Join our Virtual Lunchtalk within the The Festival of the New European Bauhaus 2026!
FROM VOID TO COMMONSVirtual Lunchtalk at the New European Bauhaus Festival 2026
Recap our Virtual Lunchtalk as part of the New European Bauhaus Festival 2026 with experts from MANIFESTA16 RUHR, TU-Dortmund University, Zollverein Foundation and Rutgers University.
Drawing on the Ruhr metropolis’ tradition of emerging from the void, in this talk we step from the post-industrial heritage into the dynamic neighborhoods, where the need for change remains. We discuss opportunities ans perspectives for the future with an expanded focus on the role of former churches as catalysts for change within the local communities. (The event was recorded on 12th June 2026)
SPEAKERS:
- Hedwig Fijen, Director of MANIFESTA (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- Carla Zimmermann, Stiftung Zollverein (Essen, Germany)
- Josep Bohigas, Creative Mediator at MANIFESTA16 RUHR (Barcelona, Spain)
- Prof. Renee Tribble, TU Dortmund University (Dortmund, Germany)
- Prof. Wolfram Hoefer, Rutgers University (New Jersey, USA)
- Moderation by Sebastian Schlecht, lala.ruhr (Ruhrgebiet, Germany)
The lunch talk will explore two distinct aspects of the region which, despite their differences, share a key commonality: both point to spaces of void, which, whilst clearly a shortcoming, can also be seen as a call for revitalisation, reinterpretation and (re-)active use.
A recent catalyst for this discussion is the contribution by Josep Bohigas, who will be presenting his urban vision for Manifesta 16 Ruhr. As an external observer, he has engaged intensively with the former coal and steel region over the past few years. His perspective offers a refreshing view of the Ruhr region, its neighbourhoods and its future development potential. A key insight herein is that transformation becomes particularly urgent where social needs, functional requirements and specific local necessities converge.
The void left by the former industrial sector in the Ruhr region was not merely the disappearance of traditional forms of production. Rather, it left behind a complex legacy of structural challenges, large-scale environmental pressures and social uncertainty. At the same time, these upheavals gave rise to new opportunities for action, specific here the UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein, which continue to shape the Ruhr region to this day as a laboratory of change.
In this event, we link the issue of the ‘underground’ void of industrial leftovers to another challenge of transformation: dealing with a wide range of obsolete churches, particularly parish and church buildings. Changes in religious practice mean that existing buildings are losing their original function, making it necessary to develop new concepts for their use and new ways of interpreting their significance.
These processes are characterised by complex feelings of farewell, uncertainty, hope and reorientation. At the same time, they make it clear that spaces for community are still needed – even where community is no longer organised primarily along religious lines.
Against this backdrop, this contribution discusses how empty spaces can be interpreted fruitfully and transformed into sustainable forms of community, and how neighbourhoods can develop in line with their needs when old structures are dismantled and new ones emerge only gradually and, in most cases, through innovative processes.
In tension between industrial sites that have now been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites, regional history, the pressing need for action, and the needs of local neighbourhoods and their communities, this discussion explores how the region can continue to develop in the future – and how existing vacant spaces can be transformed into opportunities and new social, spatial and cultural potential.
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