Große Potemkinsche Straße soziale Wiederbelebung von Wittenburg  

Type EW58/08 (Surviving the Suburb, a simple house in Almere)

It was Potjomkin who erected in 1787 for czarina Catherine the Great some villages out of painted decors, to hide the true face of the area. A likely attrappe-village was build in the main street of Wittenburg (Germany 2012). Together with the artists Bernadette LaHengst, Michael Kockot, Björn Ortfeld, Lukas Push, Alex Römer, we squated the 15 abandoned houses, made workshops with the inhabitants of Wittenburg and build objects and installations like the ,drive-through-cinema‘, the ,park-house‘, the ,complaints-horn‘ and many more.

a project by MattonOffice; commissioned by City of Wittenburg / Wirtschaftsministerium M-V,

Germany 2012

Bewoners vertellen hoe ze het huis destijds met eigen handen hebben gebouwd, volgens tekeningen van de architect Wilfried Stallknecht, maar met een fikse dosis improvisatietalent, geen enkel huis is hetzelfde.

De  ruilhandel waarmee Trabideuren tegen zakken cement werden geruild, of dakpannen tegen een vetgemeste gans, bracht een levendige informele economie op gang. Wanneer Gina het huis intrekt, raakt ze geconfronteerd met de eisen die dit huis aan haar leven stelt.

the Production of Well Being

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Like Potjomkin build attrappe villages for czarina Catherine the Great, we ,hacked‘ the village of Gottsbüren (Germany) and played together with the inhabitants a harmonious village life. Students of the Art University Linz squated some abandoned houses and build installations and exhibited our art-works in the 2nd. Centenniale Gottsbüren. Goal is to show and share the city dwellers our love for the countryside.

with a.o. musician Bernadette LaHengst, filmer Wanja Saatkamp, artist Pepi Maier.

Potemkinsches Dorf hacking the village of Gottsbüren

a project by MattonOffice and Art University Linz;

commissioned by Landkreis Kassel/city of Trendelburg, sponsored by Sparkasse, Germany 2015

a MattonOffice project, founded from Mondriaan Foundation, FBKVB, Dutch, Creative Fund,

Germany/the Netherlands 2015

a MattonOffice project, founded from Mondriaan Foundation,

FBKVB, Dutch, Creative Fund , Germany/the Netherlands 2008/2015

Gina Lombardi verlaat het comfort van de stad op zoek naar loom geluk. Een loom geluk dat vandaag de dag wordt geassocieerd met platteland en authenticiteit. Aan de snelweg ontmoet ze een huis: Type EW58/08. Dit leegstaande huis migreert van het oostduitse dorpje Wendorf naar de Nederlandse New Town Almere. 

Praia dé Bràs performative strategies for public space

In São Paulo the governmental interference in public space in the neighborhood of Brás was like absent. The model of chaos, in which individual actions together forms the collective direction is very well developed. Since everybody knows the government os not there to help you, people learned to take care for their own business.

To bring back some collectivity, a strategies to reinvent public space is introduced:

a) reclaim

In the former cinema of Bràs, which is in use as car park, the proposal is to start playing movies again. The public will reclaim the spot as cinema, cars can still be park; a drive in cinema.

b) double use

Lines in different collars are painted on the street; blue lines for playing basketball, yellow lines for parking and white lines for playing volleyball. Like in a gymnasium, everybody understands the rules of the game, understands the lines that belongs to it. The moment the street children plays volleyball, the collared lines will help them to claim the space.

Since the naive fifties Côte d’Azur is well known as a place to lie down in the sun and feel the world is all right. In our contemporary world, internet makes us aware off really all problems in the world. This killed our naivety and made Côte d’Azur to a place to forget of these problems. But not feeling guilty, as in the naive fifties, is not enough anymore, twitter’s, blog’s, iPhone’s, etc. makes us aware 24/7.

Not being guilty is the goal; the idealistic, political and urbanistic goal. To solve all problems and visiting Côte d’Azur means to produce something good for the world?

On an urban level, the implementation of a moral economy is a complex question.

In a broad welfare model, (which is a cumbersome question , as prof. dr. Arnold Heertje, University of Amsterdam replied to this proposal) all aspects of lifecycle are taking into account. Energy demand , waste, expulsion, transport, labour conditions, etc. which comes up at the production and the consumption of a product are part of the costs. This moral economy will attract new people and businesses who wants to show of their conscience lifestyle. The existing rules and regulations have been growing over the last centuries. An integral approach was rather uncommon, the urban tradition was more divided into different facets. Single disciplines made rules to solve a particular problem, without a broader view.

Slow DevelopmentPlan (for the edges of Zwartsluis)

a MattonOffice project, commissioned by Atelier Overijsel, 2007

A slow urban planning brings up new rules from a more holistic approach and transforms

the area into the production of well being. This slows development plan challenge new

ways of ‘green’ and ‘fair’ development.

If you take this example to it’s extreme, the slow development plan could implemant like:

§1

every user has to show its ecological footprint.

§2

empty buildings are to give free for ‘green squating’ if inhabitants from around use it for

production of bio-food.

§3

on every plot it is allowed to keep 2 free range pigs, if you plant 10 oak trees.

§4

If you want a swimming pool in your garden, it is only allowed if you produce fish with

aquaponic.

§5

who wants to drive a car has to plant 1 tree a year on a parking lot. If the tree dies, no

driving is allowed.

a MattonOffice project for VAR-region, commissioned by AMO, France 2010

a Buro Schie project, commissioned by Arte/Cidade, São Paulo, 1999

Schie Power, the Netherlands in 2030

a Buro Schie project, commissioned by RPD Rijksplanologische Dienst,1997

Surviving the Suburb (the movie)