According to Saxony State Building Code (Section 76), the so-called ”Fliegende Bauten” (Flying Buildings) are defined as temporary structures or structural facilities designed and intended to be repeatedly erected and dismantled at different locations. Since construction site facilities and scaffolding are not belonging to this definition, the artist projected a ”Flying Village” as temporary container-village as a legal bridge between the then-construction site and the future science place.
The inaugural project for a temporary scientists-habitat on the Kahlbaum-areal in Görlitz built upon the objectives of current strategic projects for the Lusatia region and projects them “backward into the future”: (1) the development of a livable, dialogue-oriented, and sustainable border region (INTERREG Poland–Saxony 2014–2020); (2) a focus on tangible cultural heritage (UNESCO Tentative List application under the motto “950 Years of the Future: Görlitz/Zgorzelec”); and (3) the ongoing development of a Berlin–Lusatia innovation and sustainability axis (a 2021 pilot project by the Stiftung Zukunft Berlin). These and other strategic projects addressed the structural transformation facing Lusatia. The project linked the then existing priorities regarding physical infrastructure and tangible heritage with the intangible aspects of architectural and medical research—as well as the emerging research hub—drawing on the scientific and cultural legacy of the pioneering insights and innovative treatment methods for “mental health” established by PD Dr. med. Karl Ludwig Kahlbaum (Driesen 1828 – Görlitz 1899) The site, where Kahlbaum thought and worked was conceived also as the starting point and reference for a future-oriented reconstruction and rehabilitation of Kahlbaum’s theories and practices.
