`Art electricity` revives old German power station
(The Guardian Germany)

E-Werk Luckenwalde will offer workshops and studio space for artists squeezed out of BerlinWhen the Luckenwalde coal power plant in east Germany closed down soon after the collapse of communism, the locals were both relieved and concerned. `Finally people could hang out their laundry without it getting covered in soot,` said Bernd Schmidl, one of the plant´s senior employees.Worries about jobs were soon allayed when the workers were given better-paid employment elsewhere, he said. But fears remained that the listed building, with elements of art deco and art nouveau, would fall into disrepair. `Who was going to find a long-term use for an old building spanning 10,000 metres over four floors?` Continue reading...