Tonderai Koschke
she/herSpatial dimensions of organically grown community centres
Tonderai Koschke is an architectural researcher and educator currently living in Berlin. She holds the position of guest lecturer at Weissensee School of Art. Having completed architectural studies at the Technical University of Munich, EPFL Lausanne, and Harvard GSAS and GSD, she holds an M.a in architecture. She has worked in project management at Architangle publishers in Berlin (2020- 2022), practiced at Boltshauser Architekten in Zürich (2018- 2019) and worked as curatorial assistant at the Architecture Museum of the TU Munich (2018). She is also co-creator of the pan-Afrikan collective Isusu Ffena, which hosts discussions, events, and festivals in Berlin. Her research interest within the interdisciplinary fields she engages in is in post-colonial identities and power dynamics.
Project
Anchor Places engages with spaces of importance to various cultural groups within European cities, which have contributed to the survival and growth of communities otherwise underserved by architectures of the city. (Former) migrant histories have long carved out spaces in European cities where people come together to catch up, celebrate, and thus, foster a sense of togetherness, safety, and strength. The project analyses examples with view to identifying which features of urban space and architecture invite othered cultural groups to gather in certain places, and how these factors contribute to community strength and vibrancy. This will also allow for the identification of challenges minority groups face in their physical environment, and the spatial needs they have that are still to be met. The project seeks outcomes that point toward ways in which cities can be designed to be more welcoming to all members of society, and reflective of the diverse cultural identities within them.
