Open House at Weißensee School of Art and Design 2022

This year, weißensee school of art and design berlin finally opens its studios for the traditional open house after two years of digital presentations only due to the pandemic. On July 9th and 10th, 12–20 p.m., there will be the opportunity to learn more about the students’ projects and works developed during the last year, many of them in cooperation or classes led by members of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«.

You will find more nformation about the event on the website of the weißensee school of art and design berlin soon and also this site will be updated in the following weeks.

Among the exhibited projects with Cluster related topics will be the following:

Coding IxD – Digital:Sovereignty

In the winter term 2021/22, the practice project »Coding IxD« took place for the sixth time – this year on the topic of »Digital:Sovereignty«. »Coding IxD« is a cooperation of the Human-Centered Computing Research Group led by Prof. Dr. Claudia Müller-Birn (Freie Universität Berlin) and the Embodied Interaction Group led by Prof. Carola Zwick, Prof. Judith Glaser, and Prof. Thomas Ness (weißensee school of art and design berlin) and is part of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity«.

In interdisciplinary teams, students from the disciplines computer science and design have explored the possibilities of self-determination through the embodiment of individual decisions for a sovereign interaction with sensitive data through neo-analog artifacts, i.e., products that represent a synthesis of the virtual and the material in form and function.

The semester project »Digital:Sovereignty« intends to uncover, explore, and reshape the socio-material aspects of digital sovereignty. Digital sovereignty describes the ability of an individual or the society to use digital services (such as cloud/payment services or digital media) in a self-determined manner. Self-determination should encompass both individual capabilities and material conditions including legal, political, and infrastructural issues. Our goal is to facilitate new forms of interaction between people, material, and code to emerge that enable sovereign decision-making by empowering individuals to critically reflect on their digital practices.

Evolution of 4D-Modules

Master Thesis of Jessica Zmijan supervised by Prof. Christiane Sauer, Prof. Dr. Jörg Petruschat, Maxie Schneider

In the Evolution of 4D-Modules project, Jessica Zmijan is exploring design possibilities of so-called »4D« printing. In 4D printing, a pre-stretched textile is printed. After the surface is released, it deforms according to the printed pattern. The design potential of 4D-printed surfaces has been experimentally investigated using evolution-based programming factors. Jessica Zmijan's approach is particularly motivated by the assumption that abstract principles of evolution can be used to enrich the exploration of shape diversity. Parametric form-finding and modularity resulted in new design possibilities. The results of this project are modularly assembled and expandable 4D textiles whose final shape is no longer determined by the size of the print bed, but by the user's intention. It is suitable, for instance, as an ultra-lightweight textile partitioning system that can easily be adapted to changing demands.

Heliobolici – Small Solar Self-Suppliers

Product Design, supervised by Prof. Carola Zwick, Prof. Judith Glaser, supported by Prof. Mika Satomi and Felix Groll/eLab

Many objects, tools or services we use every day require energy to produce heat, light, motor or computing power. A whole range of these artifacts could achieve energy self-sufficiency through solar power. That's because, theoretically, the sun provides enough energy in one hour to meet the world's energy needs for a year. In the project »Heliobolici - small solar self-suppliers« we want to investigate objects and application contexts in which solar energy can be used to achieve energy independence. We want to explore the question to what extent this product dimension can generate new rituals of use and aesthetic archetypes. In workshops we will gain hands-on experience in the generation, storage and use of solar energy and develop possible application scenarios in design sprints. In the second phase of the project, we will transform these insights into innovative design concepts for products and applications with the ambition of shaping solar energy into a new cultural technique.

The final presentation will be on Wednesday, June 29th, 2022, 4–6 pm
Flughalle, 4. OG Haus C
Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin

Minimal Machines 2 – Hygroscopic Hemp

MoA Design Research Studio

Professor Dr.-Ing. Karola Dierichs I Jessica Farmer, MA cand. – weißensee school of art and design berlin I Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Dr. Michaela Eder I Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten, MA – Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces I Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Heidi Jalkh, MA – Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin I Research Group Director at Universidad de Buenos Aires
Professor Dr.-Ing. Julian Lienhard, Dongyuan Liu, Georgia Margariti, MSc – Universität Kassel
Dr. Astrid Schilling – HNE Eberswalde
Students: Nuri Kang, Xenia Schelper, Antonia Schulze, Felipe Gregory Silva

The MoA Design Research Studio »Minimal Machines 2« investigates functional applications for the shape-change of hemp-rope under variant ambient humidity conditions. Hemp is a biogenic plant-based material. It displays hygrophilic behaviour meaning that it absorbs water from the environment and consequently changes shape. This behaviour is frequently considered undesirable in the context of industrial applications. Yet, in the context of the MoA Design Research Studio »Minimal Machines 2« we question that view of matter’s inner activity as a disturbance and rather harness it as a potential in design applications. Matter then becomes operational — or machinic—itself. It turns into a minimal machine. Codes — either analogue or digital — are used to implement the design of the material by means of a systematization of its form-function interrelationship.

Exploring (waste) Wool as an Architectural Material

Master Thesis of Jessica Farmer, supervised by Prof. Christiane Sauer, Prof. Dr. Lucy Norris, Maxie Schneider
in cooperation with the Design Studio Felt + Fold by Agata Kycia, Jörg Hugo, Andrea Rossi, part of the BMBF-funded research project »Bauhaus 4.0«

In this project, Jessica Farmer melts digital fabrication with the traditional craft of felting to design non-woven materials with a new range of material properties. Further it puts coarse wool, which is nowadays disposed of in large quantities as waste material in sheep farming, to new use. In the case of felt, digital scripts and fabrication bring increased programmability and precision. Unlike with wet-felting which would have us felt all over, we can felt within very precise zones. It is further possible to achieve material gradients and differing densities across a surface. Robotic felting allows to control the exact height, density, duration and location of felting. It adds precision and programmability, both of which allow for the repeatable design of specific functionalities within a surface. Monomaterials with programmable properties from open to compact, from soft to hard are created that could be deployed for interior acoustic or lighting applications.