Frankfurt (Oder) is shrinking! Twenty thousand former inhabitants decided to live their future elsewhere. A vacancy of currently six thousand flats is becoming a burden for the city, while in busy Slubice you'll find a housing shortage. Hardly a thing seems less understandable to the people than the demolition works on the German bank of the Oder. And nothing causes more pain to Frankfurt's citizens than having to watch their city disappear house by house. The most vivid exchange between Germans and Polish takes place at the Europe University Viadrina. but if you expected the border city to grow together in the lecture halls, you will be deceived: already in the afternoon a huge number of German students take the train back to Berlin, while their Polish fellow students walk to Slubice. Only few of them can afford a German flat. Furthermore, Frankfurt's citizens look askance at the University. They tend to feel passed over in decisions concerning the town. We students of the Viadrina will establish an international, self-administrated student centre just in time for the Viadrina's 500-year anniversary. With a half of the students being Polish or coming from other countries all over the world, the European idea is far from abstract at our university. Europe begins here!

Together with the Berlin-bases design tank anschaege.de we made it our business to plan and realize the "verbuendungshaus fforst", located in Forststr. 3 and 4. The typical 80s' concrete slab building (which is almost vacant) is situated halfway between the university and the city bridge. From there both the border and the lecture hall are only a five minutes' stroll away. A step-by-step transition is now taking place instead of the prearranged demolition. An advantageous development for the remaining tenants as well, as they may stay in their accustomed enviroment. Next to them, 35 students found living and working space. With ample store rooms in the ground floor the "verbuendungshaus fforst" is able to provide room for events and workshops. These rooms stand open to everybody became a link between university and and town. This way a barren by-road became a part of the living campus. No such placre as "verbuendungshaus fforst" exists these days neither in Frankfurt nor in Slubice. In our house, former neatly separated people came together: students meet alumni, retired from Frankfurt (Oder) face freshmen from Frankfurt (Main), Polish Germanists encounter German experts in Eastern Europe. Stormy discussions step down from the podium and have a seat at the kitchen table.

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Contact us:
verbuendungshaus fforst e.V.
Forststr.3-4
15230 Frankfurt (Oder)
Germany

E-Mail: verbuendungshausfforst@gmail.com



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