The nonprofit ExRotaprint gGmbH was founded on July 17, 2007 by on-site tenants with the aim of taking over the former Rotaprint site. On March 3, 2007, it signed a ninety-nine-year heritable building right contract. The preservation of the historical architectural monument and the promotion of art and culture are the objectives of ExRotaprint gGmbH. The gGmbH (nonprofit, limited liability company) serves as the project manager and its responsibilities include financing the renovation, overseeing the development and control of the project, as well as renting and operating the ExRotaprint site.
The first objective of the ExRotaprint gGmbH partnership agreement is the preservation of the historical architectural monument. Surplusses from rental income go into renovating the buildings. Everyone involved was aware that the purchase price was the smaller investment; the multi-year renovation costs are exorbitantly more. The second objective formalized in the partnership agreement is the promotion of art and culture. This allows us, in addition to consolidating the buildings, to also work on developing content and to free up funding for related topics and contexts. Thus ExRotaprint is also a location for discourse related to art, culture, politics, and urban development.
ExRotaprint e.V., the first platform during the initial phase of the project, decided to found the nonprofit ExRotaprint gGmbH by majority vote in 2007. Tenants who were interested in being actively involved in the development of the project became partners. Presently, ExRotaprint gGmbH comprises ten partners in addition to the tenants’ association, RotaClub e.V., as the eleventh partner. RotaClub e.V. has a single collective vote in the gGmbH. The association’s managing board has the same overview of the nonprofit organization as the other partners and exercises the same rights and obligations. Each tenant can join Rotaprint e.V. and thus be involved in the decision-making processes of the non-profit ExRotaprint gGmbH. All partners meet once a month to regularly discuss issues concerning the project’s development and all related current and long-term issues.
ExRotaprint gGmbH partners do not profit financially from the earnings generated by the property and cannot realize monetary gains when selling their stake in the partnership. This creates a location that can be developed over an extended period of time and on its own terms. This is the de facto profit of ExRotaprint.
The partners:
• Martin Berghammer, visual artist, tenant at the ExRotaprint site and initiative supporter since 2005. www.martinberghammer.de • Daniela Brahm, visual artist, tenant at the ExRotaprint site since 2000, initiator of ExRotaprint, and member of the ExRotaprint gGmbH planning team since 2007. www.danielabrahm.de • Johannes Dziadek, architect and carpenter, tenant at the ExRotaprint site since 2012, partner of ExRotaprint gGmbH since 2014. www.fri-berlin.de • Sara Focke Levin, visual artist, tenant at the ExRotaprint site since 1997, lives and works in Berlin and Ludwigsburg. • Georg Gewers, architect, enthusiastic supporter of the project from its inception, does not rent a space on site. www.gewers-pudewill.de • Stefan Haupt, Stefan Haupt, graphic designer, tenant at the ExRotaprint site since 2010, partner of ExRotaprint gGmbH since 2014. www.bt26.de • André Reutter, designer, tenant at the ExRotaprint site since 2000, head chef at the ExRotaprint canteen since 2011. www.welldonebysoup.com www.haus11catering.de • Les Schliesser, visual artist, tenant at the ExRotaprint site since 2000, initiator of ExRotaprint, and member of the ExRotaprint gGmbH planning team since 2007. www.lesschliesser.de • Christian Schöningh, architect and project developer, 2007 – 2010 member of the ExRotaprint gGmbH planning team, does not rent a space on site. www.zusammenarbeiter.net • Anna Schuster, visual artist, tenant at the ExRotaprint site and initiative supporter since 1992. www.anna-schuster.com • RotaClub e.V., was founded in August 2005 as ExRotaprint e.V., renamed RotaClub e.V. in 2013. The association is the platform that gives all tenants the chance to participate in the development of the project. The association has a single collective vote in the gGmbH. The board of the association has the same overview of the nonprofit organization as the partners and exercises the same rights and responsibilities. Each tenant can join the association and play a part in the decision-making process of the nonprofit ExRotaprint gGmbH directly and without money. www.rotaclub.de
