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This reflection is about the assignment that took place in the seminar week of the “ Advanced Studio upcycling : Bodies of Knowledge : Rethinking vacant buildings ( e )” held in the summer semester 2021 . The aim was to create a video of the length of 4 ‘ 33 ‘‘ about our context of our intervention project . The length and the theme of the video were therefore predefined . Beside that were no further specifications . This reflection explains the broad outline of my approach and how my perspective on the Kohlplatz neighbourhood has changed because of the video shoot .

When I started filming the context of my interventions project , honestly , I did not expect something new at all . Because the Kohlplatz is the area of my childhood , I played there with my friends since I could walk . So , I know this area like my pockets of my favourite blue jeans . While I was walking through the neighbourhood searching for interesting story ’ s , I felt like a random

figure without a goal wandering around , everything in this area looked so familiar for me , there was nothing happen . Consequently , I have asked Rudolph , a close neighbour of me and long resident on the Kohlplatz , if I could interview him for a video . I spoke recently before we had to film the context with him about this area over the telephone . He told me then some interesting facts of former shops and businesses at the Kohlplatz . Maybe he could bring in some fresh new wind into my project . Rudolph was very interested into the project from the beginning on . The interview took approximately 30 minutes . I just asked two questions and the rest of the time Rudolph spoke about his memories and the change of the Kohlplatz . He spoke very detailed about the old family businesses which were quite common in this area , about the supportive community and the careless life as well as what happened here especially concerning the industry . It was very fascinating to listen to Rudolph about this old story , how the Kohlplatz looked like when he was a child or at my age . At first , I thought it was another neighbourhood Rudolph was talking about . There were so many new aspects , he mentioned . When the interview was over , I have started filming the context again . I have spent nearly one day just filming the context . After all , I realised the old place Rudolph was talking about has not much in common with the present one . Sometimes I even asked myself if I really know my own neighbourhood . The longer I stayed at the Kohlplatz , the more memorabilia from the early days I discovered . At the beginning it was just single pieces , like the millstone , but little by little I found more . Because of these mementos , I was able to imagine the old face of Kohlplatz with the family businesses , the strong community and the vibrant everyday life . My perspective on the context has changed a lot . For me , it is now a different neighbourhood than before the seminar week . It feels like I can see what is under the “ surface ”. I found the task of making a video documentary about our surroundings to be a very good idea . At the beginning I underestimated the impact . But because of the interview and the time I spent at Kohlplatz ,

the task helped me a lot to understand the context . My perspective changed completely , and I was positively surprised how much I learned about the place . However , there is one thing I would do differently next time . I would include my opinion and experiences of the Kohlplatz in the video and contrast it with Rudolph ‘ s position . This would result in a video with two opposing perspectives and memories of the same place .

it was full of life .“