Architecture

This seminar explores how mycelium - a network of fungal roots - reacts to cotton textile fibers, as well as how these fibers influence the properties of the resulting composite material. The main objective of the course is to plan and conduct an applied research project in small groups. Within a given framework, groups design their own experiments to investigate variables such as growth, temperature, duration, nutrients, texture, and size. The seminar focuses on conducting small-scale experimental scientific research on fungal-based materials suitable for architectural applications.

KOTYDZ is a design-build workshop series that brings together students from Germany, Poland, and Hungary to collaborate on the production of housing units for feral cats in Poznań, Poland. The students spend one week working through all phases of architectural production, from client briefing and design proposals, over production planning and tendering, to fabrication and installation.

This architecture studio explores how plants and vegetation can become integral parameters of architectural design. It investigates their potentially mutually beneficial relationships with buildings across programmatic, systemic, and structural dimensions. The studio begins by establishing a collective knowledge base on plant species, their specific habitats - from soil conditions to vegetation systems - and their climatic, cultural, and aesthetic qualities. This research is accompanied by an investigation of architectural references. In parallel, students develop small-scale prototypes that test specific strategies for the interweaving of plants and vegetation with spatial structures. In the second phase, these strategies are applied to transform exemplary building types in Berlin into green housing infrastructures.

This seminar provides an in-depth exploration of urbanization trends and the complex challenges facing cities in the MENA/Arab region. A key focus of this seminar is on the role of urban sports in public spaces, examined through a range of case studies from different Arab cities. The seminar highlights both the challenges and innovative approaches related to the integration of urban sports into public spaces, addressing issues of design, accessibility, governance, and social inclusion. The second part of the semester shifts the focus to another critical urban topic: waterfronts in Arabic cities. This part analyzes the relationship between the city and the waterfront and examines how waterfronts influence urban planning and urban development. In addition, the seminar explores different approaches to waterfront design through the analysis of case studies from various Arab cities, considering the social, spatial, and environmental dimensions. The seminar is complemented by a hands-on workshop in Alexandria, Egypt's second-largest city and the largest on the Mediterranean coast. The workshop offers participants the opportunity to analyze and co-design public spaces and waterfronts using urban sports as a conceptual and practical framework. 

In this seminar, students learn about the role of cities in positively and negatively influencing global climate and biological systems, and the approaches taken by European cities to mitigate the negative impact while creating healthier, happier, and more productive urban environments. Topics span holistic dimensions of sustainable discourse, emphasizing the relationship and balance of environmental, social, cultural, and economic factors. The course focuses specifically on the northern European context, especially the host city, Berlin, where students regularly visit projects and meet with local practitioners.

The city of Paris is a constantly evolving structure, shaped by 2,000 years of history. Its urban layout and buildings reflect and stand on a substrate resulting from a balance between political, religious, social, demographic, heritage, and environmental aspects. This course provides an understanding of the city and its architecture during key periods through the analysis of notable buildings and neighborhoods. More specifically, it investigates constructions composed over a long period of time (on the scale of a building or site where different architectural styles coexist). Structures, materials, aesthetics, and ornamentation: the art of building reflects technical skill and thinking of an era. Thus, it is proposed to study this question of palimpsest architecture through a historical, cultural, and stylistic approach, through the transmission of essential urban and architectural vocabulary, as well as through bibliographical references. Furthermore, by focusing on strategic points in the city, this study connects to the history of architectural history and urban history, as well as themes that, beyond Paris, are linked to French and European history. Theoretical instruction is supplemented by field trips where students train their observation skills, making sketches that help them memorize and become familiar with architectures from ancient times to the present day.
 

This course provides a deeper understanding of the integrated project organization and execution models with a focus on integrated project delivery methods like partnering, IPD, or Alliancing. Students learn how the tools and techniques provided enrich options to consult clients and to set up planning and constructions projects in a more efficient and suitable way. The course is a blend of theoretical basic information combined with the application in specific case study situations. Students examine how an increasing complexity of building projects requires new skill sets and a deeper understanding of the relationships of the project participants on various levels in the construction industry. Topics include the traditional contractual project execution models like design and built or design-bid-built suffer on various levels in terms of time, cost, and quality (user requirements and satisfaction) for large scale and complex construction projects and how integrated project organization and execution models have become more prominent in Germany in recent years.