Marzahn is one of the last huge settlements of DDR urbanism. The dormitory city logic is perfectly complementary with the shopping mall logic imported by capitalism. The synthesis of mass housing and mass consumption reinforced by efficient transportation infrastructure pleases the new consumerist citizenship. East-Gate is one of the more than 200 commercial centres owned by ECE, huge GMBh seated in Hamburg owning malls all over Germany and a multinational player consistently colonising former socialist cities in Poland, Bulgaria, Russia, Czech Republic, as well as in Spain and in numerous Turkish cities.
Video working notes for the Berlin episode “Periphery at the Center” Shot in 2012 in Marzahn, Berlin, with a soundtrack composed by Miki Semascus.