From 31 August to 1 September 2018, the Städtische Bibliotheken Dresden, in cooperation with the Kulturhauptstadtbüro, organised an open-air reading event in front of the Dresden Palace of Culture. Together with the Chair of Landscape Architecture, under the direction of Professor Ana Viader Soler, who has been working at the TU Dresden since 2016, an installation for readings and performances was created, which received the name KULTURPALUPE. The name is a play on words from KULTUR+TU+KULTURPALAST+LUPE. In 2017 the municipal libraries were commissioned to organise a reading event on the forecourt of the Kulturpalast. In cooperation with the Chair of Landscape Architecture and Plastique Fantastique, the project KULTURPALUPE was developed within the framework of courses in the 2018 summer semester.

In a workshop, the students of the master's course first dealt with the conception of the KULTURPALUPE before the five-day production followed, in which a total of 128 parts for the three objects were cut, taped and sewn. 1130 m² textile, 205 m² fabric foil and 200 meters zippers were processed. The result was a weatherproof, temporary, pneumatic architecture based on the image of the thought bubble and offering space for two days for various events. The largest room was four metres high and 12 metres wide. The construction, which was also carried out with the students, took around two hours. "The installation is very light, extremely resistant and waterproof," emphasises Ms Viader Soler, tearing the translucent textile of the KULTURPALUPE several times.

The project was accompanied by the artist Maya Schweizer, under whose direction a short film was made, documenting the construction process and opening and at the same time contributing to the application for the European Capital of Culture 2025. The film was filmed partly from the outside from a bird's eye view, partly from the inside from the two accessible bubbles. With the support of the Transfer Office, a licence agreement was drawn up to enable public screening of the film material in accordance with copyright law and to be acquired as a licence.

Further cooperation between the Kulturhauptstadtbüro, Städtische Bibliotheken Dresden and the TU Dresden is planned. "We are currently looking for opportunities for further cooperation. We would like to take the reading event further, the interest is high on all sides. Personally, cooperation with various players in Dresden is very important to me, and we want to set an example for joint cooperation. The film should reach as many people as possible. Especially for libraries, such projects are essential in order to respond to the changes in the 21st century and to show creative possibilities for exchange and reading," explains Professor Viader Soler.

From 15 to 30 April 2019, a small exhibition will take place in the foyer of the BZW Zellescher Weg for anyone interested in learning more about the KULTURPALUPE.

For further information please contact:

Chair of Landscape Architecture                                                                                                 Professor Ana Viader Soler                                                                                                        Phone: 0351-463 34447                                                                                                               E-mail: ana.viader_soler@tu-dresden.de