The Dresden Ten

Images and words document of the first encounter of a German collective with the building they will renovate and inhabit, displaying a remarkable belief in the idea of community and in architecture as process.

When two people decided to form a collective to buy and rennovate an old building, they wanted to create a form of group housing in tune with the German concept of Gemeinsam Wohnen, a form of intergenerational social housing quite distinct from the Wohngemeinschaft student share houses. After advertising locally to attract other interested people, the group hired architect Henri Praeger from Praeger Richter Architekten to find and renovate a suitable building. On the day documented by this photo-essay, the group comes together for the first time on site, dissecting the building they will live in as a means to physically occupy it. These photos show the various families and individuals in contact with their future homes.

Nuclear families, retired people, a young couple who met working together in a health food store — a group of ten diverse individuals and families which will have their own customised apartment inside a classic building. They hired architect Henri Praeger, given his firm's experience with social housing projects, and after a year of research, the group purchased a former tobacco factory in the outskirts of Dresden.

To have a group as a client is challenging, as they must agree on materials, timing and cost. They must reach a consensus in idea, spirit and values. Praeger Richter initiated a series of weekly meetings to produce a design catering to the needs of each individual family as well as the group. During the first onsite meeting, documented here, the group divided and organised the spaces following Praeger's forensic method.
Top: A couple of the roof of the apartment they are building. Above: Couple that met working in a health food store in their new house
Top: A couple of the roof of the apartment they are building. Above: Couple that met working in a health food store in their new house
This project documents the interaction between the residents and the building they will occupy. The portraits convey the group's integrity as individuals whose coming together evinces a personal interest and belief in the idea of community, and in architecture as process. "The project was the beginning of a whole network of social relationships," says Henri Praeger, "even though most of them came from this neighbourhood. If they lived alone they would have a very small house outside of the city, and they could not afford an architect to work on the project. In this kind of group they have to find compromises and they also have to communicate with each other; they are keen to do that". Construction work in the building began last 18 May, with the inner walls being cracked down. The group is concerned with the final costs, but also very interested and content to see their project in process. Philippa Nicole Barr

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