The St. Pauli bunker in Hamburg was converted into a techno club with a green roof, a sloping bunker in Friesland became a climbing tower for the Alpine Club, and in Düsseldorf there is a bunker church.
Despite its geographical proximity, war remains abstract for many, and the bunkers appear as symbols of a society caught between openness and defensiveness. Alienated from their origins, they become aesthetic everyday locations for art and culture, sports, modern living, or tourist attractions.
In this series, Niklas Grapatin explores the ambivalence of this architecture in the urban landscape. Fascinated by the diversity of bunker designs, he traveled throughout Germany and created a photographic series that shows these structures in interaction with their surroundings.
