Andreas Roschitz

.the Thing with the Ping.: a Study on the Area Christiania, a Self Rulingcommunity in Copenhagen, Denmark Andreas Roschitz

Christiania is a so called 'Fristad', a self-ruling community situated on the edge of the centre of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Developed during the student revolution and hippy movement, people started to squat in an abandoned military area in autumn 1971. The 34 hectare area is part of the last intact segment of the fortification ring that surrounded the former Copenhagen. This green and historically important site is highly sought-after real estate and is seen as a future investment goldmine. The ongoing work will be based on the premise that Christiania will continue to exist at this special location - because it is linked to it. The work is inspired by the major aspects that characterise Christiania: the development of a ?squatting culture? and the antagonism of a community that celebrates individualism through togetherness. In one way the work tries to establish ties between the different interest groups, in another it proposes a solution to the existing space problem in Christiania. The main theme is that of the nature of squatting. The structures - things - have the task to squat the area and the other way around they offer to be squatted.