Is there still hope
for the country?

What role can architecture, art and literature play for regions enjoying only modest infrastructure? The Archive of the Future invited five guests on the evening of 22 August 2019 to discuss this difficult, multifaceted question. The captivating roundtable exchange was filmed in front of a public audience in the showroom. Guests included:

Kerstin Faber
(Urbanist and Senior Project Manager for the
International Building Exhibition IBA Thüringen)

Peter Haimerl
(Architect of the Archive of the Future)

Lola Randl
(Filmmaker and Author)

Stefan Mehl
(Managing Director of R+G Shareholdings, Developer of the Archive of the Future)

Markus Häggberg
(Lichtenfels Author and Journalist)

Rem Koolhaas predicted that the “future of the world would be decided in the countryside.” Nevertheless a small German city like Lichtenfels still struggles with rural flight, especially of young people and local talent, in spite of the economic prosperity of the high-tech companies based there. During an evening of public roundtable discussion, various personalities from the country and the city examined the extent to which culture can promote identification and participation and whether architecture, literature and art have the power to inspire smaller communities to find a healthy level of sustainability, thereby rendering them future-proof.

Moderator: Anneke von Holst (Super Cetera, Berlin)