In the 1920s, the artist Johannes Itten developed the so-called Bauhaus preliminary course. Anyone wishing to study art, architecture or design at the Bauhaus university had to complete this craft-oriented foundation course. Bauhaus pedagogy continues to inspire courses at art colleges around the world and at our ‚Bildungsmanufaktur‘ in Berlin.


In the 1920s, the artist Johannes Itten developed the so-called Bauhaus preliminary course. Anyone wishing to study art, architecture or design at the Bauhaus university had to complete this craft-oriented foundation course. Bauhaus pedagogy continues to inspire courses at art colleges around the world and at our ‚Bildungsmanufaktur‘ in Berlin.
Walter Gropius (1923): Scheme for the structure of teaching at the Bauhaus.
Provided by: Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin.
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2022.
Young People Discover The Potential Inside Them.
Since 2010, up to 60 teenagers and young adults from a wide range of backgrounds have been visiting the Bildungsmanufaktur every day. In our workshops and urban labs, they spend several months working with experienced artists, craftspeople and designers, developing ideas and putting them into practice. Gain new perspectives. Make friends. Gain confidence. In the end, everyone knows what they are made of. That is what counts.
The workshops provide the ideal environment for this. The diversity of the participants, our trainees, is great. For almost ten years, S27’s educational workshop has focused on young refugees and young adults.
For those who need it, the day starts with two hours of German. Then it’s off for a few hours in the creative workshops, Clan B, Kochinsel, LUZI or Studio Ƙarfi. There we work with wood, metal, glass, ceramics, textiles, plastics, paper and food, they cook, design and make things. And – learning by doing – language and mathematical skills improve.
At the end of each course, the trainees present the results of their work and there is a celebration.
A certificate from the Chamber of Crafts helps them on their way to school, further education and training. Excursions to companies in Berlin also provide orientation. Where there are still problems, an experienced social team provides support, listens, helps with contacts with authorities and agencies, and to think and plan ahead.
Bildungsmanufaktur CITY + Country
In recent years, the project has been successfully established and expanded in Berlin. With the support of the Drosos Foundation, Glashaus Prenzlau and S27 are testing and analysing the extent to which the model can be scaled up and transferred to a rural context.
More info
This is where the educational concept of the BILDUNGSMANUFAKTUR comes in.
In the city, in the country, everywhere, the following applies: positive experiences with what you create yourself convey self-confidence. I can do it! From here, it is easier to take new steps towards society, the world of work and the world of work.
Free of charge, join at any time
Would you like to join us? Contact us by email at bildungsmanufaktur@s27.de, by phone on +49 30 6177673-26 or come along!
We present: The new house raft of our educational manufactory. Floating is very energy-efficient and solar cells on the roof will follow. Meanwhile, old broken boxes are being turned into new, portable, battery-powered boomboxes. Sustainability, new technologies and low tech – under the title FOXY energy Lab, we are creating an incubator for project practice that focuses on these topics.
The FOXY energy Lab is made possible by the generous support of the Drosos Foundation.
Photo 1,2: Burkhard Peter & Michele Caliari // Photo 3: Yvonne Wadewitz // Photo 4: Michele Caliari // Photo 5: Luis Krummenacher // Photo 6,7: Milly Reid // Photo 8: Aris Kress-Kallidromitis // Photo 9-15: Maximilian Dreusch, Federica Teti // Photo 16,17: Luis Krummenacher

„Clan B“ in the scheme of the „Bildungsmanufaktur“.
Loosely based on Walter Gropius, „Schema zum Aufbau der Lehre am Bauhaus“, 1923.
CLAN B
We’re a group of young people from different countries who started an initiative in June 2018 to support people in need. We ourselves know difficult times and difficult situations in life, which is precisely why we want to be active and help others. We call ourselves “Clan B” – the name stands for alternative, sustainable forms of life and at the same time for friendship and support: We try out creative forms of backing that we want to offer ourselves and other young people in need.
TO BUILD
We work in workshops with professionals from the craft and design sectors; in the meantime, we have already built our own headquarters and a mobile kitchen for our group. We are working on do-it-yourself strategies against dependence on the consumer world.
EXCHANGE STATION
Cooking, making music, discussing – that brings different scenes and cultures together. We meet at Falscher Fisch in Neukölln, where we’ve built ourselves a workshop.
HELP
Whether at the children’s party or in the homeless shelter, at the neighborhood party or in the retirement home – we like to lend a hand where support is needed.
More about the project HERE!
Photos: Milly Reid, Aris Kress-Kallidromitis, Alaa Hassan, Luis Krummenacher, Wesam Karema


„Die Kochinsel“ in the scheme of the „Bildungsmanufaktur“.
Loosely based on Walter Gropius, „Schema zum Aufbau der Lehre am Bauhaus“, 1923.
DIE KOCHINSEL
We are an initiative of young people, who have traveled from all over the world, with many different talents and special knowledge. We are united by a passion: we dedicate ourselves to the art of cooking with curiosity and dedication!
DAILY MEETING POINT
We meet in the mornings around the large kitchen counter, right in the heart of the S27. We plan, cut, wash, stir, discuss, laugh and improve our German. We combine cooking with fresh, healthy and, if possible, seasonal ingredients. The result: healthy pleasures that bring guests and groups of the S27 to one table.
COOK TOGETHER – GROW TOGETHER
We remember our homeland and create something new! We exchange recipes, stories and traditions at the stove and experiment with visionary ideas of a world cuisine. We see ourselves as a sustainable and transcultural project with the goals of perspective development, professional orientation and a large portion of empowerment. A competent social team accompanies and advises us on our way into the future.
OUTSIDE WITH YOU: CATERING AND SOCIAL MEDIA
On request, other project teams, groups and companies can also enjoy our fusion kitchen – we design individual catering and finger food concepts. A cooking blog has been set up on Instagram to share our favorite recipes and experiences with you (@diekochinsel). Good Appetite!


„Studio Ƙarfi“ in the scheme of the „Bildungsmanufaktur“.
Loosely based on Walter Gropius, „Schema zum Aufbau der Lehre am Bauhaus“, 1923.
STUDIO ƘARFI
„Ƙarfi“ is hausa and stands for strength, power and empowerment. With the tools of art, we take a critical, decolonial look at society, the world and realities of life that we want to change.
DECOLONIAL AND ANTI-RACIST
In this way we deal with discrimination and racism that we have experienced ourselves and with colonial continuities (streets, squares, places of remembrance) that surround us every day – in our shop at Schlesische Straße 10/11 we develop and design our artistic interventions!
THE COLONIAL WAITING ROOM
In a first action we create the installation „The Colonial Waiting Room“. We understand the waiting room, especially the one we know well of the German immigration authorities, as a colonial space and invite people to join those who are stuck in the „waiting room of history“. The Decolonial is now.
WAKE UP & LIVE
Large cargo loads of old textiles from Europe regularly arrive in African home ports. We brought back textile waste bales from Benin and Kenya to develop our own textile statements from the re-imported clothes.
For our pyjama collection, however, we opted for colourfully patterned wax fabrics, so-called „African fabrics“.
Everyone and anyone knows them - or not quite?
With each new cut, we uncovered hidden knowledge about these pattern fabrics, colonial continuities interlinked with a nightmarish clothing industry that now ensnares the entire globe. Sleep was out of the question for a while.
A look at Ghana, however, opens up a different way of reading wax fabrics, because African producers have indeed inscribed their political struggle for freedom in the fabrics with special orders for subjects and patterns from European fabric producers.
Our team from Studio Karfi will present the controversial pyjamas with wax prints to a broad public during a catwalk through Görlitzer Park during Berlin Fashion Week. In the centrally located Kreuzberg Park, which has been in the news because of the obvious drug trade, numerous refugees, also from African countries, try to secure a minimal existence for themselves and especially for impoverished relatives in countries of origin under the worst conditions through the illegal sale of drugs. A very sad consequence of an ongoing colonial catastrophe – because in order to save livelihoods at home in the global South, uncompromising, immediate far-reaching world trade revisions and far-reaching labour rights for refugees and migrants are needed. The climate crisis will create huge migratory movements, it is against human rights to refrain from regulating world trade and to tighten restrictions on flight and migration.
It is therefore less easy to sleep in Studio Karfi’s pyjamas than to fight for justice.
Buona Notte? Buon Giorno!
Fotos: Luis Krummenacher / Marc Waldow

The course with OSZ „Hans-Böckler-Schule“ in the scheme of the „Bildungsmanufaktur“.
Loosely based on Walter Gropius, „Schema zum Aufbau der Lehre am Bauhaus“, 1923.
On the way to vocational training (IBA)
Do you want to catch up on your school-leaving certificate or spend a year preparing for vocational training? The S27 and the OSZ Hans-Böckler-Schule cooperate and make it possible.
WORKSHOP OF OPPORTUNITIES
Furniture making and design teaching have been the main focus of our workshops for many years. At the centre of our work is a curiosity for handicraft experiments and a great appreciation of resources. We investigate materials and traditional techniques and test methods for creative processes. Our project is inspired by the old Bauhaus preparation course, where students learned how to work with materials and basic design principles in various studios.
CRAFT, DESIGN, SCHOOL
Since summer 2021, young people and adults have been prepared in a new cooperation model to participate in a course for Integrated Vocational Training Preparation (IBA) at the Hans Böckler School Upper Level Centre and are later accompanied as students. Handicraft techniques that are intended for vocational preparation during the IBA course are taught in artistic learning settings in the S27 as well as in well-equipped metalwork workshops of the OSZ. It is a motivating experience to develop design pieces yourself. It also gives the self-confidence to engage in the challenges of learning.
CONCRETE:
-Specialised courses in metal technology and design
-Introduction to other craft professions
-Certificate BBR, eBBR and MSA possible
-Two internships of four weeks each
-Individual support options in specific subjects
-Support from our experienced social team
Participation requirements:
German level at least A2.2, interest in crafts, motivation and time.
Duration: One year of school
Mondays to Fridays in the S27 and at the OSZ.
Participation is free of charge.
Contact: bildungsmanufaktur@s27.de
Photos: Luis Krummenacher. Last photo: Michael Wolke

„LUZI“ in the scheme of the „Bildungsmanufaktur“.
Loosely based on Walter Gropius, „Schema zum Aufbau der Lehre am Bauhaus“, 1923.
FEMALE POWER
Meet new friends, get creative and develop ideas for your professional future. LUZI is a multifaceted project for girls and young women (16 – 27 years) who want to do things together and try out images and roles for themselves and their future.
The various course groups are separately funded by:
- Berlin Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family (“Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie”)