The Verbuendungshaus fforst e.V. is a German/Polish student organization which was created in 2006 to celebrate the fifth centennial of the foundation of the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. The building is located very close to the bridge which connects Frankfurt/Oder(Germany) to Słubice(Poland). The fforst-house is entirely managed by students and operates not only as a student residence but also as a cultural center with the goal of creating a synergy between the students and the general population on either side of the border. It is located at Forststraße 04/03, in a building which was constructed in the 1980s and features architecture typical of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR).
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One of the project's main objectives is to promote the cooperation and exchange between cultures, with an eye to promoting tolerance and subverting stereotypes -- especially between Germans and Poles. The fforst organizes various cultural events, such as international evenings, readings, concerts, film screenings, public debates, photography exhibitions and language courses. Prominent visitors include Gesine Schwan, Gunter Pleuger and Krzysztof Wojciechowski, as well as political figures from Brandenburg, Frankfurt (Oder) and Słubice. The Verbuendungshaus fforst currently provides a home to students from Germany, Poland, France, Russia, Portugal, Brazil, USA, Iran and Bulgaria.
In October 2005 the Europa University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) asked designers from the Berlin collective anschlaege.de to organize a workshop with the goal of creating a house for students. In March 2006 the first students moved into one of the buildings in the Forststraße (which is German for "Forest Street"). The building, which was earmarked for demolition, was occupied with the intention of being renovated. In 2006, the project was one of the winners of the IKEA foundation contest Wohnen in der Zukunft (literally "living in the future" -- the contest recognizes interesting and innovative residential initiatives).
In 2006 a short film directed by Sebastian Heinzel [1] was produced under the title "Verbuendungshaus fforst - Gebrauchsanweisung für Deutsch-polnisches Zusammenleben" [2] (something like "Verbuendungshaus fforst – Instructions for German-Polish Coexistence"). This short film tells the story of the house's founding. The film was awarded the prestigious Goethe Institute award "Deutschland-Polen Gebrauchsanweisung" (in German). Further information is available on the website of the IKEA foundation (in German).
The book "verbuendungshaus fforst - eine Ermutigung / an encouragement" was released on November 12, 2009. It was written mostly by the first residents and founding members of the fforst-house and recounts the most important facts, observations and reflexions about the project and about the everyday life in Słubice and Frankfurt (Oder).