July 2019 Kindergarten Tangstedt Design

We were asked to develop a small kindergarten building, which should serve as a supplement to an existing facility. The structure is organized and shaped in such a way that it can be arranged on plots with complex site constraints, it also can be expanded as required.

July 2019 School Muensterdorf  Design / Partial Completion

We were commissioned to investigate the extension and reorganization of a hundred year old school, which is part of a classic village center. Our proposal places a new building at a strategic position to create a new face to the school, interior spaces as well as the redefinition of the schoolyard. In the course of our work, the school's sanitary wing was overhauled and a building permit was obtained.

June 2019 Queen's University of Belfast Workshop

On the 17th of June Dr. Bedour Braker is invited to give a Pecha Cucha presentation during the 'Street Space' workshop at the Town Hall of Belfast, the presentation is under the title: "K77, a Cultural Squatting in Berlin".She will also join a group of experts and academics in the two day workshop to explore the complexity of some of the local mixed streets in Belfast. The workshop is a follow-up on StreetSpace, which is a one year project directed/led by Dr. Agustina Martire, which was conducted by Masters students of Architecture at Queen's University of Belfast, in collaboration with Anthropology and Film Studies as well as the Department for Communities and Belfast City Council. https://www.streetspaceresearch.com/about

June 2019 Gebrueder Humboldt School Design

We were commissioned to design a new extension to the Gebrüder Humboldt School in order to replace an existing building. Our proposals aims to improve the 'face' of the building and its connectivity to other parts of the school and the surrounding public space.

June 2019 Johann Rist Gymnasium Feasibility Study

We have completed a feasibility study for a school expansion on a bunker in Wedel. The design provides for up to 27 additional classrooms, which are arranged in 3 planted terraces with a view of the schoolyard. Inside there is a two-story break hall, which uses openings in the floor to create a link to the underground bunker system and its history.      

May 2019 Hanover University of Music, Drama und Media Design

We were invited to design two additional pieces of furniture for the foyer of the hanover university of music, drama and media. We were delighted to be commissioned, as we developed the transformation of the foyer space for two universities under one roof over a long period of time. Our involvement started 2008 and this last design proposal allowed us to revisit the spaces and see the installations used by new generations of students.

May 2019 Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya / Barcelona  Conference

We presented our research "When Participatory Design becomes a democratic sphere of influence, the case of ‘Kurt Schwitters's forum’ in Hannover" at the Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya at the end of May. This research takes our project of ‘Kurt Schwitters forum’ in Hannover as a strong example of the convergence between design and the cultural social history. It portrays the importance of participatory design in creating active spaces that fulfil the needs of its users. Through reviewing the history of Student Unions in Germany, the paper explains how the students utilising the case study played an effective role in transforming a regular space into an active territory. The research also stresses the fact that the improvement of educational spaces, in particular, is partially about believing in the will of the young generations and involving them in the decision-making processes. An involvement that would create leaders who can sustain, preserve and change public spaces, from vacant intermediate zones into interactive spaces for all.

May 2019 University of Nottingham Guest Crit

On the 20th & 21st of May, Jan Braker was invited as a guest crit for the final reviews of the MArch Architecture (ARB/RIBA Part 2) at the University of Nottingham, Architecture and Built Environment. The programme is led by Dr. Katharina Borsi. If you are in Nottingham we recommend to have a look at the end of year show with some fascinating projects, which will be opened to the public on the 20th of June.

May 2019 University of Darmstadt  Conference

At TU Darmstadt, we will be discussing our new research on the post socialist transitions that have occurred in both Egypt and the East of Germany since the 1960s. Many cities at that time were under the control of totalitarian regimes and were forced to follow specific developmental strategies during times of low levels of economy and limited industrialisation resources. The research tries to identify, specifically, the dominant characteristics and similarities in the performance of the socialist housing systems in two specific cases in both cities, while shedding the light on the reasons that led to the current condition. Our study attempts to find an approach that would prevent other areas from becoming a social-problem zone which might eventually lead to a politically explosive situation at some point. The conference is solely organized by TU Darmstadt under the title: “Three decades of post-socialist transition” and will take place in May 2019

April 2019 University of Birmingham  Conference

In April 2019 we are presenting a new research: “An unprecedented lens for re-envisioning the past; the case of the ‘flak-towers’ of Hamburg as symbols of a dark heritage” at The university of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. The study discusses the overshadowing dark German heritage since the WWII and its implications on the urban fabric then and now.The conference “The Thrill of the Dark: Heritages of Fear, Fascination and Fantasy” is jointly organised by: Department of Ethnology, Stockholm University, Collaborative for Cultural Heritage Management and Policy, University of Illinois and Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage.

Jan 2019 Kindergarten Appen Planning Approval

The building permit for a movement kindergarten with eight groups was granted. The two-storey building is located on a beautiful property and forms an ensemble with an old farm, which is used as a community center.

Nov 2018 American University of Dubai Conference

Teaming up with Dr. Shaimaa Ashour from Cairo, we presented a research under the title: “Private Initiatives Versus State Intervention, Successes and Failures in Downtown Cairo”. The paper discusses the successes/failures of the collaboration between urban planners and users in Downtown streets through exploring bottom-up intervention as opposed to top-down planning process. We questioned how can we ‘as planners and entrepreneurs’ make sure that such transformations would not gentrify the streets as how we know them. What sort of policies ensure our social responsibilities toward our societies.

Oct 2018 University of Liverpool Presentation AIT Architektursalon

We gave a presentation at  the AIT Architektursalon in Hamburg about the development of our office to a group of fifth year architecture students from the University of Liverpool. The students are developing proposals for a site in the Eastern part of the Hafencity in Hamburg, the design topic is called Expedient Infrastructure. The programme is mentored by Ian Ritchie Architects from London and we are providing local support.

Oct 2018 Kindergarten Samenkorn Completion

The building to increase the capacity of an existing kindergarten has been completed. The extension takes on the materials and roof shapes of the surroundings, but allows for high, very well naturally lit ceilings in the interior. The concept allows the conversion of a large part of the building into a community hall for the village at a later stage.