Stenger2 Architekten und Partner, Former Power Plant. Installation view at Palazzo Bembo, 2016.

The Ancient Greeks invented concept.
The Romans took it and developed it.
They invented empiricism
– and created an empire.

The German word Kraftwerk combines the terms for power and strength with work and achievement. The sophisticated implementation of these words above was necessary to revitalise a ruined machine, the former gas-powered combined heat and power plant in Munich-Obersendling. Framed by two catastrophic explosions, it only had a short life-span from 1962 to 1999. After that it was shut down and for eleven years the obsolete power plant became a ruin. The local vicinity reacted either stoically or with defeatism.
People accepted the useless core of their neighbourhood as a piece of landscape. Nobody questioned it. The Kraftwerk became “invisible”. In 2010 it was sold by the Munich public utility company and purchased by a private investor. All of the sudden, when the deal went public, the Kraftwerk reappeared, lit by a huge spotlight. The following debate caught us all off guard, both old and new owners as well as us architects.
“Tear down that eyesore” some yelled. “Build apartments instead!” Others expressed worries: “How was it possible to sell it in secrecy? What are they doing with it? Why weren’t we asked?” The mere fact that something new and big was about to happen created significant public opinion around it. Whilst still being a ruin, the structure quickly gained renewed public interest. We decided to become fully transparent about its future. People’s suspicions vanished. Public opinion changed. Subsequently the press, city authorities, and the neighbourhood began to support the project of reinventing the Kraftwerk as a building. What we learned from it: The finished building is a myth. Buildings start to decay right after the impeccable pictures for architectural magazines and weblogs are taken. As soon as its doors are open to let in the user, perfection’s biggest enemy, the cycle of decay and patina begins again. And that’s great.
Getting rid of the present enables architecture to cycle and to recycle. Our cities are full of structures in various states of decay. It is important to realise that these buildings establish our position in history. They show that there was something before us and that there will be something after us. We understand that the finished building might be a ruin tomorrow and something different the day after.
The revitalisation of the Kraftwerk can be seen as a model for reinventing all those temporarily obsolete structures our cities provide. Former machines or transportation facilities, industrial ruins, once thoroughly planned by engineers. They may seem invisible, but they are everywhere around us. For taking care of the obsolete the common conceptual approach often doesn’t help. Relying on a concept that requires proof of low risk and reliability of numbers can hold us back from successful reinventions. The Kraftwerk in Munich would not have been possible without empiricism and courage. There could have been a thousand reasons for not starting it. But we did. Let’s face it: there is no secure method of estimating an empirical project. Still: Get rid of the shackles. Start doing it. What you’re doing is ok. Instead of tearing them down, take the risk and transform the obsolete. Just be fearless.