On July 1st, the MoA Colloquia at weißensee school of art and design will be inaugurated by Professor Dr.-Ing. Jan Knippers. Jan Knippers is a consulting structural engineer and head of the Institute for Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the University of Stuttgart since 2000. His interest is in innovative and resource-efficient structures at the intersection of research and development and practice. The MoA Colloquia give the opportunity for a small group of students to meet and exchange with leading experts of the field of computational design. The lectures will be streamed and are open to the wider public. more

The event »Architectures of Weaving«, taking place July 2nd, explores textile construction as an architectural design approach. Textiles can construct a useable space, while they are a spatial material structure in themselves. Discussing this relationship, the symposium will cross scales and disciplines. more

The paper »Biological Constraints on Neural Network Models of Cognitive Function« is one of the first key outputs from a recently initiated Advanced Grant funded by the European Research Council called »Material Constraints Enabling Human Cognition«. In this project and in the Cluster, Friedemann Pulvermüller and his team are now systematically approaching material-based answers to questions such as the following: How can humans learn a vocabulary of 10,000s of words whereas our closest relatives are normally stuck with 10s? How is it possible that little children quickly interlink signs with meanings, upon only one experience in the extreme, although our closest relatives have great difficulty building such links and neural networks require excessive time for learning them? By which mechanisms can we build abstract concepts and what contribution (if any) makes language to this process (… and many others)? more

The Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material« investigates materials that are built by bacteria. Architects and biologists work together to explore new, sustainable materials. Some of these bacterial structures are on display at the Humboldt Lab. In the interview with Cluster Members Bastian Beyer and Skander Hathroubi, parts of the development of the »Active Curtains Project« are presented in more detail. more

On July 13th, we are happy to welcome media theorist Marie-Pier Boucher from the University of Toronto at our last »Talking Matters« event before the Summer Break. Boucher will introduce us to »Being Material«, a curated collection of essays and artefacts which resulted from a symposium held in 2017 by the Center for Art, Science and Technology at MIT, where she was invited as co-editor and author on the project – a journey that brought her to explore the legacy of this institution in a different light. more

»Minimal Machines«  is an MoA Design Research Studio Project investigating the development of machines for non-augmented and augmented spinning on an architectural scale. The machines are to be used as devices in conjunction with a designed material. Given that one of the core paradigms of designing matter is the abolition of machines in favor of matter’s own inner activity, these machines are to be minimal. This can imply tools that are designed to perform the bare minimum required in the assembly of a designed material. Still, it can also mean that matter is designed to become operational—or machinic—itself. Come and see for yourself at the virtual final presentation on July 13th. more

The MoA Design Research Studio »Scaling Fiber: Experimental Yarn« explored the upscaling of fiber into yarns as structural elements for the architectural scale and context. It was carried out as a transdisciplinary exchange between architecture, textile technology, materials science and cultural studies aiming at new concepts for sustainable design technologies. Join its final review on July 13th, 2.00pm. more

After a long wait and numerous postponements, the time has come: The Humboldt Forum, a place for culture and research, for exchange and debate, opens its doors to the public and with it the Humboldt Lab – the event and exhibition space of Berlin's Universities and Clusters of Excellence. From July 20th, visitors will be able to admire exciting exhibits and projects. The Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« will also be represented with various contributions. more

What does materiality mean for art and culture from today’s perspective? How can materiality be understood in our post-digital age, where digital technologies permeate creative work from start to finish, both in terms of tools and materials and conceptually? The exhibition »Extended Reality – Code and Materiality in Art and Culture,« September 3rd to 30th, 2021, illuminates various aspects of (digital) materiality through selected works from design, art, literature, music, performance and science that have been created with Extended Reality technologies (Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality). more

The 25th Digital Research in Humanities and Arts conference invites contributions and interventions that focus on transfers and interactions between digital and natural environments. »Digital Matters« takes on the challenge of exploring new material and multi-species agencies, forms of embodiment, and interactions between the Performing Arts, the Humanities and the Natural Sciences that engage the sense of relationality and expanded scale the Anthropocene affords. The conference is organized by Cluster member Christian Stein (Project Object Space Agency) in cooperation with the Cluster of Excellence »Temporal Communities« and takes place September 5th–7th, 2021. Due to the complexities of planning during the pandemic, the deadline for submissions has been extended to May 30th, 2021. more

Let the wind blow in your face, feel crackling rattan braids under your feet, immerse yourself in virtual reality perspectives and travel with our glass elevator. And it doesn't stop there: wear haptically vibrating clothing that responds to its surroundings and experience weathering over millennia with selected stone samples. In »Stretching Materialities«, you can experience what no one else sees: The objects and structures around us are active and alive. And we interact with them whether we realize it or not. Save the date for the exhibition opening at Tieranatomisches Theater on September 16th, 2021, and view the video from the virtual lab tour following the link. more