Speicher XI A
By opening Speicher XI A in 2023, the University of the Arts Bremen won a taylor-made extension in the Überseestadt to mesh the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design and the Music Faculty even closer together. The building complex is situated adjacent to Speicher XI and is set apart by an extraordinary architecture. The distinctive shed roofs blend the site into the classic architecture of the traditional industries and factories of the harbour area. Highly visible in the urban landscape, it is a protected space at the same time, where teaching, artistic practice and artistic-scientific research engage in an interdisciplinary dialogue.
Containing no internal barriers, the excellent, technical infrastructure and the outstanding architecture of Speicher XI A provide ideal preconditions for these efforts: Speicher XI A is almost 100 meters long and contains some 2.000 square meters of space. The two factory halls at the location comprise studios that can be separated into individual areas, large walls and rooms for storage and offices, as well as an adjustable hall for events and exhibitions with some 400 seats. These features set Speicher XI A up to become a new locus for artistic engagement – in studies and teaching, as well as with the public: Exhibits, presentations, media installations and performances are happening here, as well as concerts and opera performances.
Usage
Three professors at the HfK are working at Speicher XI A with their classes. Ingo Vetter, Professor for Sculpture with a Focus on Classic, Artistic Materials; Alexander Sahoo, Professor for Fundamental Aspects of Design, and Füsun Türetken, Professor for Design and the Future. They share the theme of materiality that is being considered from different perspectives at Speicher XI A – ranging from the construction of cargo bicycles to production design to sculptures. To enable students to realise their ideas and imaginations, the workshop for electronic experiments under the leadership of Felix Fisgus, the workshop for metal construction run by Volker Grahmann and the InteractionLab have also moved into the building. Led by Markus Walthert, the InteractionLab provides 3D-printing, the CNC cutting plotter and the laser cutter at the University.
By taking over and using Speicher XI A, the HfK is contributing significantly to the development of the Überseestadt and to the connection to its neighbourhood Walle. The rooms for studios and work can be customised and thereby provide urgently needed, additional spaces for an art education of a high quality to students and teachers at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design and the Music Faculty. The new event hall opens up additional opportunities to give fresh impulses and food for thought on important issues facing us these days to the urban community. Due to the large windows at the site, Speicher XI A is not only bathed in light. The facility has also become a permanent display window that opens opportunities for incidental encounters with the arts.
Speicher XI A was the last project that Professor h.c. Dr. jur. Klaus Hübotter was able to launch for the HfK, a honorary senator and local philanthropist dedicated to building projects at the University.
Address
University of the Arts Bremen
Speicher XI A
Überseetor 11
28217 Bremen
Contact
Christina Scheib will answer enquiries; since 2023 she has been the curator responsible for the MS Dauerwelle and the event hall (Hall 1) of Speicher XI A.