Public-Private Partnership on the Ubian Monument in Cologne...
06 December 2011
Ubian Monument
Public Private Partnership models valued on the example of the Ubian Monument in the City of Cologne
In her introduction speech in the course of the PORTICO Partnermeeting in Chester, Marianne Gechter presented a successfully realised Private Public Partnership model using the example of the Ubian Monument. The City of Cologne has set up a regulatory framework for such models, which has been applied several times already. Apparently, such models are also interesting for other members of PORTICO.
In Germany the “Bundesländer” (regions) are responsible for the protection of monuments. Each “Bundesland” has different laws. In North Rhine Westphalia this is regulated by the “law for the conservation of ancient monuments“. Nevertheless the City of Cologne has an exception. Here the “lex colonia” guarantees the independence of archaeology in Cologne. At the moment there are two different departments: on one hand the “Archaeological Zone”, which is responsible for the area where the new museum is being built as well as for the Ubian Monument, and on the other hand the “Romano-Germanic Museum”, which is responsible for all other parts in the city.
The legal situation of North Rhine Westphalia states that the discovery of archaeological findings has to be reported immediately to the authorities. If archaeological remains are discovered, the “Department for the Protection and Preservation of Monuments” is entitled to stop the building activities up to six months to organize the necessary excavations. The “Departments for the Preservation of Monuments” are to be involved in the planning processes and building applications. If there is any evidence from surveys or former excavations that indicate considerable findings are to be expected they can impose conditions, for excavation etc. The regulations even allow the expropriation of private owners of monuments.
In reality the department and the private investors sign contracts according to the costs-by-cause principle. The investor pays a certain amount for the excavation or hires a company for archaeological research. So the department can save money and therefore guarantees that the excavation will start when it is suitable for the investor. It is a key agreement to make sure that the excavations will not take longer than necessary.
When unexpected, important findings are revealed or when it comes to preservation of any findings this agreement can be modified or even rejected by the city. This case might be very rare but it means that the building plan has to be changed and the investor has to bear the additional costs.
During the PORTICO meeting it turned out that other partner cities have the same problems with the current regulative specifications for preserving historical and archaeological findings. However a successful implemented Private Public Partnership not only has to involve the investor/owner on one side, but also the residents and people working or living in the area. The communication agency of the Archaeological Zone “BSX Bader & Schmölzer Ldt.” therefore has developed a communication master-plan, presented by Astrid Bader.
The Ubian Monument is situated in an unusual surrounding in the basement of an apartment building. The people living in and near this building can influence the success of the project considerably. Therefore a specific communication strategy has to be developed to get in touch with this target group.
The goal is to involve and to inspire local residents, to identify themselves with the historical site and to be proud of it. It is also necessary winning these locals as partners to create a multiplier effect.
Locals can gain appreciation of the area they live in and get in touch with the local community and neighbours, which could help to create a new district and change the image of the area they live in. For this reason a number of activities will be organized – e.g. guided tours with local guides, discussion and information meetings, events for owners of restaurants, hotels, shops etc.
Another important element of this concept is the "Private Public Partnership", which includes a close cooperation with the owner of the building in order to upgrade the economic value of the building by installing a new bus stop, free renovation of the entrance or a special branding of the site. In the foyer visitors should be invited to a time travel and experience history by multimedia presentations, photo exhibition and other modern presentation methods.
Another important target group of our project are schools and students. Students should learn about their cultural heritage and the history of the city in a way that is interesting for them. For schools tailored projects for every age group will be arranged. Every student gets the chance to become a “student scout”, who guides other students through the historical site.
Further ideas include special multimedia presentations such as a TV-documentation about the Archaeological Zone and the Ubian Monument, the "Ave Civitas" Digital Storytelling workshop or podcasts for audioguides, as well as social media presentations on Wiki, Facebook, Archaeology-Blogs and YouTube.
Other target groups that should be reached are students, museums, journalists, archaeologists, tour guides, tourist offices, EU-sponsors and local politicians.
Astrid Bader, BSX Bader & Schmölzer GmbH