Öffentliches Bauen im Spannungsfeld zwischen Governance und Repräsentation: Der baukulturelle Umgang mit Rathäusern in Deutschland

Abstract

The paper sets out to analyse decision-making processes and correlated actions of the public-sector in regard to public building projects in the light of shifting socio-economic and political frameworks and new constellations of actors which have changed the relationship between government, private actors and civil society. The objects of our investigation are town halls in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. We analyse local political processes in regard to whether it was decided to demolish and replace, or to refurbish, modernise and aestheticize existing town halls. Over the last three decades, local actors have experienced significant socio-economic and structural changes. Processes of deregulation, privatisation, and globalisation as much as new governance constellations have altered the traditional relationship between the public and the private sector. The paper suggests that these changes have had substantial consequences on the conception and the design of town halls. In a first step, we look at the history of town halls as societal building projects, and we raise the question if and how the public sector has been promoting exemplary excellence. In a second step, we explore significant socio-economic changes of the last 30 years, and we analyse – against this background – shifting constellations of actors. With the help of four case studies, we investigate how recent town hall projects have been realised. The case studies help to gain new insight into the decision-making processes behind the conception, design and construction of town halls in West-Germany. As a result, the analysis of interactions between socio-economic processes, actors, and the built environment is made possible.