International Cooperation

Designing Places – Building Communities

Can a public square strengthen a community? This question brought together students, professors, local residents and partner organizations from Germany and Israel for an extraordinary week in Blankenese, Hamburg.

The Summer Design Academy challenged participants to rethink the future of Blankenese's market square through the concept of Urban Acupuncture—an approach that demonstrates how relatively small, thoughtful interventions can create meaningful improvements in urban life. Rather than focusing on large-scale redevelopment, the students explored how shaded seating areas, spaces for intergenerational interaction, community notice boards, water features, play areas and other creative ideas could transform an underused public space into a vibrant place of encounter.
Yet the project was about much more than urban design.

For the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the Summer Design Academy brought together three themes that are central to our work: sustainability, urban innovation and dialogue across borders. Jewish and Arab students from Israel worked side by side with students from Germany and other countries, discovering that collaboration is often the best starting point for meaningful dialogue. Instead of discussing differences, they shared a common challenge—and through that challenge, they learned from one another.

The workshop also demonstrated the importance of broad partnerships. Universities, schools, civic organizations, local initiatives, political foundations and engaged citizens all contributed to the project. Throughout the week, residents of Blankenese actively participated in discussions, shared their experiences and helped the students understand the history, identity and aspirations of their neighborhood. Their perspectives became an essential part of the design process.

The final presentations reflected the creativity and diversity of the international teams. Combining sketches, scale models and hands-on prototypes made from simple materials, the students presented practical ideas that invited people to stay longer, meet one another and make greater use of the market square. The proposals illustrated that successful urban design is not measured only by aesthetics, but by its ability to encourage participation, interaction and community life.

The evening before the presentations, students, professors, local residents and project partners gathered for a community celebration with live music and a shared dinner prepared by the Palestinian participants. It was a fitting reflection of everything the academy sought to achieve: bringing people together through openness, creativity and shared experiences.

Perhaps the greatest success of the Summer Design Academy was not only the ideas developed for Blankenese's market square, but the community that emerged throughout the week. Before imagining how a public square could become a place of encounter, the participants had already created exactly that among themselves.

The Summer Design Academy was organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in cooperation with Seminar Kibbutzim (Israel), Attili Multidisciplinary High School (Tira), HafenCity University Hamburg, the Academy of Fashion and Design Hamburg, the Blankenese Church Community, GemeindeAkademie Blankenese, Zukunftsforum Blankenese e.V., Markthaus Blankenese and many committed local residents.

The project demonstrated that meaningful change often begins with small ideas, strong partnerships and the willingness to listen to one another. Just as Urban Acupuncture transforms cities through carefully considered interventions, international cooperation can strengthen communities—one shared experience at a time.