We are back in Kreuzberg!
We moved again and this time for real.
Find us at Charlottenstraße 2 where, together with LABELS (Cee Cee Creative), we will create a space for creativity the way we love to do it: with plants and sketches.
We will share more updates of this amazing space where we would love for you to come and say hi!
#tspa #office #urbanplanning #berlin
Thomas Stellmach, urbanist and founder of TSPA, realised two years ago that his firm, and life, had to change. The situation didn’t look bad: International city planning projects were underway, academia and international organisations invited TSPA for conferences and lectures. Yet tension was high and constant, mistakes happened, plus the permanent anxiety that there is always more to be done.
Why was that? Too much was dependent on Thomas himself. Clients wanted to talk to him directly, decisions had to be taken. Various attempts to outsource or delegate had failed due to decreased quality in results. It was time to transition from an assisted one-person show to a larger structure. Was it time to build a pyramid-shaped org chart?
Mycelium Rhizome, 2009 Pencil on paper 120 x 240 cm. Collection of the artist Represented by Galerie Dusseldorf
This is an overview of the presentation Filippo Imberti made for the Nobel Fest event last week. He participated in the open dialogue about the global practices, issues and changing trends is essential in achieving well-functioning and liveable environments.
This overview looks at the role of cities in carbon emissions, and potential solutions:
A smart city is not only a city full of screens and self-driving cars. It is a city that employs data to better allocate resources, cover needs, and make places more accessible for everyone. Public toilets are the best example of how using data helps to design people-centered smart cities.
The European Commission defines a smart city as a place where traditional networks and services are made more efficient with digital solutions for the benefit of its inhabitants and business. In the same notion, TSPA has developed two city-wide concepts for Berlin and Düsseldorf that provide a demand-oriented supply of public toilets. To do so, we identified priority locations based on geodata and a distance ratio allocating the city resources in the best possible way.
The approach is integrative for the objectives of the idea, not only quantitatively but also qualitatively. We accompanied city policies with the involvement of interest groups and parts of the city’s administration. To provide a detailed strategy we used a wide range of data provided by public and private authorities, analysed basic human behaviour patterns, and compared with other cities to develop a sustainable concept. We considered data such as existing facilities within a certain range, people densities, tourism patterns, and many others. Only the combination of these tools and variables can help to elaborate a holistic strategy. As a result, the number of publicly accessible toilets will be increased to 200 locations in Düsseldorf and 257 in Berlin.
Public Toilets might be overlooked as part of the backbone of a city’s infrastructure, but that doesn’t mean that it is of great importance for its inhabitants and visitors. Big data analysis and cross-sector comparison are tools that improve the provision of such a basic service.
The provision of public toilets is a realistic way of thinking about how cities can be smart because it contributes significantly to the quality and accessibility of a city’s public space. It influences how we move around in the city and whether restrictions arise for some groups of people. Making the cities more interactive and responsive, safer public spaces, and meeting the needs of an aging population.
We are aware that there are a lot of things to improve when it comes to public toilets. How to achieve gender equality in its provision? How to keep it functional and accessible for everyone? How can these be safe without displacing vulnerable populations of public space?
We might not have all the answers, for one it is clear that intelligently chosen locations can at least help to tackle the issue of unequal spatial distribution or unmet capacity. The data-driven planning here steps as the main pillar.
More than 20 years after the reunification, what shapes Berlin today?
The news broadcaster Al Jazeera interviewed three Berliners, and one is our founder Thomas Stellmach, who experienced city changes in the post-wall ’90s and now understands current ongoing processes such as gentrification and recognises the importance of a vision for Berlin and Brandenburg’s future development.
We were delighted to be considered as a valuable source to understand and reflect on the city.
We’re renting out three table spaces in our beautiful shared office at Moritzplatz at Aquacarree above Ritter Butzke.
They are available immediately but also a later date is possible.
Price per desk per month 248,- EURO (USt/VAT included)
Wide tables and enough space to respect social distancing
What you get:
This 27th of June TSPA will participate in the Day of Architecture with an open office! Come and join us to hear more about or projects and exchange points of view. We will present our work and hold a session of Q&A followed by a convivial with drinks.
The event orgnaised by the Architecture Chamber will follow the existing hygiene regulations which include the registration of visitors.
For more information on how to register and review the map with all the participating projects, objects, open spaces in Berlin click here: https://www.ak-berlin.de/baukultur/tag-der-architektur/tag-der-architektur-2020.html
This is the fourth publication of the series “From work desks to work platforms” in which we share the strategies and tools that have helped us doing remote-work even before the Coronavirus Pandemic. Here we present two out of nine tools,Remote communication and basic office arrangement.
Video and Audio Conferencing, Screen Sharing, Chat and direct Exchange: Riot & Jitsi
This is the third publication of the series “From work desks to work platforms” in which we share the strategies and tools that have helped us doing remote-work even before the Coronavirus Pandemic. Here we present two out of nine tools, remote presentations, data collection and data analysis.
Presentations on Site and Remotely: Slides / Powerpoint / Keynote
As opposed to the previous chapter, that dealt with internal presentation, here we talk about external presentations — be it to a client or a lecture at a conference. We searched for a tool that lets develop presentations quickly, intuitively and work simultaneously with external collaborators. Another essential demands are easily grant access editing rights and offline working mode.
This is the first publication of a series in which we will share the strategies and tools that have worked for us in our experience with remote working. The next publications will which tools we use and how we use them.
How to work remotely without dropping the pencil.
Authors: Aleksandra Katasonova, Filippo Imberti, Thomas Stellmach
Graphics: Amr Elsayed
This document describes the remote work tool kit we use at TSPA. It is specifically the tools that work best for us (you’ll find some links to broader collections of solutions at the end of the text).
The Coronavirus pandemic is omnipresent in our society, where ‘social distancing’ neglects our everyday’s life and our common behaviour patterns. Schools and shops are closing, we all work from home and visit neither family nor friends. This is a challenge, as social interaction and discussion is key for the urban planning domain since local knowledge and participation have a huge impact on the process and the outcomes of a project.
Together with Zebralog, we were facing this issue and asked ourselves the following questions:
Greetings from TSPA!
We are very happy to start the end of the decade busy with very exciting projects and a growing team. We started this year feeling 20/20.
Whether in Germany or overseas TSPA explored all of its capacities building climate resiliency, thinking of sustainable solutions, designing the neighbourhoods of the future and planning for all. We are looking forward to continue doing so in 2020.
Endeavours around the world
While this year we developed projects in Germany, our international work is still ongoing and at full steam in Mozambique, Indonesia and the Philippines.
After Mozambique undertook a massive decentralisation process from its capital city in Maputo, TSPA teamed up to provide local governments of 5 different cities in the production of long term development strategies for the local municipalities, providing them with a sustainable framework for the future.
Some of the biggest learning outcomes of this project were the capabilities to collect data in a new context exploring analysis by drone, heat-sensing technologies, and other new techniques for mapping and analysing informal settlements all-together while developing a vision together with municipality authorities and local citizens through consensus.
Indonesia, with its many coastal communities, undeveloped water infrastructure, and high urban climates strives in the ecological and social sustainable development.
This 2019 TSPA continued to be part of the team which developed a feasibility study and established a national framework for sustainable development patterns at the neighbourhood level with ecodistricts pilot projects in the cities of Yogyakarta, Semarang and Wonosobo. This year the project held three on site workshops that helped our team to define what an Ecodistict is and how can it be shared and communicated under a clear narrative. This project had one goal in mind: embracing local contexts, cultures and communities in the making of guidelines for sustainable urban development.
TSPA partnered up with UN-Habitat, the Republic of the Philippines Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, in a project founded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) part of The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, to contribute in the Philippines with the project “Building Climate Resiliency through Urban Plans and Designs” in which we made recommendations climate change adaptation through the promotion of climate-responsive sustainable urban development plans and designs in the cities of: Legazpi, Angeles, Tagum, Cagayan de Oro and Ormoc.
Local endeavours
As a great balance with TSPA’s international portfolio, this past year we worked in local projects with three German cities including our home, Berlin. These projects are either kicking off or already in full swing.
We are happy to share that this autumn we were selected to be part of the teams who will develop test designs for the new city district of Blankenburger Süden, an area in the north east of our hometown, Berlin. Through a cooperative workshop process we have been able to build a collaborative master plan in which we will rethink how to develop the largest redevelopments in the region and take into consideration the interests of governmental institutions, stakeholders and inhabitants in the transformation of this green land into a neighbourhood of the 22nd century. One that is inclusive, sustainable, lively and connected.
Given the lack of information on the current situation of public toilets and the increasing demand for additional facilities, the City of Düsseldorf asked TSPA to develop a city-wide strategy for the supply of public toilets. The goals are to identify possible locations for new public toilets as well as to come up with general toilet standards based on the principles of sustainability, accessibility and multifunctionality for all groups of users.
This ongoing project has given us insight into the real impact of public toilets on the city and its residents, and has taught us a range of new skills and methods for dealing with a large amount of unstructured data from various stakeholders.
As part of the City of Chemnitz’s aim to plan for the future, we teamed up with Zebralog to support the City in the development of a city-wide strategy. TSPA contributes its knowledge of strategic urban planning and spatial mapping and visualisation to a participatory process which involves both the city administration and the public as well as key stakeholders. Through a series of workshops and interactions we help define the city’s overarching goals and vision for the year 2040 and prototype them in areas in which they should take immediate effect.
This year we welcome seven new international team members Alessandra Sammartino (IT), Alexandra Katasonova -not pictured- (RU), Christina Krampokouki (GR), Jan Cyganski (GER), Janin Walter (GER), Natalia Perez-Bobadilla (MEX) and Sophie Leemans (BE).
TSPA is excited for the projects and knowledge 2020 will bring, thank you for following our work.
Do you follow our instagram account?
TSPA today welcomed Alexandra Katasanova in Bonn at the reception of 2019’s grant winners of the German Chancellor Fellowship for tomorrow’s leaders.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation annually awards ten candidates each from Brazil, China, India, Russia, and the USA to spend an research a year in Germany. TSPA will be one of the host organisation in 2019, and we look forward to work with Alexandra on building a platform for enabling cooperation in urban development in the coming year!
Thomas was invited to give a lecture in BTU Cottbus, where he shared his insights about establishing a successful urban planning office. The discussion with students focused on key questions in the beginning of one’s professional life, while Thomas also showed key projects and discussed the processes behind their development.
To read more about the lecture, visit the link below:
https://www.b-tu.de/fg-baukonstruktion/derdiedas/archiv
Visit us at ‘Tag der Architektur’ on June 23. Open door, interesting projects, lively discussions… and Vermouth drinks until we are out (the drinks). Also with mekado and cba, JCA and other partners.
Traditionell steht das letzte Wochenende im Juni ganz im Zeichen der qualitätvollen Baukultur. Am 23. und 24. Juni findet zum 23. Mal der Tag der Architektur, diesmal unter dem Motto „Architektur bleibt!“, statt. Das Programm dieses publikumswirksamen Ereignisses gestalten interessierte Kammermitglieder aller Bundesländer – mit Führungen durch zeitgenössische private sowie öffentliche Bauten, Freianlagen, Innenräume und/oder einem offenen Büro mit Standort in Berlin. Das diesjährige Angebot ist größer denn je. Allein rund 70 Projekte mit Führungen stehen auf dem Programm. In Berlin machen, passend zum Motto, nicht nur viele Denkmalumbauten anschaulich, wie sensibles Bauen im Bestand aussieht. Wer will, kann sich direkt mit denen austauschen, die all das geschaffen haben: Die Führungen übernehmen die Architektinnen und Architekten selbst. In den offenen Büros laden sie zu Vorträgen, Ausstellungen, Festen und Gesprächen ein. Das gesamte Programm sowie die App zum Tag der Architektur erscheinen im Mai 2018.
2018 findet zeitgleich auch das Architekturfestival MakeCity statt, das zusammen mit dem Tag der Architektur viele Aspekte des Bauens und der Stadtentwicklung thematisiert. Im Vorfeld findet am 16./17. Juni der Galerierundgang „Architecture Exhibitions Weekend“ statt.
We are renting one to five desks. Ideal for a small team!
€€€
206 € (177.50 € net, USt/VAT excluded). Per desk, per month.
!!!
What you get:
Affordable housing, sustainable financing models, land leasehold models, intergenerational living, green architecture: these topics have in common that we promote them as planners and architects. They also have in common that they are more easily said than done. To see what can actually be done, TSPA founded the housing cooperative urbancoopberlin, together with SammlerUsinger, LIST GmbH, Hervé De Giovannini, SUSTAINABLE SERVICES. As our first test case, we participated in the competition of the city of Berlin for the ‘Schöneberger Linse’ organised by Senate of Berlin. The competition asked a sustainability and renting concept besides the architectural proposal. The urbancoop proposal won the first prize, being awarded the plot and development opportunity. Have a look at the project here and learn more about the residents’ engagement process in this video.
«With the Oculus Rift above the Techno Club» is Jasper Massink’s article about his professional and personal experiences during his internship at TSPA and in Berlin in general. Currently on the title page of archined [Dutch]. Read the full story here: Met de Oculus Rift boven de Technoclub: persoonlijke en professionele ervaringen in Berlijn.
Hey Jasper — we’re glad you survived that night!
We’re renting out four table spaces in our beautiful shared office at moritzplatz at Aquacarree above Ritter Butzke.
One of them is available immediately , the others from July 2015.
Monthly rent is 168 EURO excluding VAT. Internet, table, chair, shelf space and cleaning is included, there is storage space and a nice little kitchen.
Address:
Aqua Carree/Room 306/Entrance B
Lobeckstrasse 30-35, 10997 Berlin
Tel: 030 325 19 265
Mail: office@morgen.com.de
the scoop
Thomas Stellmach Planning and Architecture emerged from Uberbau (RIP and Thank You!) in late 2014. TSPA continues the work in different global contexts and scales, with projects ranging from regional development to neighbourhood transformation across Europe, Asia and Africa.
thus far
The first few months of 2015 have been rich. We are currently masterplanning a 73 ha city extension in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia while the UN-Habitat consultancy continues with missions to Ethiopia and the Philippines. We also delivered a concept to transform a ‘60s megastructure in Seoul in cooperation with Crosby architects. Meanwhile, the work of TSPA was presented at Syracuse (London) and Urbanfest (Izhevsk).
who (k)new?
As the projects expand, so does the team. We welcome Alexandra and Karina (RU), Cason (US), Ben (DE), Jasper (NL), Javier (ES), as well as Luca and Raffaele (IT)!
Feel invited to find out more on this new website and to download our portfolio in the office section. Also, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus in the sidebar. And most modern, call us +49 (30) 5770 6349 2.
So long, all best from Berlin.
Thomas Stellmach has been welcomed as member of the International Society of City and Regional Planners ISOCARP.
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