Large construction projects such as Stuttgart 21, the Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, and Les Halles in Paris have one thing in common: the potential for enormous conflict. Yet, debates over large architectural projects foster more than just aggressive polemics; the knowledge of society gained can be applied to negotiation and mediation processes. What kinds of realizations, however, can be accrued from these experiences and used in the future? Architektur als Streitsache (Architecture as dispute) was a conference that explored this question in particular. Its results are now accessible to the broader public in the current collector's volumes, Candide 10 and 11. They offer interesting insights, fascinating perspectives of production histories, and surprising developments. All of the essays share an understanding of architecture as not just the art of building, but as the creation of social spaces in which we all live.
