MURALS

The WALL +, Gängeviertel

The Gängeviertel is a truly special place in Hamburg. Nestled between large office buildings, it feels a bit like a small Gallic village. Preserved and renovated old buildings, space for creative people, right in the middle of the city, affordable. What sounds like utopia is reality here. In 2008/2009, the buildings were sold by the city of Hamburg to an investor. This would have been followed by large-scale demolition. However, thanks to the creative occupation of the buildings, the support of the city's residents and the city itself, and the founding of a cooperative, demolition was averted. The buildings were bought back and a long-term lease agreement was concluded with the cooperative. When one talks about squatting, it is clear that this does not meet with universal approval. It is all the more astonishing that this creative squatting has created a situation that has reclaimed and preserved this neighborhood, which is so important for the social fabric of the city, and established it as a special place in Hamburg.

This architectural and social context gave rise to a mural that takes up the structure of one of the preserved buildings and opens up from the uniform grid of the surrounding area to the diverse Gängeviertel district.