Karsten Huneck and Bernd Trümpler (London/Berlin) represent the Office for Subversive Architecture – a collective of eight architects working in three different countries and six cities. Their joint projects are located on the borders of architecture, temporary interventions in cities, and the arts.

For Komuna Warszawa, they designed an installation called STAND BY ME – a summer viewing platform within the space of a courtyard at 30/32 Lubelska Street. The starting point - as always in OSA projects - was the present situation and the existing context of the place. The nearby railway line leading to the East Railway Station offers a unique possibility for fleeting and random mutual observation by two audiences: one taking part in the events in the courtyard and the passengers in passing trains

Part of OSA’s concept is to place “a pile of wood” within the space of the courtyard, “framed” by two buildings and a back wall separating it from the bank and railway tracks. A lonely tree and a garage make the courtyard a kind of still life, well known from traditional paintings.

Intervention refers to this particular picture and is based on using only one element – railway sleepers. The structure made of railway ties refers to the form of the nearby railway line and at the same time recalls the symbolic dimension of a journey, trans-location, random meeting, discovering the new and unexpected. Entering the viewing platform creates the possibility for two spaces to interact.

The platform will be used to stage various theatrical events, workshops, presentations and video shows.