Teaching

STUDIO*BERLIN

TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH
VISITING PROFESSOR, MASTER STUDIO
SUMMER SEMESTER 2024

Space as intersection of cross-cultural movements

As a German center of internationality, Berlin is home to a variety of languages, habits, customs, beliefs, general lifestyles, attitudes and societies. Cosmopolitan people meet international newcomers, families deeply rooted in the city and its history meet newcomers from within Germany, cross-border immigrants meet those who have already moved on. Different cultures from almost every part of the world can be felt and seen and, depending on the district, different origins come together. Each person living in Berlin brings with them an individual context with knowledge, wishes and hopes. In addition, there are many travelers who contribute to intercultural diversity, at least temporarily.

This raises the question of how far you can/may lean back into your own society. Equally, how far can/should one venture into the society of the other person? What and where is the intersection between cultural and social movements and who decides? What form does the intersection take? What do overlaps and interweavings look like?

The design task for the ‘Zukunftsstätte’ is to create an urban intervention that depicts the Intersection of cross-cultural movements. What does the space where two societies meet look like? How big should it be? What colors does it have? How do atmospheres and surfaces feel? What do overlapping intermediate spaces look like when one society ventures more (too far?) into the other? What do spaces look like when two societies move too far apart and a gap is created? What does the gap look like? What does the negative of the gap look like, in other words the space that can close it again?

Technical University of Munich, Chair of Architecture and Timber Construction

THE RIBBON OF THE CITY

COBURG UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES AND ARTS
VISITING LECTURER, ADDITIONAL COURSE TO DESIGN PROJECT
SUMMER SEMESTER 2024

Material potential for interweaving cultural islands

Various materials will be examined to see if they can be woven together. This is because the cultural islands of the city of Berlin found in the design studio are to be connected with each other. Theoretical models of integration and adaptation will become part of the practical interweaving. The built interweaving is intended to represent the analyzed migration societies of Berlin. For as Harun Farocki’s work In Comparison states, materials (in Farocki’s work: bricks) are ‘clay bodies of societies’ (Holl, 2009).

The goal of the project addition is to create a physical work or a kind of sculpture that shows the interweaving of the research within the design project. By selecting a material, social movements and interactions, values and experiences are made visible.

Studio*Musika

TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH
VISITING PROFESSOR, MASTER STUDIO
WINTER SEMESTER 2023/24

It is not difficult to imagine a market from the customer’s point of view. Surely all of us shop regularly at markets or are aware of the idea and atmosphere of a market. The market as a shopping place and economic service centre with the possibility to buy directly from producers. Together with the offer of regional and local products, this forms the counterpart to shopping in anonymous supermarkets with mass offers. Organised and regular markets take place in market halls and market places. This is the understanding of markets in Germany. 

Elsewhere, market activities look quite different, even if the basic endeavour to sell goods is the same. Thus, the market situation is partly dominated by smaller-scale stalls, temporary and flexible structures. Behind the economic motives (selling and trading), there are a number of other aspects that come together in market activities. For example, every market becomes a social meeting point and place of assembly. The market is both a place of work for some and a place of entertainment or everyday shopping for others. In many places, trade also involves negotiating, i.e. getting into conversation, communicating and interacting, exploring boundaries and coming together again. The market as a reflection of society, because market products also represent the basic supply: Food.

Finally, the design task in studio*musika is the conception and design of a new market space. We deal with the question of what happens at market spaces apart from shopping and buying. What socially relevant issues come to the fore? In order to better understand the needs that are necessary for a market design, we put ourselves in the perspective of the traders. How does it feel to sell goods behind the stall every day? How should the space be designed in which social interactions take place alongside sales and which becomes an informal meeting place?

The design location for the new market space is Jamestown, a district in Accra, the capital of Ghana.

Technical University of Munich, Chair of Architecture and Timber Construction

learning from the past – Traditional building and what we can learn from it

COBURG UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES AND ARTS
VISITING LECTURER, ADDITIONAL COURSE TO DESIGN PROJECT
Winter semester 2021/22

Building with wood is linked to centuries-old traditions that have developed very differently in different regions of the world. Built to suit the location and climate, the buildings react with the materials and design language used. Cultural events that take place inside and outside the building structures also have an influence on use and design.

In the additional course for the design project ‘Simply Building with Wood’ traditional buildings from different regions of the world are examined together. Examples of this are vernacular buildings from southern Africa, Southeast Asia or traditional buildings from Japan and Scandinavia.

Furthermore, contemporary examples of wooden structures that go back to traditional structures are examined and their construction methods are questioned in terms of simplicity and feasibility. By creating drawings and models, the aim is to understand how these buildings were created and how they are used.

Learn to design critically of racism – On the importance of Eurocentric design methods in building in the Global South

COBURG UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES AND ARTS
VISITING LECTURER, compulsory course
Sommersemester 2021

Construction projects that are created through international collaboration are becoming more popular and are a natural part of the curriculum in European higher education. Architecture students travel to distant project countries without hesitation in order to realise the buildings designed in a short time during the semester. But there is also a lot of commitment to projects in foreign contexts and cultures outside of tertiary education.

It’s not just the design methods and approaches learned in the home country that play a role. What is more important is dealing with topics that are not part of the way we work in designing in the classic sense. Designing locally means entering into a learning process that is less relevant to architecture and more relevant to society. Successful implementations are only possible with this expanded background knowledge.

Together we will examine what influence our universal perspective has on the design of a project in the Global South. We question topics such as tradition, migration and approach the connection to racism, which inevitably becomes an issue as soon as project partners from the Global South and Global North work together.

Site-appropriate building in Africa

State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart
Visiting lecturer, Master Course
Winter semester 2018/19

International and intercultural construction projects are very diverse and require careful planning and implementation. This is particularly relevant when the project location is in the Global South and project participants from the Global North are involved. This is because parameters then become important that are meaningless when the project is realised in the home country.

During the seminar, the basics of site-specific construction in Africa will be analysed and evaluated using various examples. Basic knowledge of the design parameters of materials, construction, climate, technologies, resources, culture and history will be conveyed. Each of these parameters will be analysed in relation to the implementation of the selected project, but also in relation to the surrounding buildings and tradition.