Further down Unter den Linden, Jankowski extends his exploration to the construction of the Château Royal hotel, another site of historical recreation. He engages the construction crew in an imaginative exercise: drawing their own versions of a castle on used architectural plans, amid the everyday mess of coffee stains and technical schematics. This exercise culminates in one drawing being transformed into a neon sculpture, installed to interact with the urban environment of the hotel’s courtyard, evoking thoughts about the visibility and role of the working class in both historical and contemporary contexts.
Jankowski's project also delves into social critique, particularly through the economic arrangements made for the participants. The construction workers were compensated at their regular hourly rates for their creative contributions, but uniquely, they also receive a percentage of the artwork’s sale price, paralleling an architect’s commission. This not only highlights the value of their imaginative labor but also serves as a commentary on the hierarchical structures within architectural and artistic production. Through these layered engagements, Jankowski’s work questions and reimagines what a twenty-first-century castle could represent, reflecting on who builds our cities and whose visions are realized or overlooked.
