IBA, Hamburg 2013 – International Architectural Exhibition

Text and photos: Pál Lővei

Elba Island on the IBA Information-model

Organised in 2013 Hamburg, Internationale Bauausstellung has a past of more than a century. The series of programmes for all the year round present the entire region as a live exhibition focusses on the future of quickly deteriorating southern parts of the former Hanza city. In 2004 the urban policy of Hamburg published its concept titled „jump over the River Elbe and beyond”, which actually serves the interests of the whole city too as its northern parts are no longer able to satisfy the ever-growing intensive demands for the new residential areas and industrial quarters. The idea of Internationale Gartenschau, 2013 (the international gardening exhibition) and the international architectural exhibition were born out of the ambition to create means and tools to facilitate civic planning. During the years of preparation for these events the areas concerned have acted much like laboratories of constructing the future where in the spirit of the slogan „new chances, new spaces, new energies” exemplary exhibition projects were organised to show examples that serve long-term and well-conceived urban development both socially and environmentally – all with climate-friendly energy-supply. The plans now realized were presented in three groups in 2013: the one titled „City and Climate Change” focussed on issues related to energy-supply, „Metro Zones” covered ways to satisfy demands generated by metropolitan lifestyle, whilst „Kosmopolis” dealt with the preservation and protection of relics of local tradition and people settling down here with the objective to facilitate their interactions and fulfilment.