Beetle-infested Spruce. Copyright: Pelin Asa, MPICI
Visual Essay by Cluster members published on .able
We'd like to congratulate all contributing authors, inlcuding numerous Cluster members, on the newest .able publication: »Symbiotic Wood« is an invitation to rethink our relationship with forests and materials, not as resources to control, but as ecosystems we share. In the face of climate change and collapsing monocultures, the project explores how beetle- and fungi-affected spruce wood can open up new ways of designing: less predictable, more situated, and radically collaborative. Through layered insights, from microscopic wood patterns to cultural history as well as artistic design prototyping, this visual article reveals how material science, design, and art can engage with nonhuman agencies and multispecies entanglements.
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Beetle galleries on a spruce tree. Copyright: Karola Dierichs, Matters of Activity, Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces and weißensee school of art and design
Interdisciplinary Symposium and Workshop at Kunstgewerbemuseum
The symposium »Symbiotic Futures 2.0« is an open invitation for public discourse as the central event of the exhibition »Symbiotic Wood«. It is an open platform for exchange between disciplines and across individual perceptions. Topical themes will be »Symbiosis as Cognition«, »Symbiosis as Perception« and »Symbiosis as Creation«. These will be introduced in an interdisciplinary panel of lectures and a round table discussion by invited experts from the disciplines of materials science, cultural theory and design. The lectures are complemented by a series of smaller hands-on workshops in which participants can gather first-hand information on the symbiotic interaction with materials, such as earth, resin and wood.
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Beetle Galleries in Spruce Wood. Photo: Pelin Asa, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Matters of Activity, 2024; Graphic Design: NODE Berlin Oslo
Exhibition, Symposium, Roundtable and Tour
Climate change and monocultures have left forests vulnerable to insects and fungi. Beetle-infested wood is deemed less valuable from a traditional human-centric perspective. The group show »Symbiotic Wood« at Kunstgewerbemuseum focuses on this ›more-than-human‹ material that is co-owned with other species. It features contributions by artists, designers, architects, and cultural historians. Exhibition extended until 23 November 2025!
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Ailanthus altissima, Musée national d’histoire naturelle Luxembourg, title: Specimen № 15467, MNHNL 2000, license: CC BY 4.0, color and framing of this image were modified
Exhibition, Workshops, Audio Walk and Movie Night
Focusing on the agency of plant and tree collectives and their ability to shape entire ecologies, »Vegetal Companions« aims to critically reposition conventional human-centered concepts that highlight control and mastery over nature. In a close dialog with the botanical garden of Späth-Arboretum, »Vegetal Companions« explores different forms of knowledge creation, be it soil as archive, art as research, or philosophy as gardening.
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Beetle-infested Spruce. Copyright: Pelin Asa, MPICI
Publication Authored by Pelin Asa, Karin Krauthausen, Robert Stock and Karola Dierichs Out Now
The new article »Architectures of Syntopia: An Interdisciplinary Speculative Model for Constructions with Insect-infested Wood« is out now, authored by Pelin Asa, Karin Krauthausen, Robert Stock and Karola Dierichs. The research was conducted at Matters of Activity. Image Space Material, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and Weißensee School of Art and Design Berlin. Thanks to the editors Cordula Kropp and Simon Aicher and the great team at TATuP – Journal for Technology Assessment in Theory and Practice.
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Exhibition of research objects during the MoA PhD presentations 2024. Posterlayout Ada Favaron. Copyright: Matters of Activity
Presentations Doctoral Program 2024
Under the title »testing un/common grounds«, the Matters of Activity doctoral cohort impressively presented the progress of their diverse research projects during the Cluster retreat. The event included the three moderated panel discussions as well as an exhibition of selected research objects that were at the core of the format. With their various disciplinary backgrounds ranging from art, architecture, engineering and design to the humanities and natural sciences, the group explored this interdisciplinary ›un/common ground‹ and aimed to develop forms of common knowledge that respect locally-based actors and embrace collaborations with diverse agencies and species.
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Syntopia – Harvesting the Forest; MoA Design Research Studio. Prototype by Gaia Reiner. Copyright: Gaia Reiner
Harvesting the Forest
The MoA Design Research Studio »Syntopia — Harvesting the Forest« 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. It was structured in three successive phases. Phase 1 engaged in the speculative design of »Stories of Syntopia«. Phase 2 introduced harvesting, analyzing, making and recording in »Designing Syntopia«. In phase 3, we shared our vision and our designs with a wider public by »Showing Syntopia«.
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Syntopia. Copyright: Jihae Lee, weißensee school of art and design berlin
Final Review of MoA Design Research Studio
We hereby cordially invite you to the final review of the MoA Design Research Studio »Syntopia—Harvesting the Forest«, which will take place on Tuesday, July 18th, in Room 2.03 at weißensee school of art and design berlin. The studio led by Cluster Professor Karola Dierichs, 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.
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Leben im Schleim. Copyright: FASZ
Read about MoA in the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung, the Purpose Magazine, The Praxis Journal and Tagesspiegel
We are very happy that »Matters of Activity« has been highlighted by many different (international) news outlets lately. Next to beautiful biofilm pictures and information from Regine Hengge, Cluster Members Wolfgang Schäffner and Maxime Le Calvé have been interviewed by Purpose Magazine and The Praxis Journal from Argentina. Wolfgang Schäffner has also been interviewed in connection to the BUA initiative »BUA Calling« by Tagesspiegel Berlin. With our involvement in the Berlin Science Week news about MoA will also travel fast in the upcoming weeks.
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Advanced Materials Design Based on Waste Wood and Bark
New Paper by Members of »Weaving« published in »Philosophical Transactions A«
Cluster members Charlett Wenig, Friedrich J. Reppe, Karin Krauthausen, Peter Fratzl and Michaela Eder together with colleagues published a paper in the journal »Philosophical Transactions A« by »The Royal Society«. Trees belong to the largest living organisms on Earth and plants in general are one of our main renewable resources. Wood as a material has been used since the beginning of humankind. Today, forestry still provides raw materials for a variety of applications, for example in the building industry, in paper manufacturing and for various wood products.
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Open Space Event, 9 November 2023. Copyright: Matters of Activity
MoA's Showroom and Workspace
With the »Activarium«, we want to actively engage with potential partners from the industry, start-ups, NGOs, politics and society as a whole to initiate an exploratory exchange on active materials, bio- & culture-inspired innovation as well as sustainability approaches. We want visitors to experience our prototypes, making MoA’s intentions and research tangible and accessible. The »Activarium« serves as a work-in-progress showcase of different research strands and processes. Our visitors can dive into the research as it's happening before its published results.
If you are interested in a visit, please contact us via moa.activarium [at] hu-berlin.de to visit!
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Physical damage on the tree due to beetles and fungus. Left: Bark beetle galleries and larvae under the bark of a spruce tree. Middle: Bark beetle galleries on the sapwood of a spruce tree. Right: Other insect holes and brown rot streaks on spruce wood. Pelin Asa, MPICI, 2023.
PhD Project Pelin Asa
Spruce forests in Europe face significant challenges from increasing bark beetle attacks, partly attributed to droughts and extreme weather conditions. Drawing from field research conducted in Feldbuch, Germany, this project analyses factors that lead to bark beetle outbreaks and their impact on the trees, local forests, and communities. As bark beetle infestations escalate, there is a growing focus on understanding their impact on trees and forests, yet research into beetle-affected wood and its potential applications in architecture and digital fabrication remains limited. This research aims to address this gap by identifying key questions surrounding beetle-infested wood and showcasing its potential for valorisation.
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Karte des Späth-Arboretum der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Ein Audiowalk für das Späth-Arboretum von Maja Avnat
Eine kulturwissenschaftlichkünstlerische Reflexion über den Garten und die Menschen, die ihn besuchen – im Format eines Audiowalks. Das Späth-Arboretum ist ein historischer Landschaftsgarten, in dem zahlreiche Gehölze wachsen – einige von ihnen bereits seit dem späten 19. Jahrhundert. Was sagt sein Erscheinungsbild über die Beziehung zwischen Menschen und Pflanzen aus? Und was können die Geschichten seiner Gehölze über diese Beziehungen erzählen?
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