Institute for spontaneous nest building

Space in the city is becoming scarce. Will there soon be something like a sleeping bag to live in? Everything will soon be even more cramped – but on closer inspection we discover gaps everywhere where we could nestle. Artistic, sheltering, cuddly.

On to the second round! Supported by the Future Package for Physical Activity, Culture and Health, trainees from our house are now actively shaping the programme.

In our institute for spontaneous nest building, we make sure that small and large room installations and surprising architectures grow out of nowhere.

Who knew: Japanese jungle crows steal metal clothes hangers to make their nests even more resistant. As young architects, we take the birds as an example. We will be inventive with local features and conditions and build with wood and recycled materials, which we will examine for their traces.

We want to try out and experience which atmospheres and emotions are associated with the various building materials and design ideas – what is good for you? Where do you feel comfortable? What should our new locations look like and what can they convey?

Great inspiration: The YouTube channel „Nomad Architecture“

We will set up the quickly constructed test rooms on our Urban Praxis campus location (Stadtwerk mrzn) as well as at the S27 – Art and Education.
Welcome to our nest building sites!

After our summer trip, we got it into our heads to build a club! Complete with a DJ booth, disco effects and a cool design. We were joined by the artist Federica Teti and the artist Torsten Oetken. We also asked ourselves how electronic music actually works and built small experimental synthesizers ourselves with Agente Costura. Visitors included the famous german TV presenter Barbara Schöneberger and Ekin Deligöz from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth!

In summer 2023, we are also nesting in the ZEBRA Kagel. When we arrive, the sun’s rays fall on the dry forest floor. We brave the mosquitoes and together with the artist Brooke Meenan we build a small nest, in the big nest Kagel – an installation in the forest. Now you don’t only see the sun’s rays here when the sun is shining. We quickly felt at home, grew together enormously as a group and would have liked to stay longer. It was wonderful! Photos: Photo workshop with Luis Krummenacher.

From the first project round in 2022: Summer School at “ZEBRA” Kagel. Where the birds are happily chirping we have built a nest. With the artist Cyrill Lachauer we constructed an arch that describes a circle and opens towards the center: Place of power, sensory path, observatory! A circular building, the joint construction of which bonded our group together. In line with this, we celebrated the summer solstice there.
Studio Karfi was also part of the party, along with its stylish pajamas. Observatory and pajamas came together for a fashion shooting with Marc Waldow, photographer and social worker to be – great fun. Photos: Marc Waldow

November 2021: Excursion to „ZEBRA“ in Kagel. A short hour from Berlin and not far from the new Tesla factory, we want to realize a nest building when it gets warmer again. A walk-through gets the creativity going – we have a lot of ideas. Let’s see which one will see the light of day next year. We’ve already met a totem animal, too. Photos: Jessy Medernach & Nicolas Weiner.

In many projects of S27 – Art and Education, the focus is on constructing. In the center of Walter Gropius’ circular “Schema for the Structure of Teaching at the Bauhaus,” it is no coincidence that the word “Bau” is written. Here, people, techniques and materials come together in a variety of ways. Building something is often the means of choice and the culmination of our actions.
First photo: Nils Koenning. Further photos: S27 – Art and Education and Stadtwerk mrzn.

Project photo on homepage: Barbara Meyer

Funded by:

The Zukunftspaket für Bewegung, Kultur und Gesundheit (Future Package for Physical Activity, Culture and Health) is a programme of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). It is implemented by the Gesellschaft für soziale Unternehmensberatung (gsub) and the SPI Foundation. The programme part ” Kinder- und Jugendbeteiligung im Zukunftspaket” (Child and Youth Participation in the Future Package) is the responsibility of the Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung (DKJS) (German Children and Youth Foundation).