Materials of the Future

What will our built environment and urban development look like in the future? What role will a new approach to materials play? This was the topic of BUA Open Space #4 on 19 February 2025 in the former tower of Tempelhof Airport.

Cluster Co-Director Prof. Dr. Claudia Mareis was joined on the panel by architect and Technical University professor Prof. Dr. Anupama Kundoo and Berlin's former Senate Building Director Regula Lüscher. The insightful discussion was moderated by Mads Pankow.

It quickly became clear that it is not just about selecting the right materials, preferably natural and locally available. Communication and negotiation processes are at least as important for turning innovative approaches into reality. Following the stimulating discussion, the guests gained insights into state-of-the-art research and practice on materials that have so far been rather unusual in a pop-up exhibition.

Anupama Kundoo and her studio showed examples of building with as-yet unconventional materials and practices, Florian Foerster presented pioneering materials developed at Bauhaus Earth and at the Experimental Fellowship at Bauhaus Earth. Finally, several researchers from Matters of Activity provided prototypes and material samples for the exhibition and gave insights into their research.
A big thank you goes to the MoA members Dimitra Almpani-Lekka, Pelin Asa, Maja Avnat, Bastian Beyer, Heidi Jalkh and Angie Dub, Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten, Natalija Miodragović, Iva Rešetar, Christiane Sauer, Maxie Schneider, Charlett Wenig und Clemens Winkler.

We thank the Berlin University Alliance for the opportunity to enter into dialogue with interested citizens on our topics at such a unique location. Another review in German can be found on the website of the Berlin University. Alliance.