RELEVANCE
East German heritage is moving from the margins into serious cultural work.
Leipzig
Rostock
Frankfurt an der Oder
Magdeburg
Rostock
Frankfurt an der Oder
Magdeburg
DDReams
public spaces
made in GDR
revisited by young architects
BDA Galerie BerlinOpening & Public TalkOctober 2, 7 pm
EXPLORE THE PROJECT ABOUT THE PROJECT
DDREAMS · 02/1037 YEARS AFTER THE WALL
— What has become of the sculptures
standing in prefab courtyards?
the boulevards laid out inside
the housing estates?
the avenues built for marching?
Our team traveled to explore, question
and learn from public spaces
Made in DDR.And film them.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
DDREAMS · 03/10A RESEARCH LABORATORY
ON THE MOVE
DDReams is a research video laboratory led by urban historian Dr. Sergey Nikitin-Rimsky, with architecture students of FH Potsdam.
DDReams traveled through cities of the former East Germany, meeting architects, planners and researchers who study and care for public spaces.
The outcome: short film-essays - up to seven minutes each - on how these spaces actually live today.
FILM-ESSAYS≤ 7MINUTES EACH
FIELDWORK
DDREAMS · 04/104 CITIES
1 MOVING LABORATORY
Interviews.
Readings.
Filming.
LEIPZIG
ROSTOCK
FRANKFURT (ODER)
MAGDEBURG
PUBLIC SPACEPEOPLEARCHITECTUREMOVEMENT
WHY THIS PROJECT MATTERS
DDREAMS · 05/10ORIGINALITY
DDReams looks at public space — courtyards, avenues, boulevards, parade squares — through the eyes of those who use them now.
UNIQUENESS
The project is mobile — city to city, not a single venue — student-driven, and output-focused.
INNOVATION
DDReams treats the film-essay as a research method — fieldwork, academic dialogue and short-form video built for social reach.
FORMAT & TIMELINE
DDREAMS · 06/10FIELDWORK →
BERLIN →
TOURING SCREENINGS
SPRING–SUMMER 2026
Trips and Fieldwork across the semester
Interviews.
Readings.
Filming.
OCTOBER 2026
Premiere at BDA, Berlin
NOV 2026 – FEB 2027
Touring screenings in the featured cities:
Leipzig
Rostock
Frankfurt (Oder)
Magdeburg
DDREAMS AT BDA
DDREAMS
AT BDA BERLIN
02—09OCTOBER2026
VERNISSAGE
Opening talk with experts and authors — “Public space in East Germany: what makes it so special for us, 2026?”
A curatorial tour.
German and English.
TALK
“Intellectual and Aesthetic Drivers Behind Urban Planning in the GDR”
with Michael Bräuer (Rostock)
in German.
CLOSING + DISCO
Closing remarks.
Disco Brutalista:
tunes from the Eastern Bloc.
Everyday tours by students or by curator.
BDA Galerie Berlin
Mommsenstrasse 64
PEOPLE
DDREAMS · 08/10PEOPLE
BEHIND DDREAMS
CURATORS
DR SERGEY NIKITIN-RIMSKY
Historian of European cities in the 20th century, focused on socialist modernity, postwar reconstruction, and everyday architecture in the Eastern Bloc.
Co-author of Secret Chemnitz: Karl-Marx-Stadt immersive audioguide and platform.
Founder of the VeloNotte international project.
NATALIYA SUKHOVA
Dipl.-Ing. Architektin BDA
Focused on housing, sustainable architecture, timber construction and urban transformation.
Founder of the architectural collective Transstruktura and partner at Studio Singer – Engineers and Architects.
Co-curator and member of the advisory board of the BDA Galerie Berlin.
DDREAMS TEAM 2026
PROJECT EXPERTS
Dr Juliane Richter
LEIPZIGArt historian of GDR architecture and prefab housing.
Dr Thomas Flierl
BERLINArchitectural historian; specialist and promoter of East German heritage.
Michael Bräuer
ROSTOCKArchitect and urban planner who helped plan Lütten Klein and later served as the city's chief architect.
Magdalena Scherer
FRANKFURT (ODER)Researcher of modern architecture and curator.
Prof Arnold Bartetzky
LEIPZIGArt historian at the Leibniz Institute GWZO and architecture critic.
Lars Goern
HALLE NEUSTADTArchitect and urban planner.
PARTICIPATION
SUPPORT
DDREAMS
Supporting DDReams helps make possible:
- Exhibition in Berlin
- Public programme
- Film screenings
- Touring programme
- Website & social media
ser.nikitin@gmail.com
+39 348 7596208