Cologne Ehrenfeld is a neighborhood with a broad and diverse cultural scene that shapes the attitude to life in the district. But anyone who observes current developments knows that many initiatives and cultural venues are fighting for survival. But what do we do when these hubs of public life disappear? Where do we find new places for the shared exchange of ideas and creative action? Can derelict places, such as the unused railroad arches on Hüttenstraße in Ehrenfeld, perhaps be such a place?
In preparation for the fifth edition of Cityleaks, the festival initiated for the first time a residency program for artists and researchers. Against the thematic background of structural change in Cologne-Ehrenfeld, the cycle of the "Creative City", and the spatial-thematic examination of the street space as a melting pot of public life, the participants immersed themselves in the history(s) of Hüttenstraße, its (mis)development and the visions of its future shape. In exchange with the neighborhood, passers-by, local and international guests, narratives were brought to light, models of use of the Bahnbögen from neighboring European countries were discussed, and ideas for the Ehrenfelder Bahnbögen were collected. The architects' collective Orizzontale from Rome accompanied this process and, under the title "Simul et Singulis," designed an architectural provisional structure that was distributed over three arches and allowed for different and interlocking uses. Together with many energetic helpers, construction was then carried out, following the vision of a jointly developed and used space: a Common Space in Ehrenfeld.