On Tempelhofer Feld

When Berlin-Tempelhof, one of Germanys oldest commercial airports and the largest open space in Berlin, was closed in 2008, it began to be used as a park by local Berliners. In 2010, plans to develop the site were frozen after massive public protests. The two volume project documenting this story, spearheaded by the Belgian duo of landscape architect Wouter De Raeve and photographer Benjamin Deboosere, sheds light on the struggle to redefine urban space in the 21st century. In over 300 full-bleed black-and-white photographs by Deboosere, the first book documents the park in use. From Rollerblading and jogging to picnics and nature walks, locals enjoy the raw, open fields in endless ways. The second book is a compilation of essays and writings investigating the complexities of redefining urban space today by eight contributors including noted architectural theorist Markus Miessen and Markus Bader, co-founder of the alternative architectural collaborative raumlabor.