»The Bark Project«, Charlett Wenig. Copyright: Patrick Walter, MPIKG
Special Exhibition at Grassi Museum Leipzig with Works of Charlett Wenig
Humanity has always been fascinated by ideas, visions and versions of the future. Faced with global challenges, themes like resource scarcity, climate crisis and socioeconomic injustice dominate social awareness. Designers and artists increasingly focus on aspects of possible ›futures‹ as shown in the exhibition that is now opening at Grassi Museum of Applied Arts Leipzig. The exhibition’s chapter »READY MADE FUTURE« features works of Charlett Wenig.
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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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Charlett Wenig und Johanna Hehemyer-Cürten mit der Barksphere am Strausberger Platz, Kampagne »Das offene Wissenslabor«, 2024. Copyright: Berlin University Alliance
Charlett Wenig und Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten über das Bark Project
Fasern, Samenkapseln, Pflanzenstängel oder Seidengespinste – in der Natur gibt es jede Menge unterschiedlicher Materialien, die außergewöhnlichen mechanische Eigenschaften haben und sich an wechselnde Umweltbedingungen anpassen können. Wie funktionieren diese biogenen Materialien und könnten sie möglicherweise Inspirations- und Rohstoffquelle für Architektur, Design oder Produktentwicklung sein? In einem Interview, das Teil der neuen Kampagne der Berlin University Alliana »Das offene Wissenslabor« ist, geben Cluster-Mitglieder Charlett Wenig und Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten Einblicke in die Arbeit der Forschungsgruppe »Adaptive Fibrous Materials« und insbesondere über ihre Forschung zu Baumrinde.
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Folgenbild Syntopische Architekturen, 2024. Käferbefallenes Fichtenholz, Foto: Pelin Asa, MPIKG, adaptiert von MoA.
Neue Podcast-Folge der Serie »Exzellent Erklärt« mit Karola Dierichs und Robert Stock
In Folge 48 der Podcastserie »Exzellent Erklärt« erwartet die Zuhörer:innen ein inspirierender Austausch zu der Frage, wie die Materialien, die in der direkten Umgebung und ihren Kreisläufen vorkommen, das Bauen der Zukunft mitgestalten können. Journalistin Larissa Vassilian hat mit Cluster-Mitgliedern Karola Dierichs und Robert Stock über ihr Projekt »Syntopic Architectures« gesprochen, das darauf abzielt, natürliche Strukturen in die Architektur zu integrieren, die in Verbindung zu dem Ort stehen, an dem gebaut wird. Ein Beispiel dafür ist das Arbeiten mit Käferholz, also mit Holz, das vom Borkenkäfer befallen wurde.
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Beetle-infestation of spruce, Feldbuch, Frankonia. Image: Pelin Asa, MPI-CI, MoA
Interdisciplinary Workshop at Berlinische Galerie
Modern life is mainly built on concrete, glass and steel. Recently, however, these construction materials have been increasingly discussed due to their impact on emissions, waste production, and the climate crisis. In response to this, designers, architects, and other scholars investigate novel approaches to biomaterials, recycling options, and circular models of fabrication and construction. The aim is to form symbiotic alliances with fungi, beetle-infested trees, bacteria, or residual materials and to acknowledge the surprising potentials of these unconventional collaborators. Can elements of nature thus be understood as equal partners in construction, architecture, and the design of daily objects? We cordially invite you to this workshop on June 5th, 2024 at Berlinische Galerie, to discuss these symbiotic practices as they hint at other collaborative futures beyond resource extraction.
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Copyright: Sistemas Materiales
Pioneering Publication on Biomaterials Launched in Buenos Aires
»Trazos« is a pioneering publication in Spanish in the interdisciplinary field of biomaterials developments. The book is divided into three sections which explore, interrogate, shape, and reflect on these scientific and creative advancements. This book encourages interaction between the Spanish-speaking community and provides access to a topic predominantly discussed in English. It seeks to stimulate dialogue and amplify the reach of the Latin American biomaterials field to a broader audience. Likewise, it aspires to foster collaborations that transcend language barriers, promoting enriching exchanges of ideas and knowledge. The book, edited by MoA Associated Member Heidi Jalkh and Gisela Pozzetti, and designed by Paula Rodríguez, includes contributions by MoA researchers Bastian Beyer, Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten, Wolfgang Schäffner, Daniel Suárez, Charlett Wenig and by Rodrigo Martin Iglesias, Coordinator of the Master Open Design.
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Charlett Wenig, Bark Sphere, 2021. Copyright: Alexander Magerl
Matters of Activity und CollActive Materials starten Kooperation mit Futurium Lab
»Matters of Activity« und das Experimentallabor für Wissenschaftskommunikation »CollActive Materials« starteten im März eine neue Veranstaltungsreihe im Futurium Lab. Unter dem Titel »Materialzukünfte besuchen« fanden über vier Monate vier Workshops statt, die die Forschung des Clusters mit der Zivilgesellschaft zusammenbrachten und in denen gemeinsam über Materialzukünfte spekuliert wurde. Begleitet wurden die Veranstaltungen von einer temporären Ausstellung im Futurium Lab.
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»The Bark Project«, Charlett Wenig. Copyright: Patrick Walter, MPIKG
Landeskonferenz der Rektor:innen und Präsident:innen der Berliner Hochschulen (LKRP) ehrt Nachwuchswissenschaftler:innen mit Tiburtius-Preisen
Dr.-Ing. Charlett Wenig wurde im Rahmen ihrer Dissertation mit dem Titel »Sustainable Tree Bark Objects by Combining Science and Design«, in der sie sich mit Baumrinde beschäftigt hat, mit dem ersten Preis ausgezeichnet. Im Fokus stand die Frage, wie sich für diese hochwertige Anwendungsmöglichkeiten im Bereich Design und Architektur entwickeln lassen. Beim Fällen eines Baumes für industrielle Zwecke, wird aus Rinde meist Abfall. In deutschen Sägewerken fallen jährlich etwa vier Millionen m³ Rinde an. Nur ein kleiner Teil davon wird weiterverarbeitet. Das wirtschaftlich untergeordnete Interesse an Rinde sowie die hohe Variabilität der Rindenstrukturen untereinander und sogar innerhalb eines einzelnen Baumes sind Gründe, warum dieses Material im Vergleich zu Holz noch recht unerforscht ist.
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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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Bark by Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten and Willow Plektonik by »Structural Textile Project« of Natalija Miodragović, Nelli Singer and Daniel Suárez. Copyright: Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten
Conversation on Local Biomaterials as Design Innovators between Natalija Miodragović, Dr. Michaela Eder and Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten
Moderated by Dr. Manuel Rivera (RIFS) the Cluster Members Natalija Miodragović, Dr. Michaela Eder and Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten discuss bark, willow and wool in the panel »Conversation on Local Biomaterials as Design Innovators« during the exhibition »Examples to Follow!« on July 13th, 7.30 pm.
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Copyright: Mina Mahouti
New Cluster Event Series Critically Explores Material Sustainability Concepts
Transforming linear economies into resource, energy, and more-than-human friendly processes means to bridge different areas of expertise. Ongoing discussions in different Cluster research groups such as MFF, Filtering, Weaving etc. have shown the importance of involving the perspectives of various actors, practitioners and experts into further research processes. Promising solutions and insights for a new material economy and culture are facing similar problems when it comes to transfer them from laboratory to the market. (Material) engineers, designers and activists face numerous challenges in expanding their activities, be they technological, political, economic or social. Kicking-off in June 2023, a new series of events will connect members of the Cluster interested in critically exploring material sustainability concepts with different practitioners and stakeholders from outside the Academy, and foster knowledge exchange in both directions.
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»The Bark Project«, Charlett Wenig. Copyright: Patrick Walter, MPIKG
Charlett Wenig Speaks at Interdisciplinary Conference
Wastework is an international, interdisciplinary 3-day conference on the materiality, spatiality, and processing of waste in the early modern workshop. It proposes to examine acts of disposal, displacement, removal, and abeyance – in short, the getting rid of unwanted things – and the consequences these carry for the study of early modern material culture. Cluster researcher Charlett Wenig is on the panel »Paradoxes of Matter«, on March 17th at 2:00 pm.
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Schematic representation of the pressing process, right: ready pressed bark panels. Copyright: cc-by 4.0 PLOS ONE
Adhesive-free Bark Panels
Charlett Wenig and her interdisciplinary team of researchers from »Matters of Activity« and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPICI) has investigated how the natural properties of native tree bark can be used to create a standardized product for long-term use without the addition of adhesives. In doing so, they have created bark panels by peeling and drying via hot pressing, which could be used in interior design or furniture and packaging, for example, through industrial production.
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Round Table »Rinde: Gestaltung mit Resten«. Design: studioeins, adapted by Matters of Activity
On January 26 at Kunstgewerbemuseum
We cordially invite you to the Round Table »Rinde: Gestaltung mit Resten« which continues the format series accompanying the exhibition »Design Lab #13: Material Legacies« at Kunstgewerbemuseum. The Round Tables represent each of the exhibiting projects and the involved researchers and artists in a moderated dialogue with guests from different disciplines. The format brings a variety of perspectives to the exhibited works, its material legacies and entangled discourses and invites the public to engage. On January 26th designer and Cluster Member Charlett Wenig will discuss her work with Ferréol Berendt (HNE Eberswalde) and Nikolaus Stolle (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt). Moderated by cultural theorist and Cluster Member Robert Stock.
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Poster Material Legacies. Image: Dietrich Polenz and the Experimental Surgery Lab, 2020
Exhibition at Kunstgewerbemuseum
The exhibition »Design Lab #13: Material Legacies« at Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin explored contingencies and ruptures between traditional crafts and the most recent developments at the crossroads of material research, design, engineering, and architecture. It brought together artifacts from the museum’s collection with work-in-progress installations by designers and researchers from the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity. Image Space Material« in order to initiate a dialogue about the historical, contemporary, and future conditions under which materiality unfolds.
By engaging with a series of different materials and techniques the exhibition encompassed both the problematization of unsustainable pasts and presents as well as the imagination of speculative material futures. Taking materiality as a starting point, each of the exhibits investigated its sociocultural, economic, and political context in order to disentangle the multiple interrelations that arise from and with materials. more
By engaging with a series of different materials and techniques the exhibition encompassed both the problematization of unsustainable pasts and presents as well as the imagination of speculative material futures. Taking materiality as a starting point, each of the exhibits investigated its sociocultural, economic, and political context in order to disentangle the multiple interrelations that arise from and with materials. more
Poster PhD presentations 2022. Layout: Ada Favaron
Doctoral Presentations at the MoA Retreat 2022
The 2022 presentation of the Doctoral Program »Matters of Activity« at the MoA Retreat in September at Landgut Stober was both a review and an outlook of the doctoral research conducted at the Cluster between 2020 and 2022. Under the title »Scaling Matters: From the Lab to the Field, «Pre-Doctoral Researchers at varying stages of their research — from the very beginning to the final phase of their theses — presented their heterogeneous work whilst continuing to negotiate common themes, methods, questions and tools. The format combined talks and an exhibition and invited MoA Members to engage individually with the presentation and a selection of their research objects.
Thanks to everyone involved for making possible this all-around successful event. Enjoy some visual impressions of the exhibition, as well as the talks and have a look at the booklet.
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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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»The Bark Project«, Charlett Wenig. Copyright: Patrick Walter, MPIKG
Members Charlett Wenig and Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten Were Awarded 2nd Place at Idea Competition of »Die Junge Akademie« for »The Bark Project«
The MoA research group »Adaptive Fibrous Materials« is interested in interactions between biological material and its environment. The fact that plants are sessile make them particularly interesting regarding their adaptability and optimization strategies – there is no way for them to escape. Remodeling processes, such as those found in the animal kingdom, are absent and adaptation takes place by growth. The junior research group is jointly funded by »Matters of Activity« and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Surfaces (MPIKG).
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Left: The Bark Sphere, Charlett Wenig with Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten I MPI-CI and Alexander Magerl, 2021
Middle: The Bark Project Flexibilized, Charlett Wenig with Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten I MPI-CI and Patrick Walter
Right: Charles Eisen’s allegorical engraving of the first hut (= Vitruvian hut). Frontispiece in: Marc Antoine Laugier, Essai sur l’architecture, Paris: Chez Duchesne […], 2. edition, 1755. ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Rar 1254, https://doi.org/10.3931/e-rara-128 / Public Domain Mark
»Syntopic Architectures« engages in structures for habitation, sourced from and embedded in the material cycles of a specific environment. The term ›syntopic‹ (noun: syntopy) has been coined by Luis Rene Rivas in 1964 and denotes the inhabitation of the same »macrohabitat« by »two or more related species«. It is a composition of the Greek words ›syn‹ meaning together and topos meaning place. To develop Syntopic Architectures thus means to create inhabitable structures with the place where they are built in.
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Charlett Wenig, Bark Sphere, 2021. Copyright: Alexander Magerl
Bark, the boundary between trees and their environment, comprises about 10–20% of their total volume. It forms the interface between the environment and the vital cambium and wood. But what does this protection feel like? Can bark take on protective functions for humans as well? These questions arise when peeling bark off a tree for the first time. The aim for the bark sphere installation is to allow one or more people to stand inside and experience being completely surrounded by bark. The use of tree bark with a woven structure allows the use of the protective function of bark in addition to controlling the object’s stability by using different weaving patterns. The inherently difficult round shape of the sphere was selected to explore the limits of formability and to leave room for the viewer’s own interpretation.
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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 to make 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.
Walk in and experience the »Activarium« Tuesdays, 10.00 am–12.15 pm or Thursdays, 2.00–4.00 pm! If you are a group of more than 5 people or if the opening hours do not fit your schedule, please contact us via moa.activarium@hu-berlin.de to schedule a visit!
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Research on the variety of possible shapes conducted at Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. Photo: Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten
»Revaluating Pine Bark« is a practice-based research project that aims to increase the value of pine bark and to present a variety of possible processing techniques and shapes that rise discussions and speculations about future use-cases. This is done by studying the material properties and through the development of holistic design concepts and artefacts.
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