"ABBRECHENABBRECHEN is a call for a new approach to existing structures: The goal being to create a socially and climatically just city, setting us the task of acting in response to urgent needs. The public-interest-oriented development of the former criminal justice centre in Munich serves as the starting point for our work.
We understand existing buildings to be a shared resource and advocate for a shift in construction practices that goes beyond mere preservation of existing structures – one that fosters new forms of cooperation rather than competition, and collaborative processes rather than self-serving agendas. At the intersection of architecture, art, and activism, we design interventions and discursive formats to publicly address issues of vacancy, speculation, demolition, and the preservation of existing buildings."

Since 2022, the JustizzentrumErhalten initiative has been advocating for the preservation and public-interest-oriented development of the former criminal justice centre on Nymphenburger Straße under the slogan "Abbrechen Abbrechen" ("Stop Stop"). In their opinion, the concrete behemoth from the 1970s serves as a model project through which urban development within the existing built environment can be addressed with the complexity it deserves: It is not just about embodied energy, an architectural style, or the history of the site, but also about how, in Munich, the interplay between the public sector and city residents could lead to the creation of lasting spaces for the common good. The initiative sees itself as an open group mainly made up of young people with expertise in the fields of architecture, city planning and beyond. Following the publication of the first position paper in February 2023, they have publicly dealt with topics in an artistic-activist way: Shooting a music video, curating exhibitions, involving citizens, dancing with ice bears, running the VernhandelBar, introducing city council members to buildings facing unnecessary demolition in a bus from the 1950s, organising different workshops, undertaking cartography walks, building up a network, playing theatre, speaking with politicians, and much more. Currently, the initiative, together with further collaborators, is working on a concept surrounding pioneering application of a building as a starting point for a more long-term development into an open community centre, as well as the establishment of a development corporation for the public good.