It could all be so simple if we only lived in virtual worlds. We would tell an artificial intelligence how we imagine public space, and in no time we would have a living space in which we would feel comfortable. And the next day we could change everything again.
Günter Murr
Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.
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In reality, however, all change processes are lengthy and full of hurdles. However, artificial intelligence (AI) can help to find solutions: This is one of the findings of the urban development festival SOUP, which ended at the weekend in Frankfurt. For three days, around 1500 participants discussed how to improve the quality of life – and whether we need to reinvent the city.
What a completely invented city, which is nevertheless reminiscent of Frankfurt, could look like, has been playfully tried out by the Munich-born architect Matthias Hollwich, who works in New York. His team has set the AI programs ChatGPT and Midjourney the task of combining traditional and modern Frankfurt architecture. The result is somewhat crazy-looking designs, such as high-rise buildings with tapered gable roofs. But Hollwich is serious about using AI in planning – and points to a number of applications that could make architects' work easier. "We can use it to expand our creativity," he says, predicting: "Artificial intelligence will either make architects better or unemployed."
Fundamentally discussed
Urban planner Robin Römer experimented with AI in a different context: children were able to tell the software their wishes for the design of the Hauptwache. The result, for example, is a landscape with penguins and rhinos. The design of the central downtown square was part of several program items. Among other things, analogue ideas such as the multifunctional cabinet "Paul", which can be used as a kiosk, café or stage and can be moved quickly from one place to another, were also presented.
But there was also a fundamental discussion about the future of the city centre, for which, according to Rita Roland of the consulting firm PWC, it has long been "five past twelve" in view of the crisis in the retail sector. "Something has to happen quickly, Frankfurt has to reinvent itself." Strategy consultant Thomas Sevcik warned against the idea that a use could be established in the shopping centers that has nothing to do with making money. "Inner cities have always been commercial, that's never going to change," he said. However, in the future, money will not only be earned by selling things. "We're going to get new offerings: commercial culture, commercial health, commercial education." There will also be neighborhoods that will be managed by private companies like shopping centers.
Tobias Sauerbier of the real estate company Signa, which is currently building the new building on the site of the former sports arena on the Hauptwache, also sees an opportunity in the withdrawal of the retail trade. You can fill the vacated spaces with something new. In order to enable a diverse range of products, however, it is also necessary to talk about subsidising retailers who cannot pay high rents. Daniel Reichwein from the project developer Hines, which is converting the former Esprit building on the Zeil, pleaded for housing and offices to be brought back to the shopping mile. "The city centre is not dead," says consultant Sevcik. "It's just better than it used to be."
"Frankfurt will remain a place that attracts people"
This message is likely to be in the spirit of Marcus Gwechenberger, who was nominated as the new head of the planning department at the SPD party conference in Frankfurt on Friday. A few hours earlier, he had presented his basic lines of urban development at the festival. He was optimistic: "Frankfurt will remain a place that attracts people." Gwechenberger not only wants to provide the necessary infrastructure for this, but also to increase the quality of stay. "We want to transform public space and become faster in the process."
Architect Kristian Villadsen from the renowned Gehl office in Copenhagen formulated a proposal as to where Gwechenberger could start: "The ramparts are an underused resource in Frankfurt." And consultant Julia Erdmann tried to ground the entire discussion a bit: "Artificial intelligence is great, but social intelligence is more important for livable cities."