Berlin Cyber City (1989-90) by Monika Fleischmann & Wolfgang Strauss

Berlin - Cyber City, was realized in 1990 as a Media Art Installation after the fall of the Berlin wall. A participative Mixed Reality table combined with a 3D environment and Virtual Reality tools invites people to discuss the past and the future of the former divided city.
The idea was to reconstruct parts of East and West Berlin, both parts mostly unknown to the other side in 1990. On what basis do we plan our future? We found forgotten spaces of the past - the Nazi bunkers under the death strip - and combined it with simulations of the planned future of the city. The project was part of our participation in the Potsdamer Platz architecture competition. With this architectural installation we tried to initiate a friendly encounter, a discourse between east and west berliners and an encounter with the surrounding world that sharply observes Germany today. The media archaeology table opened a public debate on the past and the future of the city. It was presented at Internationale Funkausstellung 1991 in Berlin.

Artists / Authors: Wolfgang Strauss, Monika Fleischmann, Art+Com e.V. Berlin

Cooperators: Edouard Bannwart, Dirk Lüsebrink, Uli Weinberg, Gavin Hodge, Alain Bouchilloux, Hendrik Tramberend, Josef Speier, Joachim Sauter.

Origination: Germany, 1989-91

Berlin Cyber City, was developed in the "Raumlabor" of Art+Com, directed by Fleischmann & Strauss. Their research was funded by the Berlin Senate for Science and Research.
It was part of the Longterm Research program on "Neue Medien im Städtebau" (New Media in Urban Planning, 1988-2002) directed by Edouard Bannwart, Head of Art+Com e.V. and supported by Deutsche Telekom/Berkom.

More works of Fleischmann & Strauss:
http://fleischmann-strauss.de/works
http://netzspannung.org/about/mars/projects/

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Berlin
• Cyber City
• participative table
• interactive installation
• future city
• simulation
• east
• west
• berliners
• communication
• scenography
• media art
• Monika Fleischmann
• Wolfgang Strauss
• Mixed Reality
• Nazi bunker
• Berliner Mauer
• Fall of Berlin Wall

[eCultureFactory]

People from east and west tried it after the fall of the Berlin Wall in several public events. Today we would need to set up a new installation with new (and cheaper) hard and software.

[KirstenBoelskifte]

That looks really cool, is it something tourists can try?