Wim Westerveld

Students: Anna Bierler, Kathleen Raasch, Benjamin Blazy, Silvan Händeler

“Marzahn neu sortier” is a three-part publication that facilitates an interactive reading and exploration of the past, present, and future of Marzahn. This district in the northeast of Berlin is notorious for its Plattenbauten and has a generally poor reputation. The students took Marzahn as an example to question common stereotypes and collective attributions. Readers were invited to freely re-arrange the components of these preconceptions, examining a place that is generally negatively perceived and imagined in terms of clichés. Marzahn deserves closer consideration: Combining observations and descriptions of this infamous district gives rise to a multifaceted portrait. Sifting through and recombining the various perceptions of this place calls the reigning stereotypes into question, and allows this space to be continuously reconsidered and reframed.