After the introductory studio project in the first semester, the Typology Studio which is ‘Typologies of Regeneration’ for this term, the following studio projects are offered by the different chairs of the architectural faculty.
These selectable design studios are re-scheduled each semester by the program coordinators and partially coincide with the regular English study program of the other Master’s program in Architecture. Below you’ll find an overview of all design studios offered for the summer term 24.
The KVV including more detailed information is also to be found here.
The area is still characterised today by a network of fruit walls that were used for the cultivation of peaches – the so-called Murs à Pêches.
The area is partly a protected open space and garden area, partly a commercial site, partly a residential area, partly land for future construction … The site is home to various citizens’ initiatives and associations, a school garden, a waste dump, the venue for an annual festival, the site of a soil decontamination plant, etc.
In addition to the site and its specific history, the theme of the designs is the objective of a regional circular economy and, finally, the wall or enclosure as “proto-architecture”.
The design project will be accompanied by a (voluntary) excursion that will also focus on the site and its actors, the material cycle of the city of Paris and the horticultural development of the Murs à Pêches.
Course Information
Design Studio 1/2 + PIV Integrative Seminar
12 + 3 ECTS
Contact
Zorica Medo
Gebäudekunde und Entwerfen
During the course „To build or not to build: Architectural Innovations for Summer Spaces”, we’ll focus on designing temporary spaces for communities in warm months. Considering closed city theaters and operas, we’ll explore creating new pavilions or related facilities.
We will also explore creative ways to use existing spaces, reducing the use of materials.
Visiting diverse event venues, we’ll analyze intersections of art, theater, urbanism, and architecture. Examining various architectural typologies like pavilions, temporary architectures, temporary theaters, artistic and performative installations, urban furniture, laboratories, urban interventions and activators, play areas, participatory buildings, devices for collective space utilization, creative workshops, creation spaces, temporary clubs, as well as other social spaces and boundary architectures, students will engage in readings and diagrams, applying what they learn in real locations to establish their own design objectives. We’ll also explore archives for sustainable material reuse and learn about obtaining permits for future projects, such as a Design Build course next year.
Acknowledging western knowledge systems’ influence and colonial legacies’ threat to cultural landscapes, we’ll delve into the dynamics challenging traditional architectural stability and property concepts amidst crises and conflicts. Throughout, we’ll examine impacts on gathering, performing, exhibiting, and participating spaces.
Course Information
Design Studio 1/2 + PIV Integrative Seminar
12 + 3 ECTS
Contact
Jan Kampshoff
Entwerfen und Gebäudekunde
This design studio is centered around the concept of proximity between manufacturing and living spaces. Envision your ideal workshop and living quarters within walking distance of each other. Our aim is to develop a highly synergistic design for the Belgienhalle here in Berlin, a structure of historical value and the focal point of a large-scale development project. Collaborations is strongly encouraged among studio participants, faculty members, and external partners beyond the university. We will employ a diverse range of schematic design techniques to navigate the complexities of existing built structures. We’ll explore when reprogramming is feasible and the advantages of revitalizing a building.
Course Information
Design Studio 1/2 + PIV Integrative Seminar
12 + 3 ECTS
Contact
Miryam Aykurt & Philip Stillke
Gebäudetechnik und Entwerfen
In our vertical design studio, materials transcend their conventional role to become both sources of inspiration and defining elements of space and program. Further, as we rethink the potential of ‚local material‘ in the age of climate change, we look at the underlying materiality culture of place, in all its aspects including its contribution to traditional architecture.
Throughout the semester, we will explore the transformative power of one particular material: BRICK. Participants will engage in an in-depth study of brick, exploring different manufacturing processes, its technical properties, sustainable applications, and aesthetic possibilities. Through hands-on experimentation and critical analysis, we aim to push the boundaries of what a single material can achieve.
Berlin, renowned for its rich tradition of brick architecture, will be our living laboratory. Participants will have the opportunity to reimagine how brick, as a material, could shape contemporary public spaces, showcasing material knowledge, fostering community, and enriching the urban fabric.
Course Information
Design Studio 1/2 + PIV Integrative Seminar
12 + 3 ECTS
Contact
Prof. Kundoo
Architektur und Entwurfsmethoden
From queer ecologies to urban practice
Society and nature have too often been understood as separate – an asymmetrical and uneven arrangement of power between human and non-human realms. In the age of climate breakdown, technological fixes dominate and are regarded as the remedy to saving our rapidly crumbling planet.
In contrast, queer ecology is a growing transdisciplinary approach that challenges heteronormative, anthropocentric views on the (natural) world and seeks to transcend socially constructed binaries such as culture vs. nature, civilized vs. untamed, pristine vs. contaminated, urban vs. rural, male vs. female. Queer ecology acknowledges the fluidity and diversity of identities within human and other-than-human spheres. It celebrates the unusual, the odd, and the messy realities of cohabitation. It dismantles systems of oppression and shifts the marginal to the center. Its goal is to cultivate inclusive relationships with the environment and all living beings, honoring the widest spectra and the pluriverse, rather than limiting them.
In this research-driven and explorative studio, we will collectively approach queer ecologies and spectral urban natures from multiple angles. We will analyze ecofeminist utopias and practices of care for the earth; we will learn from indigenous knowledge and bicultural diversity; we will garner knowledge from queer adaptation and community practices. In a collective effort and equipped with insights from case studies and transdisciplinary readings, we will develop strategies and formats for an alternative urban practice rooted in a queer ecology approach.
The studio is accompanied by inputs, field trips, lectures, film screenings, and workshops and will mainly take place at Floating. Students should come with an open mind and bring enthusiasm for the topic, motivation for peer learning, independent critical thinking, and the readiness to freely develop projects of urban practice in small groups and as a collective.
Course Information
Design Studio 1/2 + PIV Integrative Seminar
12 + 3 ECTS
Contact
Prof. Dr. Anke Hagemann, Dr. Christian Haid
Habitat Unit
Unlearning practices through marginalized spaces and communities
Through a set of collaborative methods and tools for mapping and design the studio proposes to develop a critical understanding of the role of architects and urbanists, especially in contexts of marginalized spaces and communities. The studio intends to promote a transdisciplinary debate by focusing on the perceptions of inclusion of refugees in Berlin, and by collaborating closely with local actors and institutions. Thus, it encourages students to reflect on the integrative and co-productive role of city-building professionals and to devise scenarios that aim to transform the current situation.
The discussions will address issues of spatial conflicts and negotiation, insurgent planning and design, the right to the city, housing vs. shelter from the perspective of institutional barriers, architectural and infrastructural elements and social-spatial dynamics. In close collaboration withe the Senate’s integration program “BENN” in Marzahn, students will have the opportunity to engage with local actors and the community, develop activities and interventions and establish a dialog with refugees living in Berlin shelters.
The studio is a cooperation of the research project “Beyond the Shelter: Limits and Possibilities between Departure and Endurance in Refugee Shelters in Berlin” (DFG) with Juliana Canedo, the project “Architectures of Asylum” (SFB: 1265 Re-figurations of Space”, DFG) with Qusay Amer and Francesca Ceola, as well as Maureen Abi-Ghanem and Saba Barani.
A PIV connected to the Studio will deal with broader theoretical questions related to migration and refugee studies; it will be conducted as a lecture series in cooperation with “Architectures of Asylum”.
Course Information
Design Studio 1/2 + PIV Integrative Seminar
12 + 3 ECTS
Contact
Prof. Dr. Anke Hagemann, Dr. Juliana Canedo
Habitat Unit