Syntopia - Harvesting the Forest

We hereby cordially invite you to the final review of the MoA Design Research Studio »Syntopia—Harvesting the Forest«. The studio investigated how materials collected in the forest can be formed into architectural structures. Such materials can for example be branches, leaves, moss, bark, grass or even earth.

The term syntopic (noun: syntopy) has been brought forth by Luis Rene Rivas in 1964 and refers to the inhabitation of the same »macrohabitat« by »two or more related species«. The term is a combination of the Greek words syn meaning together and topos meaning place. To develop Syntopia thus means to create designs sourced from and situated within a specific site—a topos.

The MoA Design Research Studio was structured in three successive phases. Phase 1 engaged in speculative design of »Stories of Syntopia«. Phase 2 introduced harvesting, analysing, making and recording in »Designing Syntopia«. In phase 3 we share our vision and our designs with a wider public in »Showing Syntopia« as part of the Rundgang 2023 at weißensee school of art and design berlin.

Responsible Persons and Contributors

weißensee school of art and design berlin, Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces

• Professor Dr.-Ing. Karola Dierichs
• Elaine Bonavia, MSc
• Jessica Farmer, MA
• Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten, MA
• Dr. Charlett Wenig

Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development

• Professor Dr. Tobias Cremer
• Dr. Ferréol Berendt

BA students textile- and surface design weißensee school of art and design berlin
Nuri Kang, Aletta Krietemeyer, Jieun Lee, Jihae Lee, Jinyu Li, Gaia Reiner, Flora Schliekmann, Jelisa Weber

Guest Reviewers

• Professor Dr. Robert Stock, Department of Cultural History and Theory, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• Dr. Mareike Stoll, weißensee school of art and design berlin, Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin