WELTSTADT

Water Kiosk © Felix Wierschbitzki

NOMAD CITY Summer School 2014
Sep. 18th - Oct. 9th, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

by Nina Pawlicki

The NOMAD CITY Summer School 2014 was organized through a cooperation of the Mongolian University of Science and Technology and the Technische Universität Berlin. It was supported by the Goethe-Institut Ulaanbaatar and the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar.

Within the first two weeks of the Summer School the DesignBuild project waterkiosk+ was realized in Yarmag, 5th Khoroo, as a prototype based on the research and design of the NOMAD CITY Summer School and Seminar in 2013/2014 and participation in the WELTSTADT Exhibition.

The project waterkiosk+, one of eight student design proposal developed during the NOMAD CITY seminar at TU Berlin, got chosen to be implemented during the summer school due to it´s high emphasis on public impact. It is based on the finding that the 550 waterkiosks in Ulaanbaatar that provide the ger areas with water, have become points of the everyday life in the settlement. By transforming the surrounding space of a selected waterkiosk in the ger settlement, the project waterkiosk+ has a two-fold goal: First to facilitate the water collection process through improving the surrounding surface that was formerly part of the dusty access lanes system. Second to take advantage of the daily routine and create a gathering point and public space for the inhabitants of Yarmag.

During an initial workshop of 4 days the Mongolian and German students adapted the design proposal in order to be built afterwards. Interviews with future users, mainly the lady operating the kiosk led to important planning decisions: A ribbon of bricks runs all along the area surrounding the kiosk defining it´s edges, and forming benches, flowerpots and tree protection pots in designated spots. Important factors taken into consideration range from the creation of public space, dust protection and water percolation to the limited resources in time, manpower and budget. The design proposal developed was then being presented and explained to the community of Yarmag in a public symposium. A lively discussion followed that triggered to rethink and adapt the project once again.

During 5 days of construction the group of students realized the waterkiosk+ project. Despite unexpected constraints like harsh weather conditions and logistic challenges, the group managed to finalize the project in time and hand it over in an official inauguration celebration.

In the second part of the Summer School a new project in Dambadarjaa was started with the goal to explore the possibilities of recovering and integrating a monastery still standing in the area to the community. A design strategy based on the outcomes of the Summer School is currently being developed in the course of a DesignStudio at Technische Universität Berlin.

As a follow-up of the waterkiosk+ project two of the MUST students involved in the summerschool, G. Batbold and G. Altan-Od, carried on with their engagement in the settlement. In winter 2014 they constructed a playground in the neighborhood together with the community of Yarmag and with the support of the Goethe-Institut Ulaanbaatar.

Construction works © Nina Pawlicki

Inauguration © Nina Pawlicki

Symposium © Nina Pawlicki