The centers of major cities make the transformation visible. The crisis is affecting brick-and-mortar retailers. Pedestrian zones are empty. But these same circumstances also provide a wonderful opportunity to rethink the city of the future. That was the subject of M O F A’s online panel on April 29, at 7 p.m. – and the subject of our Lab Report “Retail in Transition”, in which Caspar Schmitz-Morkramer has presented positions and ideas that deal with how our cities could once again become thriving, livable, people-centered places.

As part of the event series “City as realm of opportunity. Mannheim after the crisis.” the title of the discussion was “All shopped-out? New programs for the city center.” City centers are in a continuous state of flux – a dialog that’s constantly yielding new perspectives and challenges. And a dialog in which we want to take part, which is why we’re participating in the forum hosted by the M O F A – Mannheims Ort für Architektur initiative.

Our exhibition entry “Retail in Transition – Verkaufswelten im Umbruch” can be found in the show window of the former and currently vacant Galeria Kaufhof N7 and the Galerie Lindenhof in Mannheim and is dedicated to the future of our cities. An accompanying digital lecture series deals with the urban planning conflicts and challenges that have become especially fierce over the past year as well as new opportunities and realms of possibility. The main focus of our show window is on the transformation of inner cities and of retail trade.

Photos: © Marcus Bredt

Über M O F A