30. Affirmative Zone Model Kottbusser Tor
The objects on display are part of a research and co-creation project by Felix Egle & jetzt.studio with Kotti-Kompass, Fixpunkt gGmbH, PEER Projekt Kreuzberg, Druckausgleich & Kooperative für Darstellungspolitik. Since May 2024, weekly design sessions have been held at the Kotti-Kompass substance abuse rehabilitation project. Together with the participants, interiors, furniture and concepts for outdoor spaces were developed.
The wooden bench ‘Kompass-Bench’ was designed and built for and with the participants of Kotti Kompass for the entrance area of the project. At the request of an employee, a second version (shown here in the exhibition) was created and branded with a logo. It is used in the outdoor area of the Druckausgleich drug consumption room on Karl-Marx-Strasse in Neukölln.
The grippers with magnetic tips, a neon yellow vest with the Fixpunkt logo and a syringe bin shown here are the tools used by the syringe collection team ‘PEER Projekt Kreuzberg’. As part of the Fixpunkt gGmbH project, drug addicts collect used syringes and needles in public spaces in exchange for minimum wage.
Based on workshops and discussions with the syringe collection team, a model space was developed that attempts to make an area frequently used for drug consumption (Erkelenzdamm) clearer for users and neighbours. The Affirmative Zone Model serves as an opportunity to negotiate a space without claiming a ‘solution’.
Felix Egle (DE, born 1989) is a freelance communications and social designer. He develops co-creation formats and designs, cooperating with various associations, including S27 – Art and Education, Kiosk of Solidarity and Fixpunkt gGmbH.
Fixpunkt gGmbH is an addiction support organisation in Berlin that takes an accepting approach to its work. The gGmbH (non-profit limited liability company) operates three contact points with drug consumption rooms and offers a wide range of counselling and referral services, including the Kotti-Kompass project, which provides structure for people affected by addiction, and the needle collection project ‘PEER Projekt Kreuzberg’.