What if the Ocean Were a City?

Parallel to the Berlin Gallery Weekend in May 2025 and as part of the ＿matter Festival and BUA event series »ON WATER | PARCOURS«, design researcher and diver Rasa Weber takes on the challenge of creating an artificial reef in the river Spree, a project she calls »Syntopolis«. Created in collaboration with local artisans, the reef will slowly become a new ecological habitat for various life forms. Streamed into the re:future lab, which is nestled in the historic former AEG factory site »Electropolis« in Berlin-Oberschöneweide, the reef will transform the institute’s exhibition space into an immersive aquatic habitat, where encounters, experiences and reflections on shared ecological futures become tangible.

What lies beneath the visible world? For a long time, the underwater realm served as an imaginary space of natural purity; a pristine environment that nurtured fantasies of an undiscovered or wild world, beyond human comprehension and, therefore, seemingly uncontrollable. Centuries of human activity have transformed these untouched underwater worlds into fragmented, ruined, and blasted seascapes. The ocean has become a space of urban imagination and extractive advances that ultimately shape the waterscapes we are still confronted with today. Yet, some life forms have managed to establish themselves amid the ruins. The river Spree, which has been altered by urban and geopolitical activities since the 13th century, is critically contaminated with pharmaceutical residues, zinc, copper and even mercury. Nevertheless, it is home to an impressive diversity of thirty-one fish species, millions of mussels and algae as well as invasive species. In the face of ecological upheaval, unexpected life forms are emerging in the midst of disturbance regimes. These life-promoting patches could be seen as islands of hope in a largely devastated waterscape.

Given this, how could a future for such an unlikely underwater existence be designed? And to what extent could these aquatic insights be applied to rebuild urban environments? How could they inspire socio-cultural transformation?

To explore these questions, »What if the Ocean Were an City?« offers a multidirectional program spanning an exhibition, a river cruise, interactive tours, co-creation workshops, talks, and panel discussions. The program is part of the »ON WATER | PARCOURS« event series and aims to provide compass and foster transdisciplinary knowledge exchange. Positions of design, artistic research and architecture will intersect with ecology, biology, conservation politics and economics to discuss the potential ecological futures of Berlin’s waters.

You can watch a live stream from the River Spree via Twitch:
https://www.twitch.tv/symbiotic_lab

Press

Deutschlandfunk, Studio 9, 2 May 2025: »Künstliches Riff in der Spree – Ausstellung beim _matter Festival der HU Berlin«
https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/kuenstliches-riff-in-der-spree-ausstellung-beim-matter-festival-der-hu-berlin-100.html

Credits

»What if the Ocean Were a City?« is a collaboration of re:future lab and the »ON WATER | PARCOURS« series with the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as part of the ＿matter Festival 2025.

The exhibition and interactive program is hosted by re:future lab and curated by Madeleine Schwinge. re:future lab is an institute for art and future design and a school for transformation at the interfaces of art, design and futures studies, with a focus on planetary thinking and socio-cultural shifts. Through a multidimensional program spanning exhibitions, education and consulting, the re:future lab equips a new generation of future-makers with cross-disciplinary knowledge, tools and methods to tackle contemporary challenges in the ecological, social, economic and cultural spheres.

The interactive program, co-curated by Dr. Nina Samuel, is supported by the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) as part of the »ON WATER | PARCOURS« series. Alongside the TD Lab’s »ON WATER | DIALOGUE « and the exhibition »ON WATER | WasserWissen in Berlin«, which will open at the Humboldt Labor in the Humboldt Forum in October 2025, »ON WATER« forms a new focus of BUA on the topic of water research in Berlin.

The »ON WATER | PARCOURS« series cultivates a dynamic, multidirectional exchange of knowledge about Berlin’s blue-green infrastructure. Bringing together researchers from all four universities with Berliners, communities, artists and experts, it fosters collaborative research and learning. Through participatory formats and events at the intersection of art and science – held in cultural venues and along Berlin's waterways – it bridges local, global, human and non-human perspectives on water.

A key aspect of this exchange is embodied sensory knowledge that enriches scientific perspectives and expands how water is understood and experienced. In line with BUA’s commitment to socially relevant research, »ON WATER | PARCOURS« seeks to engage urban society in exploring the critical role of water, addressing pressing questions about the sustainable future of the city and the essential functions of its urban hydrosphere.

The underwater installation is located at the quay of the HTW University of Applied Sciences, Campus Wilhelminenhof, Berlin-Oberschöneweide.

A special thanks goes to TAI - TECH GmbH – Taucherarbeiten- Atemschutzarbeiten – Industriearbeiten for placing the installation and recovering it later, as well as Taucher Hock for filming underwater!

Team Credits

Design Research: Rasa Weber (DE | CH)
Assistance: Freke van Rooij, Studio Rasa Weber (NL | DE)
Co-design and Weaving Construction: Marie Drouet, Atelier Marie Drouet (FR)
Ceramic Elements: Antoine Campana, Potiere de Corbara (FR)
Curation: Madeleine Schwinge, re:future lab (DE)
Coordination: Randi Köster, re:future lab (DE)
Film: Rasa Weber (DE | CH), Till Timmermann (DE); Maxim Landau & Richard Ley (PR Team Matters of Activity)
Underwater Film Spree: Jakob Kukula (DE)

Sites of Collaboration

STARESO - Station de Recherche Océanographiques et sous-marines (Calvi, FR)

The project is part of the Rasa Weber’s dissertation »SymbiOcean«, belonging to the »Interfacing the Ocean« Swiss National Science Foundation project, led by Prof. Dr. Karmen Franinović and Dr. Roman Kirschner at Zurich University of the Arts. The doctorate takes place within the practice-based program cooperation between Zurich University of the Arts and University of Arts and Design Linz, supervised by Prof. Dr. Karmen Franinović (Design) and Dr. Karin Harrasser (Cultural Theory, University of Arts and Design Linz). As an Associated Member, Rasa Weber has joined the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in 2022 and is part of its doctoral research cohort.

Dates

Vernissage: Fri, 2 May 2025, 6:00–9:00 pm
Exhibition: 3–16 May 2025, Tue–Sat 12:00–6:00 pm
Program: 3-4 May 2025, 10:00 am–6:00 pm

Free admission

For latest updates, see www.re-f-lab.com.

Program

Using all your senses, you are invited to engage with the urbanization of the water landscape, the question of more than human design, the possibilities of a proximate and immersive design approach, and the potential for entrepreneurial and collective action as a catalyst for alternative future ecologies. Underwater action cams will film the actual underwater installation at regular intervals to show its transformation into a new ecological habitat. The recorded footage will be shown both in the exhibition space together with other videos of the designer’s work and on the cruise boat. In the laboratory-like exhibition, our visitors may collaborate in creating an installation from the components of the underwater sculpture, which will continue to grow with ship’s ropes and ceramic elements as the exhibition continues (Saturday, May 3rd, 2025). Moreover, you are welcome to embark on a cruise ship, which will transform into a research station. Meet scientists and future practitioners and become a future researcher yourself for one day, co-creating logbooks and maps that imagine possible futures for a blue-green city (Sunday, May 4th, 2025). More information and registration will follow soon – stay tuned!

Sat, 3 May 2025

re:future lab
10:00 am–12:30 pm
Experimental Design Workshop
»What if the SPREE Were a City? Collectively Designing Aquatic Habitats«
with Rasa Weber and Marie Drouet

Participants will explore the principles of designing for aquatic environments:
Track 1: CO-DESIGNING MARINE LIFE: Design a Habitat For a SPREE Dweller (Speculative walk with Rasa and search for potential habitats of your species)

Track 2: WEAVING TOGETHER: Participating in the Design of Syntopolis (weave your thoughts and learn techniques with the designers)

Please register here:
https://www.eventbrite.de/e/what-if-the-ocean-were-a-city-day-1-tickets-1304047303589

2:00 / 3:00 / 4:00 pm
Interactive Tours
Meet the Designer - A Dive Into an Experimental Laboratory

Please register here:
https://www.eventbrite.de/e/what-if-the-ocean-were-a-city-day-1-tickets-1304047303589

Sun, 4 May 2025

Talks and Interactive Future Design Lab
On a Cruise Boat: A Multiperspective Boat Trip to Aquatic and Urban Futures
On Sunday, the event expands onto the SPREE and welcomes you on a cruise ship that transforms into a research station. Meet scientists and future practitioners and become a future researcher yourself for one day, co-creating logbooks and maps that imagine possible futures for a blue-green city. Together, we will explore potential futures for Berlin’s waterways and beyond.

10:00–11:30 am Symbiotic Waterscapes Discussing from an Immersive Design and Science Perspective

Starting with a boat ride from Berlin-Mitte, bringing together designers, researchers, and the public for talks and discussions, we arrive at Kaisersteg next to the re:future lab in Oberschöneweide.

Design researcher and diver Rasa Weber will discuss with

• Prof. Dr. Arlinghaus (Fisheries Professor @ Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries & Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Integrative Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys)
• Prof. Dr. Nadine Göppert (Hydrogeology Professor @ Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, tbc)
• Laurin Kilbert (M.A. Designer, Life-Centered Design, founder @ Symbiotic Spaces Collective)

Register here: www.eventbrite.de/e/what-if-the-ocean-were-a-city-day-2-tickets-1302179506959

12:30–3:30 pm LET'S GET AQUATIC A floating Future Design Lab

You are invited to engage with ongoing experiments and discussions at the intersection of design, ecology, system design, future forsight and urbanism. This future design workshop opened with a reflective impulse lecture by curator Madeleine Schwinge, and led by re:future lab fellows invites you to co-create a future map for a blue-green Berlin in 2050.

Transform today's urban waste into new islands of hope and, from the perspective of a future generation, imagine sustainable living spaces for all those who share the city as a living and working space.

Boat deck Kaisersteg, Berlin-Oberschöneweide

Register here: www.eventbrite.de/e/what-if-the-ocean-were-a-city-day-2-tickets-1302179506959

4:30–6:00 pm Blue-Green Cityscapes Discussing from an Entrepreneurial Perspective

In the late afternoon, the final leg of the journey takes participants back to the city center with a boat ride from Oberschöneweide to Mitte.

During the return, you can listen to some more talks with designers, researchers, and entrepreneurs before we end the day once we arrive back at the starting point.

Meet innovative start-ups executives, and future trailblazers, such as:

• Prof. Dr. Heike Hölzner (Entrepreneurship Professor @ HTW University of Applied Science)
• Nina Heine (Shit2Power, tbc)
• Liviu Mantescu (Watergenetics, tbc)
• David Rubio (Ueiya, tbc).

Cruise boat, Oberschöneweide - Mitte (boat deck to be announced soon)

Register here: www.eventbrite.de/e/what-if-the-ocean-were-a-city-day-2-tickets-1302179506959

Sat, 17 May 2025

5:00-9:00 pm Conversation & Closing Event
We would also like to warmly invite you to a conversation and finissage: On Saturday, May 17th, 5:00–9:00 pm, we will conclude this one-of-a-kind exhibition with a conversation between Rasa Weber and curator Madeleine Schwinge.

What lies beneath the surface of the water? What lessons can aquatic ecologies offer for rebuilding cities and transforming societies? A conversation about immersive design approaches, the creation of resilient patches of hope, and possible future horizons at the intersections of art, design, science, and politics.

Come join the discussion and the closing event, to celebrate this milestone in Rasa Weber’s research.
Followed by a get-together that ends at 9:00 pm. Drinks and appetizers will be provided.

Program Pop-ups

@ Sustainability Conference at HTW Berlin
Presentation & Discussion (Rasa Weber)
6 May, Campus Wilhelminenhof