Billbrook – Morphology of an Industrial Area
This project deals with a unique industrial area in the Southeast of Hamburg, the metropolis in the North of Germany.
For decades, the Billbrook district has consisted of an almost bizarre architectural mixture of modern industrial and commercial facilities, with scattered historic Wilhelmine brick buildings, which survived the bombings of the Second World War and are still partly in use today, partly left to decay.
In addition, Billbrook has been a social hotspot in Hamburg for decades, as marginalized groups of society (homeless people, refugees) have been pushed into this industrial area where they repeatedly made controversial headlines in the media.
This backyard of Hamburg, into which everything that the people of Hamburg do not want to see is pushed away, is thus one of the strangest but also most exciting districts of the city of Hamburg from various points of view (architecture, social work, urban development).
Over a 6-year project, I tried to show the fascinating range and bizarre mix of Billbrook's architecture, from modern industrial corrugated iron buildings and industrial plants to sublime-looking Wilhelmine brick buildings from the turn of the 19th to the 20th century.
Local politics still has to figure out “what to do” with the Billbrook district – meanwhile it remains a unique and fascinating industrial and urban district.
This project deals with a unique industrial area in the Southeast of Hamburg, the metropolis in the North of Germany.
For decades, the Billbrook district has consisted of an almost bizarre architectural mixture of modern industrial and commercial facilities, with scattered historic Wilhelmine brick buildings, which survived the bombings of the Second World War and are still partly in use today, partly left to decay.
In addition, Billbrook has been a social hotspot in Hamburg for decades, as marginalized groups of society (homeless people, refugees) have been pushed into this industrial area where they repeatedly made controversial headlines in the media.
This backyard of Hamburg, into which everything that the people of Hamburg do not want to see is pushed away, is thus one of the strangest but also most exciting districts of the city of Hamburg from various points of view (architecture, social work, urban development).
Over a 6-year project, I tried to show the fascinating range and bizarre mix of Billbrook's architecture, from modern industrial corrugated iron buildings and industrial plants to sublime-looking Wilhelmine brick buildings from the turn of the 19th to the 20th century.
Local politics still has to figure out “what to do” with the Billbrook district – meanwhile it remains a unique and fascinating industrial and urban district.