Gartenbühne Neustadt

Originally the home of the Böttner brewing family, later a refuge for displaced persons, and subsequently serving as a mayor’s office, local history museum, and clubhouse of the local hunting association: The listed half-timbered house in the centre of Döschnitz, built around 1701, has a rich and varied history of use. Its redevelopment honours this legacy, with the aim of creating a space that provides both individuals and groups with new opportunities for temporary living and working.

At the heart of the redevelopment lies a research and practice approach that promotes circular processes in sustainable construction and cooperative living, guided by the question of „How little is enough?“. During the winter, the use is centred on the warm cores of the building, heated by modern masonry stoves, while in summer, the use expands to encompass the entire building and its outdoor areas. Based on a site-specific approach, the project embraces circular construction methods using clay, as well as the reclamation of wooden components and the creation of terrazzo objects from locally sourced demolition stone.

By combining resource-efficient renovation with new forms of communal living, the project seeks to (re)discover and (re)connect the common good, spatial qualities, and the diversity of local resources rooted in the region. It thus aims at establishing a cooperative learning and production hub with supraregional reach, fostering regular encounters and experimental exchanges between urban and rural communities. This has been tested through recurring formats such as artist residencies, pop-up dinners, and construction workshops in close collaboration with universities from Berlin, Cottbus, and Munich, among others. In 2021, Haus Döschnitz was awarded an official project of the International Building Exhibition (IBA) Thüringen.