The renovation and expansion of theaters are coming into focus in light of the spatial and construction needs of existing theater architecture, as well as the repurposing of existing industrial buildings. An interdisciplinary group of experts from the fields of performing arts, architecture, cultural policy, construction practice, and academia has taken this as an opportunity to undertake a tour of exemplary buildings and current projects in Germany in order to explore, discuss, and evaluate them. A concluding publication will provide new impetus for renovation cultures and the transformation of theater construction.

Following its launch at Kampnagel Internationale Kulturfabrik in Hamburg last fall, Dresden is the second stop on this spring’s journey to theater and cultural venues. Public events will explore various themes related to current approaches to cultural development and address site-specific issues. In April 2026, the focus will be on Dresden’s cultural venues that emerged about ten years ago and have since established themselves in the city: HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts, SO! Staatsoperette, and tjg. theater junge generation at Kraftwerk Mitte, as well as the Kulturpalast.  

In keynote presentations and discussions, these venues will be examined in terms of their specific renovation cultures and transformations, considering their past spatial processes and their future needs and possibilities. Experiences with past theater uses will be discussed, while simultaneously raising questions about the (further) development of spatial and operational perspectives. Who shaped the renovation processes, and in what way? Were sustainable adaptations and building maintenance considered as a design paradigm? How can future spaces of possibility be developed? What can be learned from Dresden for the transformation of theater construction?

Further information can be found here.

Keynote speeches and panel discussion on the cultural venues

  • HELLERAU - European Centre for the Arts,
  • SO! Staatsoperette and tjg. theater junge generation at Kraftwerk Mitte

Speakers

  • Barbara Büscher, professor emeritus, theater and media scholar
  • Felicitas Loewe, former director of the tjg. theater junge generation
  • André Schallenberg, Program Director HELLERAU - European Centre for the Arts
  • Wolfgang Schaller, former artistic director of the SO! State Operette
  • Katrin Tauber, Head of the Office for Building Construction and Property Management, City of Dresden
  • Moderation: Annette Menting, HTWK Leipzig

Co-operations

The initiative “Umbaukulturen und Transformation des Theaterbauens” is a cooperation between Kampnagel Internationale Kulturfabrik, Kulturexperten, DAM Deutsches Architektur Museum, Internationales Theater Institut, Deutscher Bühnenverein, Schader-Stiftung, DFG-Projekt Theaterraum der HTWK Leipzig, Urban Design der HCU Hamburg, TheaPro and other experts.

 

The collaborations in Dresden: HELLERAU - European Centre for the Arts, SO! Staatsoperette, tjg. theater junge generation and Peter Kulka Architektur im Kraftwerk Mitte, ZfBK Zentrum für Baukultur Sachsen.