Articles in this Section

    Urban Co-Production

    Rathausblock and the Urban Fabric Behind

    Teaching

    The Rathausblock is an urban renewal area in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Emerging from more than a decade of struggle by urban activists, a cooperative model project has developed between the city administration and civil society. The project is currently in its development phase and highlights both the socio-political challenges and potentials of co-production. How can communication succeed between such different actors? How can we overcome diverse organizational and power structures to enable inclusive, balanced, and productive exchange?

    In this three-day workshop, we will explore this case through hands-on exercises and socio-spatial site investigations. We will reflect on how affordable spaces for living and working, as well as social and cultural places, can be created with the common good in mind – while thinking beyond the often resigned approach of “Realpolitik” in urban development. As an introduction to the case study, we will also have online sessions with invited guests, as well as in-person visits to other exemplary projects in the Berlin context. In doing so, we will gain in-depth insights into the current state of urban co-production in a European capital city that is currently engaging with these socio-political questions in particularly intensive ways. In conclusion, students will be required to produce a small documentation that offers both a reflection and a direct contribution to the ongoing development of the Rathausblock.

    Desirable Hamlets

    TO BE RURBAN OR NOT TO BE

    Teaching

    In this introductory MA Urban Design studio, we will explore the notion of rurbanity and its reality and proximity to our Berlin everyday lives. We will activate your previous knowledge, draw on the plurality of your backgrounds and combine research, fieldwork and discussion. The housing crisis in Europe’s major cities is a reality (Berlin is no exception), as is the vacancy rate in rural areas. However, the controversy created by the comments made by the Germn Federal Minister Klara Geywitz in July 2024 shows just how living outside the big cities is not an obvious solution for many people. The lack of jobs, the age of homes, the lack of public services and amenities, the social isolation, the cost of fuel… are all obstacles that discourage people from moving from the big cities to rural areas. What is the rural reality in Brandenburg? We will be producing portraits in Brandenburg that will combine territorial structures, economic, social and political context, and field exploration with interview. What can we, as urban designers, do to address the challenges of rurality? Nourished by fertile references for imagining a desirable countryside and future, we will delve into specific situations and develop projects at all scale, from the architectural to the territorial.

    Colloquia & Office Hours

    WS 2025/26

    Teaching

    OFFICE HOURS
    Fr 24.10. – 9.30-11.30 online
    Fr 14.11. – 9.30-11.30 presence/hybrid
    Fr 28.11. – 9.30-11.30 online
    Fr 09.01. – 9.30-11.30 online
    Do 19.02. – 9.30-11.30 online

    MASTER COLLOQUIUM
    Fr 31.10. – 14.00-16.30 presence/hybrid
    Fr 21.11. – 14.00-16.30 presence/hybrid
    Fr 12.12. – 14.00-16.30 online
    Fr 09.01. – 14.00-16.30 online
    Fr 30.01. – 14.00-16.30 presence/hybrid
    Do 19.02. – 14.00-16.30 online

    PHD COLLOQUIUM
    Fr 24.10. – 14.00-16.00 online
    Fr 14.11. – 14.00-16.00 presence/hybrid
    Fr 16.01. – 14.00-16.00 online
    Fr 06.03. – 14.00-16.00 online

    To attend the office hours, please book your individual appointment via DFN Terminplaner.

    For „(online)“, please use Zoom link.

    Planetary Transects


    Translating Urban Typologies in a Planetary Age

    Teaching

    This seminar has three main aims. Firstly, to translate existing urban spatial typologies with socioecological knowledge. This will be done by advancing and adjusting research methods, specifically the transect. This is the second aim. The third is to make visible the results.

    We will begin the course by reading and discussing texts on a weekly basis. It will allow us to contextualise current debates surrounding the planetary crisis of capital, climate and politics. Together we ask, why is it necessary to redesign existing typologies of urban space, what is this new epoch, and what will a planetary perspective, including that on socioecological health bring to design knowledge. Furthermore, we will read current discussions on methods for research on urban natures and the Anthropocene, such as “queering the transect” (Gandy, 2020), “art of noticing” (Tsing, 2012). In the rest of the semester, in small groups, you will employ these epistemic and methodological reflections in Berlin. Planetary transects cut across typical sites and spaces. They involve mapping, walking and evidencing. They aim to tell new stories or retell histories overwritten. We will use the seminar to dive deeper into urban research, methods and theory using drawing and observation as well as the archive.

    By the end of the course, you will have learnt how to integrate critical theory into your design practice. You will have explored and experimented with critical design research methods. This will have yielded new socioecological spatial types and urban stories for a planetary age. Finally, we will aim to publicise the results.

    Image: Von Humboldt, Alexander. Natural Painting of the Andes. 1793. Geographie der Pflanzen in den Tropen-Ländern. Stadtmuseum Berlin.

    Team: WM Jamie-Scottt Baxter, Prof. Jörg Stollmann
    Where: A701
    When: Tuesday 9:30-13:00 + one day final presentation time TBC 15.04.2025

    Terra Mare

    Desire and Controversy in Provincia di Macerata (IT)

    Teaching

    The Marche region, nestled between the Adriatic Sea and the Apennine Mountains in central Italy, is both an attractive area and a stage of tensions. Its picturesque landscapes, rich culinary traditions and sunny climate make it highly attractive from an outsider’s perspective. However, from within, the region grapples in daily life with shrinkage, limited public services and environmental risks. 

    We will explore this territory through multiple lenses, such as natural resources, local perspectives, and external influences. Intertwining desirable aspects (mountains, sea, local agriculture, cultural projects…) and controversial issues (drying land, administrative centers for migrants, lack of transports, earthquakes…), we aim to grasp the region’s complexity. 

    In May, we will embark on a one-week fieldwork excursion or a case study research (PiV). We will explore diverse situations, potential project sites, engage with stakeholders, and gain insights into local initiatives and rural transformations. 

    Afterward, we will develop design projects that address the identified tensions within specific geographical contexts. 

    Team: Prof. Jörg Stollmann / WiMi Jeanne Lacour, Veljko Marković / LA Lorenza Manfredi  / TT Sina Schaper

    Wann: Donnerstags und/oder Freitags | 10:00 – 18:00 Uhr

    Wo: A701

    Studio Einführung: 17.04.2025 | 10:30 Uhr

    Desirable Hamlets

    MA UD Studio 2024/25

    Teaching

    To be rurban or not to be
    In this introductory MA Urban Design studio, we will explore the notion of rurbanity and its reality and proximity to our Berlin everyday lives. We will activate your previous knowledge, draw on the plurality of your backgrounds and combine research, fieldwork and discussion.

    The housing crisis in Europe’s major cities is a reality (Berlin is no exception), as is the vacancy rate in rural areas. However, the controversy created by the comments made by the Germn Federal Minister Klara Geywitz in July 2024 shows just how living outside the big cities is not an obvious solution for many people. The lack of jobs, the age of homes, the lack of public services and amenities, the social isolation, the cost of fuel… are all obstacles that discourage people from moving from the big cities to rural areas.

    What is the rural reality in Brandenburg? We will be producing portraits in Brandenburg that will combine territorial structures, economic, social and political context, and field exploration with interview.

    What can we, as urban designers, do to address the challenges of rurality? Nourished by fertile references for imagining a desirable countryside and future, we will delve into specific situations and develop projects at all scale, from the architectural to the territorial.

    ___

    Team: Prof. Jörg Stollmann, WM Jeanne Lacour

    Where: A 816

    (c) Day and Night, M. C. Escher

    Inselarbeiten

    BA Studio 2024/25

    Teaching

    Es gibt viele Auffassungen davon, was als Insel betrachtet werden kann: ein isoliertes, abgetrenntes, verändertes, einzeln stehendes Stück Land, umgeben von Andersartigkeit. Für unser Studio konzentrieren wir uns auf Landstücke, die von Wasser umgeben sind. In Berlin gibt es über 60 Inseln, die in Form und Größe variieren, sowohl natürlichen als auch künstlichen Ursprungs, jede mit unterschiedlicher Flora und Fauna – eigenständige Lebensräume.

    In “L’Ile Déserte” unterscheidet Gilles Deleuze zwei Kategorien von Inseln: die ozeanischen und die kontinentalen. Die kontinentalen Inseln sind zugänglicher, mit dem urbanen Land verbunden, ein abgetrennter, aber integraler Teil der Stadt: Gefängnisse, Zoos, Krankenhäuser, Freizeitparks usw. Die ozeanischen sind die “ursprünglichen, essentiellen Inseln”, isoliert nicht nur im Raum, sondern auch in der Zeit. Sie repräsentieren das Anderswo, eine “Neue Welt”, Miniatur-Utopien, Projektionen des Begehrens. Aus diesem Grund sind sie oft unzugänglich, oft Privateigentum zum Aneignen und Ausbeuten.

    Im Studio interessieren uns sowohl kontinentale und ozeanische Inseln, nicht als Gegensätze, sondern als sich ergänzende Orte der Abgeschlossenheit. In der Arbeit mit beiden Typen werden wir einerseits konventionelle Werkzeuge der städtischen Kartierung verwenden, andererseits auch auf eine experimentellere, taktile, imaginäre Analyse zurückgreifen, um Szenarien für realistische und/oder fiktive Zukunftsvorschläge zu entwickeln.

    In seinem Essay “Imagining Nothingness” (1985) ergründet Rem Koolhaas weniger die Inseln selbst und mehr die “Lagune” und ihr programmatisches Potenzial als “städtische/urbane Leere”. Manchmal werden Inseln nicht durch das charakterisiert, was auf ihnen stattfindet, sondern durch ihre Umgebung, durch ihre Leere. Wir möchten die Möglichkeiten erkunden, diese Andersartigkeit als Alternative zu einer krisenhaften Gegenwart zu planen.

    ___

    Team: Prof. Jörg Stollmann / WiMi Veljko Marković / LA Leonie Hartung / TT Franka Matthes

    Wann: Donnerstags und/oder Freitags | 10:30 – 17:00 Uhr

    Wo: A816

    Studio Einführung: 18.10.2024 | 10:30 Uhr

    Office hours and Colloquia

    Dates WS 2024/25

    Teaching

    Master Thesis Colloquium
    1. Fr 01.11. / 14.00-17.00
    2. Fr 22.11. / 14.00-17.00
    3. Fr 20.12. / 14.00-17.00
    4. Fr 17.01. / 14.00-17.00
    5. Fr 21.02. / 14.00-17.00 (online)

    PhD Colloquium
    1. Di 05.11. / 13.30-16.00 (online)
    2. Di 03.12. / 13.30-16.00 (online)
    3. Di 07.01. / 13.30-16.00 (online)
    4. Di 04.02. / 13.30-16.00 (online)

    Office Hours
    1. Fr 25.10. / 14.00-16.00
    2. Fr 15.11. / 14.00-16.00 (online)
    3. Fr. 06.12. / 14.00-16.00 (online)
    4. Fr. 10.01. / 14.00-16.00 (online)
    5. Fr. 24.01. / 14.00-16.00 (online)
    6. Fr 07.02. / 14.00-16.00 (online)

    Please book your individual appointment via DFN Terminplaner:
    Link: https://terminplaner6.dfn.de/p/35caf1b11792ce4b866e8afea4976555-682280

    For „online“, please use the following link:

    ZOOM

    IfA EXPO

    Bachelor + Master

    Teaching

    This years exhibition will continue the tradition of a student organized event.
    We want to explore different ways of communicating and discussing architecture at the IFA, coordinate the exhibition of all student works, create a space for different talks and interactions, as well as celebrate the completed semester.

    Team: IfA Kollektiv / Jörg Stollmann

    When: Tuesday | 16:00-18:00

    Where: A 201a

    First session: 16.04.2024 | 16:00