Prädikow Project Enrolled in European Research Programme

Aim is to highlight potentials to revitalise heritage buildings
How can old buildings threatened by dilapidation be restored to a state of repair that makes them fit for modern, social and community-oriented uses?  In a country with a limited surface area like Germany, how far can this contribution go towards easing the shortage of project sites and development zones? These and similar questions prompted the launch of the European Open Heritage Research Project on 1st June 2018. Research institutions working on the project include the not-for-profit foundation Stiftung trias - land, ecology and communal living in cooperation with the Humboldt University of Berlin. They are looking into the pilot project "Hof Prädikow" in Brandenburg's rural Märkisch Oderland County that seeks to showcase an innovative form of communal living, housing and working while, at the same time, setting out to demonstrate that affordable housing in Berlin's wider metropolitan catchment area is actually possible.

Funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 Programme, the research project boasts renowned institutions such as the universities of Ghent and Newcastle as well as the Budapest-based Metropolitan Research Institute. The research work is essentially in line with criteria such as inclusion and people sharing space with other people, shaping the neighbourhood, activation and participation, and last but not least, the use of meaningful technical aids. The cooperative project that is the "Prädikow Farm" is an ideal candidate for participation in the research programme since it looks to transform a disused former farm site into modern living and working opportunities, in the quest to fix up the cultural and structural heritage for the local village community to use. Hof Prädikow is also among the applicants for a pilot project that translates as "Strengthening living in place - easing the burden on families" (Häusliches Wohnen stärken - Angehörige entlasten).