The dream of the city by the ocean

The Museum of Hamburg History, together with numerous international experts has created a unique exhibition: „The dream of the city by the ocean – ports from all over the world“ and presents the historical background and modern perspectives of the coastal capitals compared worldwide and therewith makes the various changes of ports in the course of their history clear. Venice, Genoa, Danzig and St. Petersburg are examples by which the different motives of foundation and development of a city are represented. The capitals Hamburg, Barcelona, Marseille and Shanghai as well as London and Rotterdam are represented with their urban plan projects orientated for the future. Just as the Baltic cities, Stockholm, Kiel, Rostock as well as Reval/Tallinn and Riga. A further main feature of the exhibition deals with the development and significance of myths and legends, by representation of the sunken cities Vineta and Rungholt, through which the complex and ambivalent meaning of the ocean for mankind is illustrated. In addition, various architectural visions are in the centre of the exhibition, dealing with the utopian aspect of the exhibition – lead by the designs of the extensive generation of architects around Le Corbusier.
In past years decisive changes have been carried out in the economy and international trade. Especially affected by these changes are the ports in their process of restructuring and following that the search for a new urban identity. The revitalization of dock areas also keeps urban planners in Hamburg busy. A gigantic restructuring process of unexploited port areas was initiated.

On the one hand the project „Portcity“ wants to pick out the port as a central theme with its functional adaption to the demands of a modern depot for goods. These were to obtain international competition of the ports location. On the other hand the aim of the project is to newly define the unused areas of the port by urban development and architectural means in order to develop them together with the „Innercity“ to a new area of the city.

One of the tasks seems to be to understand the change as an expansion of the classical centre of the port from the area of trade to a technological, innovative, urban structure. Indeed, nowadays it is not only a task for the urban planners to adapt the areas of ports of big coastal cities technological to the new demands of world trade. A further goal is to develop new convincing concepts which abolish the historically developed, functional seperation of the port from the
other areas of the city.

Politicians and private investors often try to obtain a perfect solution for the structuring of the areas of the ports and at the same time try to establish the mixed function of a future orientated city in the mono structures of the ports.

The aim is to develop attractive and innovative city blocks, in which new forms of urban living and working with original dimensions of free time and cultural activities can be connected. Through this, other future ways of life shall be made possible in the „City by the ocean“. In this sense the changes are not only a challenge for politicians and investors, but also for the urban planners, architects, artists and intellectuals.

With the exhibition, “The dream of the city by the ocean“ the Museum of Hamburg History wants to provide a contribution to current discussions. At the same time it wants to sensitize for an urban development structuring process, otherwise only accessible to specialists, in
order to facilitate the understanding of such radical changes.

In order to present the historical background and modern development of the different metropolis, the exhibition presents numerous original objects from all over the world, some of which have never been shown in Hamburg: original drawings by the architect Le Corbusier, of the history of the city of St. Petersburg, excavations of the sunken cities Vineta and Rungholt, as well as a presentation of the future megacity of Shanghai.

The exhibition divides itself into the four following sections:

The main point of the exhibition „The city by the ocean in the european mythology“ deals with myths and legends of the victory of the ocean over mankind. The sunken medieval cities Vineta and Rungholt are an example of the complex meaning of the ocean for mankind.

The theme: „Cities by the ocean and their history“ presents the cities Venice, Genoa, Danzig and St. Petersburg and their different motives of foundation and town planning in the course of their history.

The section of the exhibition „Architectural dreams of the 20th century“ refers to the architectural visions of Le Corbusier, Yona Friedman, Herman Sörgel as well as the Japanese metabolists Kisho Kurokawa and Kiyonori Kikutake.
Here, the centre of attention is the work of the famous french architect Le Corbusier, who like no other, developed his plans for cities and buildings from the shapes of the ocean and at the same time gave an impulse for further utopias.

Another project of the past which influenced the fantasies of many architects and planners was developed by the architect Herman Sörgel in 1927 from Munich. The „Atlantropa-Project“ was planned to lower the Mediterranean Sea, so Africa and Europe could be united and new areas of settlement were to be won. Renowned architects, engineers, artists and authors from all over Germany participated in the following years on the plans to lower the Mediterranean Sea.

Modern visions like the „Cities of Bridges“ by the french architect Yona Friedman or the maritime designs by the Japanese metabolists Kisho Kurokawa and Kiyonori Kikutate from the sixties add to the exhibition.

Finally, the worldwide enforced changes in the topography of ports and harbours in chosen european and non-european cities by the ocean is picked out as a central theme under the title: „The changes of the ports“

Following the exhibition, a catalog can be obtained for 28,50 Euros.