Netzwerk Zukunftsorte – the rise of pio­neering rural third spaces

What prompted the foun­dation of your asso­ciation and what were your goals back then?

Anne Kruse and Uleshka Asher of Netzwerk Zukunftsorte: We ori­gi­nally founded the asso­ciation to high­light excep­tional creative spaces in Bran­denburg. Philipp Hent­schel and Julia Paass curated the website belonging to Krea­tivorte Bran­denburg, which spawned the Zukunftsorte initiative. The Netzwerk Zukunftsorte e.V. asso­ciation was then formed in 2020. Its goal was to put Zukunftsorte (third space) acti­vists in touch so that they could advocate for more rural third spaces centred around the common good.

Who are your members and how do you work as a com­munity?

Netzwerk Zukunftsorte: At the moment, we’re pri­marily working with Zukunftsorte, in other words, rural reju­ve­nation, third-space acti­vists or orga­ni­sa­tions . These parties are very actively involved indi­vi­duals, but also asso­cia­tions, initia­tives, social enter­prises, and real-estate owners. Since last year, we’ve also been working closely with keen local aut­ho­rities and started the Starke Orte Netzwerk – or Strong Spaces Network as a result.

Our com­munity revolves around inter­action. During our usually online meet-ups, people talk about what they’ve expe­ri­enced, the com­munity learns from other parties’ suc­cesses and mistakes, or shares chal­lenges. Once a year, we shine a light on a par­ti­cular area by inviting the whole com­munity to one space in our network. We also have other formats, such as the Tour De, which takes people on a day trip to a region and spaces with lots of potential for new movers and shakers. Our website also offers a know­ledge platform and con­sul­tancy ser­vices, which we aim to increase signi­fi­cantly over the next few years.

How do you select rural reju­ve­nation and creative spaces?

Netzwerk Zukunftsorte: Ori­gi­nally, we just wanted to high­light exciting spaces in Bran­denburg. In other words, pro­jects that rege­ne­rated vacant spaces in new and creative ways. Our Zukunftsorte network on the other hand has always been pro­jects that meet several cri­teria important to us. For ins­tance, some acti­vists repurpose vacant pro­perties, but their primary resi­dence is local, they combine living with working and, above all, want to generate meeting spaces for everyone.

At the moment, we’re also iden­ti­fying Zukunftsorte or third spaces  that are still deve­loping. These are areas that want to become a third space, but have not yet met the cri­teria. We give them special support and have come up with a few of our own formats such as peer learning.

You also provide con­sul­tation and an extensive know­ledge platform. What do you do exactly to develop and link up places and acti­vists?

Netzwerk Zukunftsorte: Our prime role is to connect people and impart expertise. We use our online channels, events, and other formats to inform people, orga­ni­sa­tions, and local aut­ho­rities, provide spaces, pro­perty and put parties in touch with experts. We’re curr­ently growing our know­ledge platform and already offering infor­mation about deve­loping and running third spaces. We can recommend the right experts from our network to anyone with spe­cific ques­tions and support needs.

Do existing buil­dings then also result in archi­tec­tural flagship pro­jects?

Netzwerk Zukunftsorte: That’s not what we focus on, but it’s a nice bonus. Out­standing but chal­lenging vacant buil­dings often risk becoming derelict because con­verting them for standard usages, such as hotels or flats, is hard and requires more inventive con­cepts. One attractive example of pro­jects, perhaps also exciting from an archi­tec­tural stand­point, is Lucken­walde power station. This power station is now an impressive art space called Ein Ding der Mög­lichkeit or Thing of Pos­si­bility. This won­derful old building was con­verted, extended and is now in use. This space already fea­tures in URLAUBSARCHITEKTUR. Then there are special building types such as cul­tural hubs at Leisnig station or Kühlhaus Görlitz.

What are your plans for the future?

Netzwerk Zukunftsorte: We’re curr­ently expanding. Our team’s growing, we’re incre­asing our net­working, con­sul­tancy and expertise offe­rings and want to include many more third spaces throughout Germany this year. We’re incre­asingly rea­lising that social enter­prise approaches are good for local com­mu­nities. And we’re seizing the oppor­tunity to fine-tune our cri­teria for defining these third spaces.

We would also like to present a Zukunftsorte award in various cate­gories soon. This would be an accolade for spaces that are very active in terms of climate pro­tection or social entre­pre­neurship. As a result, we hope to make success stories even more visible and achieve a greater reach to inspire local aut­ho­rities, acti­vists and pro­perty owners to join the movement.

Who can people become part of the network?

Netzwerk Zukunftsorte: We welcome sponsors of the asso­ciation at any time. All members receive free access to our regular meet-ups, the know­ledge platform and recor­dings of past events. If you know of any inte­resting pro­perties that need a moti­vated group and are seeking a new use, we’d be happy to hear about and share them in our pro­perty news­letter or present them in the Building Seeks New Use format.

In January 2020, the Netzwerk Zukunftsorte e.V. was born. Its goal was to bring tog­ether and support creative acti­vists from Zukunftsorte (or third spaces) and advocate for more rural spaces open to all. Today, the network is a lively com­munity of Zukunftsorte acti­vists, initia­tives, asso­cia­tions, experts with real-world expe­rience, people from the worlds of politics and local government and pro­perty owners who want to forge new paths tog­ether.

For more infor­mation, we can recommend the network’s lite­rature, for ins­tance Welcome to a Third Space. This out­lines the approach and impact of the Zukunftsorte net­working cam­paign in Bran­denburg (and throughout Germany) from 2023 to 2024. Some 20 new and deve­loping third spaces were included, high­lighted, con­nected and advised. Suc­cesses, chal­lenges and recom­men­da­tions are shared with poli­ti­cians to help make policies in the future.

Interview: con­ducted by Ulrich Stefan Knoll

Photo credits: Leisnig station © Christoph Schönbeck (Cover photo), Kühlhaus Görlitz © Uleshka Asher (1),  © William Veder (2), Zukunftsorte showcase 2024 in Neupitz © Netzwerk Zukunftsorte (3), Map showing spaces in the © Netzwerk Zukunftsorte (4), Lucken­walde power station © Tim Haber (5), © Stefan Korte (6), Ein Ding der Mög­lichkeit © Ulrike Schacht (7), © Nils Grugel (8), Team photo February 2025 © Netzwerk Zukunftsorte (9), Welcome to a Third Space © Farina Luka Tolksdorf (10)