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Aedes turns its Berlin gallery into a working studio for four urban projects

CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF’s Building the Existing City has opened at Berlin’s Aedes Architecture Forum. Over six weeks, architects will develop proposals for four local sites in view of visitors, working with the communities connected to them. The projects came through an open call, and initial studies will be prepared without fees before a public presentation on 3 December.

Arts··Evening
Four distinct worktables with modelling materials, rough massing blocks and closed portfolios stand in a bright gallery with stools and clear walking space.

Visitors can follow architects at work

Berlin’s Aedes Architecture Forum, an exhibition venue devoted to architecture, has become an open working studio for CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF’s Building the Existing City. Over six weeks, the architects will develop four proposals for sites in Berlin while visitors follow the design process. The exhibition opened on 23 October and runs until 3 December. Research, discussion and drawing take place within the gallery as the projects develop.[1], [2]

The selected projects came through an open call titled 4 Transformations for Berlin. Individuals, neighbourhood initiatives, public institutions, property owners and other organisations were invited to nominate buildings and urban places needing transformation. For the four selections, the practice will prepare initial architectural and urban studies pro bono, working with the communities and organisations connected to the sites. The proposals are scheduled for presentation at the exhibition’s closing event on 3 December.[1]

Twenty projects accompany the open studio

Alongside the four Berlin proposals, the exhibition presents the practice’s broader work under the themes PLAY, LIVE, ACTIVATE and ADAPT. Each part centres on a completed building or project. Drawings, models, films, material studies and research from a selection of twenty projects support the display. The themes organise the portfolio within the same exhibition in which the new Berlin studies are being prepared.[1]

Public lectures, film screenings and workshops for school groups accompany the studio’s six-week programme. University students will also participate in lectures and critique sessions about the design challenges being addressed there. These activities bring different groups into the programme while the architects continue work on the proposals. The Berlin outputs are initial studies intended to be presented at the end of the exhibition.[1]

The practice works across buildings and urban design

Ondřej Chybík and Michal Krištof founded the practice in 2010. It has offices in Prague, Brno, Bratislava and London, working across architecture, urban design, research and education. Its portfolio includes cultural, residential, educational and civic buildings, masterplans and public spaces. Completed projects include Jihlava Municipal Arena, the Nusle Brewery neighbourhood and Lahofer Winery. The Aedes programme follows the practice’s work on temporary pavilions, installations and experimental interventions in urban settings.[1]

References

  1. News sourceArchDailyAedes becomes a working studio for four Berlin projects↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5
  2. News sourceCUBE MagazinAedes becomes an open studio for four Berlin designs↩

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