The "U“ building in Dortmund: future-bound

Maybe, one day the “U” building in Dortmund will be called the last of the magnificent monumental buildings of the Bonner Republik era. A republic which has disappeared almost 20 years ago, but still being kind enough to postpone its economical end for quite a while... But now, among a plethora of crises, in the face of shaking banks and quaking countries, now, the Bonner Republik finally is ready to say goodbye. Bonn has handed over the torch to Berlin – and that also includes coping with the fact that after many incredibly fat years, we have to brace for a number of very lean ones. So, it is an almost historical mercy for the mighty brewery building it doesn’t need to succumb to that change, but can await the new times in a fresh dress – which is all the better because the "U" has gone through some years of famine… Perhaps the Bonner Republik feels a bit guilty for that – be that as it may, as a kind of apologetic gesture it has emptied some treasure chests for the building’s revamping. And not only the treasure chests at home, but also those of friends, partners, and allies in Brussels who were also convinced of the idea of the European thought. 

Rescue.2010 instead of Ruins.2015

Well, those treasure chests still contained some gold, but it must have been the last coins. Just image Essen and environs would have handed in their application for European capital of culture not for 2010, but for 2015… Probably, the “U” building in Dortmund would have stayed a ruin, maybe it would have been torn down. But even demolition bears costs, so the building would have just rotted, an epitome of urban misery, and of a region with very low expectations. But as it is, the „U“ is a symbol of “just-made-it”, a gracious whim of history – which did not appear out of the blue, but was lured in by a cunning management. Said management conjured up the impression of a region that promises to change through culture and become... more sophisticated? No, not more sophisticated, but more cultural – or at least very keen on culture.

Do you speak culture?

These days, understanding culture means to speak the language of those who have the monies to promote culture – and they talk in a strange tongue. It almost seems as if they fall back on the languages of the ancient world, Latin and Greek, in these uncertain days of change, because their talks contain a lot of Greek and Latin words: „innovative concepts“, „cultural education for the digital age“, „cooperation with the protagonists of creative industry“… The applicants and self-promoters of the Ruhr area have dug up their ancient language roots, enjoying those who have their hands on the remaining funds.

How does culture present itself?

The question is: is the audience also attracted by this language – or should things better be kept a bit simpler, style-wise? After the terminology has been toned down a bit, the cultural flow should act accordingly. What kind of projects can be planned without the Bonner Republik and the money it had? The impressive building, however, is at hand – so how to present culture in the coming years, where to get cultural impulses? The occupancy of the „U“ makes obvious that the government is expected to pitch in – heavily. A museum, a university, and a college – privately supported and sponsored, of course, but also – and mostly – by the government. The other floors are also promoted, by funds from art foundations and culture trusts or similar organisations, which are all institutions of huge assessment and transfer processes. The billions coming from the private culture industry, they are not yet flowing in the „U“ building in Dortmund. 

Operate creatively, create economically

Exactly this circumstance could turn the building into a real avant-garde project. It could be a lab, the staff working on an inevitable future project: to redirect culture promotion from government support to private funding – including every cultural facet. Some of this may be easy, such as raising support for the digital media, for example. But how to make the youth read a book? Also meaning: how to find a reader, someone reading to the young generation in a way that fascinates them and warms them up to the adventure of reading, someone not with an eye on the money, but doing it for the love of the book? What’s more, how do you succeed in making the kids pay for that offering – or better: make their parents pay because the kids asked for it? 
 

Support and challenge culture

These are the tasks for the think tank „U“, and also for the rest of the republic. Barely risen from a ruin existence to a cultural beacon, the building awaits its next skinning: the change from a public to a private, or at least more private institution. That task is the legacy of the past Bonner Republik which not only promoted culture, but also started to challenge it when the end of that republic was coming – which is good. Because future culture will be private – or very ordinary.
 

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