The German Arrival City was thought of after the arrival of millions of refugees in 2015 as well as the expectation in 2016. The need for new housing and apartments is a top priority along with the need of new ideas and approaches. The exhibition is composed of three parts.
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First part analyzes and surveys refugee shelters.
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Second part is finding the solution to equipping Arrival city with tools to turning refugees into Immigrants.
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Third is regarding the concept design of the German Pavilion which will denote the current political situation in Germany.
The website makingheimat.de was launched on March 10, 2016. It consists of all the projects that have been in process since October 2015. The architecturally designed projects include that of lightweight 300 inhabitants structure to low-cost long-term housing. Though other projects such as estate-like complexes designed by private benefactors also exist.
These projects are in process due to the German political reality which exists due to the influx of immigrants and as well as Germany’s internal issues. Germany is now turning into a country of immigrants. They are making sure to treat the refugees as new citizens and not guests. These people are being given a chance to call a new place their home. That is why the title ‘Making Heimat’ implies, “the stay in Germany will be a permanent one.”
Arrival City is basically a city within a city where there is cheap rent, work access, and ethnic networks that help new arrivals settle in. An example is the Dong Xuan Center in Berlin-Lichtenberg where a Vietnamese supermarket functions similarly and is very different from a German one. The most important task for Arrival Cities is housing which has been a crisis for a long time and now they have the chance to fix it.
For the German Pavilion, three architects were assigned who made the spatial concept and as well designed the exhibition and the catalog. The design is in reference to the Arrival City’s visual communication and juxtaposition.
