colorful square that is well received by the neighborhood.
An all-round, colorful piece of furniture – built as part of a participatory construction site – defines the spatial design. It encompasses the square and continues on the other side of the street, combining mobility with a place to stay. Six raised beds, a collection of potted plants and several rambling trees are responsible for the greenery on the otherwise very gray square.
In summer 2019, a carpet of grass was also added, which was only supposed to be here for two weeks. However, three dedicated neighborhood children campaigned to extend the lawn experiment over the entire summer – and beyond. The lawn is currently spending the winter at the neighbor’s, the Thiel railroad yard.
The use
The planners’ aim was to ensure that the square could be used for a variety of purposes. And they have achieved this. The surrounding (currently green) furniture can be used for sitting, working, but also for running around and playing. There is an information board, which acts as a bulletin board and reports on current activities in the piazza, as well as a book exchange shelf, a deposit niche, a swap board and lockable boxes for toys and tools. Simple, robust and functional – this triad best describes the character of the Piazza.
But wouldn’t parking spaces make more sense?
The planners actively involve the neighborhood with joint activities. One such campaign was the fountain experiment that took place in Piazza Zenetti in mid-July 2019. If you look at the pictures, it looks fun, doesn’t it? And it was. The sad thing is that not everyone is convinced by the fun. Even after two years – even shortly after such a successful event – Johann-Christian Hannemann and Felix Lüdicke in Isarvorstadt are still discussing whether the space is being used at all and whether ten parking spaces wouldn’t make more sense. The planners from raumzeug repeatedly hear “gentrification” criticism at the square: that they are only staging the functioning of the piazza and that the neighbors don’t use the square at all.
Are the critics right? My opinion: No. Firstly, a hundred meters further on, behind the underpass on Tumblingerstrasse, there are always free parking spaces. You just have to use them. Secondly, we should all be driving less anyway. Thirdly, the raised beds are blooming and growing. Why is that an argument? They are looked after by some extremely dedicated space and bed sponsors from the neighborhood. Doesn’t that alone speak for the fact that the community in Piazza Zenetti works? I mean, apart from the fact that there’s always someone sitting here? … Exactly. And fourthly: I’ve rarely been to a place in Munich where neighborly togetherness comes about as easily as in Piazza Zenetti. We don’t need to discuss the fact that neighborly togetherness is rare in a big city like Munich and is becoming increasingly rare. Nor do we need to discuss the fact that we need spaces without consumer pressure that bring us closer together as people, as neighbors, that counteract the increasing anonymity in the big city and that activate togetherness instead of coexistence. Public spaces should invite, not exclude. And that is precisely what the Piazza does. Thanks to the spatial design by Johann-Christian Hannemann and Felix Lüdicke, but also thanks to the social commitment of the planners themselves. They can be found in the Piazza every Wednesday from 6 p.m. for the neighborhood meeting “putz, plausch und plan”. And they don’t even live in the neighborhood. That’s what I call commitment.
Also interesting on this topic: You can find a commentary on why Munich in particular needs creative projects in the October 2019 issue of G+L (topic “Creative city”). Written by: Johann-Christian Hannemann and Felix Lüdicke. Take a look inside the magazine here.
Photos: Johann-Christian Hanneman (raumzeug)
