Doctorial Thesis, Jens Brinkmann, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
Architecture as a Space of Social Interaction: The Centro Cultural São Paulo 1975-1982
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In spite of the political situation, the Centro Cultural São Paulo was opened in 1982 during the Brazilian military dictatorship, as Brazil’s first cultural centre. From the beginning, the project of the then young architects Eurico Prado Lopes and Luiz Benedito de Castro Telles, was thought of as a multidisciplinary space. A hybrid spatial plan, in the form of an extensive cultural programme and the mixture of basic civic services, has resulted in a highly charged venue.
33rd Congress of the International Commitee of the History of Arts, The Challenge of the Object / Die Herausforderung des Objekts (CIHA 2012), Nürnberg, Germany, 20 July 2012. [Image: Centro Cultural São Paulo, Photo Jens Brinkmann].
On Paulo Mendes da Rocha: Architecture, City and Nature
Brandenburgische Technische Universität, Cottbus, Germany
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Jens Brinkmann worked in the office of Paulo Mendes da Rocha and MMBB Arquitetos in São Paulo. In his lecture, he presents the work of this great Brazilian architect and the impact it has on today’s generation of young architects in Brazil. Mendes da Rocha’s way of working together with several young architectural firms led to a unique interexchange of concepts and ideas among the generations.
Brandenburgische Technische Universität, Cottbus, Germany, 22 October 2008. [Image: Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Jens Brinkmann, Christopher Burns].
Article in Stadtbauwelt
The New Civic Spirit – Brazilian society as model?
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What do the protests of 2013, families on bicycles in the centre of São Paulo, Indigenous people in the Brazilian Parliament, the São Paulo Architecture Biennale’s motto “City – How to make, how to use“, the billionaire Philip Yang and a new museum in Vitória have in common? What do we know about Brazil – the rising country on the search for identity? How did the positive economic growth in the past years impact Brazil’s society and the global perception of Brazil? The theory of a new public spirit and Brazil’s society as model for other societies strike me as interesting concepts which I will explore.
Brinkmann, Jens: Der neue Bürgersinn – Brasiliens Gesellschaft als Modell? In: Stadtbauwelt 200. Brasilien gehört uns!, Bauverlag, 2013, p. 34-39.
‘OPEN CALL #GEBEN UND NEHMEN’
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‘OPEN CALL #GEBEN UND NEHMEN’ held at the BDA Gallery, Berlin presented current opportunities and challenges of young offices and allowed everyone the opportunity to voice their opinion on the this important topic.
Scales of Nature in Architecture: Tokyo, Japan
Brandenburgische Technische Universität, Cottbus, Germany
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Jens Brinkmann speaks about the rich variety of forms, expressiveness and the diverse interaction between nature and contemporary architecture. Scales of nature in architecture such as wilderness, landscapes, garden and plants oppose terms such as »artificial« nature, decontextualisation, intensification, hybridization and redesigning of landscapes. This accompanies ecological considerations, climate-friendly building typologies, passive and active solar output as well as green roofs, geothermal energy and the preparation of rain/gray water.
Brandenburgische Technische Universität, Cottbus, Germany, 21 April 2011. [Image: Small Garden, Japan, Photo Jens Brinkmann].
São Paulo: Urban Scales
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA
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Jens Brinkmann looks at São Paulo from the perspective of different scales: landscape, cityscape and architecture. The continuing expansion and complexity of the urban space complicates analysis and makes it difficult to articulate a broader picture. The change of scale and shift of urban perception are phenomena which are of particular relevance in São Paulo’s evolution. Brinkmann presents the history, past and present of the successive urban layers and the exemplary architecture that has emerged from each one.
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA, 13 October 2010. [Image: São Paulo Pacaembu, Photo Theo Siqueira].
Metropolis and Landscapes. Luanda
Universidade Augostinho Neto, Luanda, Angola
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Jens Brinkmann talks about the conservation of natural compensation zones in fast growing metropolitan regions as a political instrument for improving regional quality of life, based on the example case of Luanda and Quissama National Park. The research project “Metropolis and Landscape, Luanda” brings into focus the situation in fast growing urban regions, which border on protected natural landscapes. The aim of this project is the strategic planning of information, education and land use concept for the Kwanza River Valley in the Quissama National Park as a model region for sustainable development.
Universidade Augostinho Neto, Luanda, Angola, 8. November 2010. [Image: Luanda Bay, Angola, Photo Jens Brinkmann].
Berlin-Brandenburg 2025 – Towards a New Metropolitan Culture
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, FAU, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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The story of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany is also a story of Berlin and Brandenburg reuniting. The historic unity between the two was also divided during the division of Germany and Berlin. Since 1989, architects and urban planners have worked on the process of merging Berlin and Brandenburg and have found many solutions to this challenge. While Berlin found its identity as the old and new capital, Brandenburg had to reestablish its own identity. In 2025, the metropolitan area of Berlin-Brandenburg will be one of the two regions with the highest population increase in Germany. This need for action comprises a major social and political potential for the formation of a future metropolitan culture.
Universidade de São Paulo, FAU, São Paulo, Brazil, 18 March 2010. [Graphic: Jens Brinkmann].
Hybrid Authenticity: Dresden
Universidade de São Paulo, FAU, São Paulo, Brazil
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Jens Brinkmann discusses the question of historical authenticity within the old city centre of Dresden and compares it with the identity of Dresden’s present-day centre. The damage due to the Second World War lead to a near complete destruction of the historic city structure. Since the division and reunification of Germany, different concepts have emerged with regards to the question of reconstruction and rebuilding. The presentation discusses the approach to urban and historic preservation by the German Democratic Republic and compares it with the reconstruction approach of the Federal Republic of Germany after 1990.
Universidade de São Paulo, FAU, São Paulo, Brazil, 18 March 2010. [Image: Dresden Neumarkt, Photo Jens Brinkmann].
Teaching Design Studio
Brandenburgische Technische Universität, Cottbus, Germany
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Jens Brinkmann taught Design studio at the Chair of Housing and Institutional Buildings of Professor Bernd Huckriede at the Brandenburgische Technische Universität in Cottbus. He lectured as a guest at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, the Universidade de São Paulo (FAU-USP), the ENS d’Architecture de Paris La Villette and the Escola Superior das Artes Plasticas de Porto (ESAP). Brinkmann also initiated several research programs and conferences with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Brandenburgische Technische Universität, Cottbus, Germany, 2005-2012. [Image: Design Studio at BTU Cottbus, Final Project Presentation Martin Maleschka].
Opening Lecture and Exhibition Curation, BDA Gallery, Berlin
Großraum
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The exhibition, Großraum (Big Space), portrays the multifaceted complexity of architectural space in its cultural and artistic form. It presents two diametrically opposed artistic approaches from artists Sonya Schönberger and Daniel Janik in direct juxtaposition. They question the influence of architecture on social space, countered by the investigation of real space through its densification as well as using the example of the residential high-rise building at Zingster Straße 25 in Berlin Neu-Hohenschönhausen. At the opening of the exhibition, actors Anne Ratte-Polle and Florian Anderer read an excerpt from the book »Zingster Straße 25«, by Sonya Schönberger.
Opening Lecture and curation of the exhibition, BDA Gallery, Berlin, 7 June 2018. [Image: Photos Sonya Schönberger, Jens Brinkmann].
Opening Lecture and Exhibition Curation, BDA Gallery, Berlin
Thomas Florschuetz – Double Floor
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The exhibition, Double Floor, portrays the multifaceted complexity of architectural space in its cultural and artistic form from the perspective of visual space. The large-format works by Thomas Florschuetz show everyday objects, architectural and urban fragments whose common features lie in the expression of a changed perception. The title, Double Floor, alludes on the one hand to the complexity of the photographs as compositions of colours, lines and surfaces and on the other hand to the representation of themes such as materiality and temporality. Thus, the viewer is invited to re-experience the overlapping of real and pictorial space in the field of tension of the gallery, which has been permanently changed by the one-year installation of FAKT – Office for Architecture.
Opening Lecture and curation of the exhibition, BDA Gallery, Berlin, 4 June 2019. [Image: Photo Olga Karatzioti-B.].