Thinking differently about architecture

Brick seminar on the future of living and building

Recently, the 20th edition of the annual brick seminar took place at Hagemeister in Nottuln. Theme: "Thinking differently about architecture. Four speakers explained how they see their field in relation to major tasks and developments in aesthetics and technology. In her lecture "Germany - what's next?" Christine Sohar of MVRDV explained what the city of the future could look like. Sohar did so based on MVRDV's plans for Traumahaus Funari and the Fuggerei Code.

Like a canvas blowing in the wind, that is how the facade of the office of the Association of the Northwest German Textile and Clothing Industry in Münster was to look. Martin Behet and Roland Bondzio of behet bondzio lin architects managed to convert that image into a brick façade with delicately cantilevered and receding lines. In designing it, the pair was backed by parametric design software. In their lecture "Parametric design and traditional craftsmanship," Behet and Bondzio showed how this modern design technique can give the use of a traditional building material such as brick an enormous boost. And not only in Münster. Also in office building W-Mission in Seoul, the architects deployed parametric design for an expressive facade made of brick.

Traumhaus Funari

Christine Sohar, senior project manager at MVRDV, showed in her lecture "Germany - what's next" what MVRDV believes the (German) city of the future could look like. In Mannheim, MVRDV is currently realizing a new district with 124 single-family houses and 26 apartments together with prefabrication specialist Traumhaus: Traumhaus Funari. Architect and developer are applying a new vision of the suburb. The goal of Traumhaus Funari was to create an affordable, green and car-free neighborhood that was architecturally diverse and refined. A catalog of typologies was designed for the houses, with numerous variations in materials, sizes, floor plans and connections to the outside. By focusing on a broad mix of residents, MVRDV hopes to transform the suburb into a rich and diverse community.

Fuggerei Code

In honor of the 500th anniversary of the world's oldest social housing complex - the Fuggerei in Augsburg - MVRDV, together with the Fugger Foundations, developed a manual for new Fuggereien worldwide: the Fuggerei Code. Including studies for contemporary variants at locations elsewhere: in Lithuania, Sierra Leone - and a second Fuggerei in Augsburg. Underlying that code are principles MVRDV distilled from the old Fuggerei: living as a safe haven, sustainability, encouraging humanistic values, self-determination and dignity for residents, a social home with a supportive community and a rewarding personal life, and meeting residents' spiritual needs.

City planning of tomorrow

What will intelligent climate-friendly urban development look like in the future? That is what Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kropp of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Pollution Research discussed in his lecture "City in Climate Change: Perspectives and Solutions for the 21st Century." Kropp called for an integrated approach to climate and environmental problems in cities, problems that often arise from conflicting visions of the city:

"Compact cities lead to heat stress, while lower densities create more individual traffic - and more carbon emissions. Solutions should therefore not be separated. For example, we can live in more sprawling settlements if we create efficient and non-fossil transportation options or develop innovative ideas for living and working."

Reuse

"It takes courage to preserve and reuse existing buildings," stated the final speaker of the brick seminar, Münster-based architect and journalist Stefan Rethfeld. In his lecture "My house is many houses - on the old and new culture of reuse," Rethfeld took a journey through time. Using Münster's most prominent and currently much-discussed conversion project, the historic penitentiary in the city center, Rethfeld made a case for the reuse of existing buildings in his lecture.

Hagemeisters brick seminar

Hagemeister's annual brick seminar celebrated its 20th edition in 2023. The continuing education seminar recognized by the Chambers of Architecture of NRW, Lower Saxony, Hesse, Bremen and Berlin attracts professionals from all over Germany to Hagemeister's exhibition center in Nottuln. Each year, national and international speakers highlight different aspects of architecture, construction and brick. "Leading up to the seminar, we exchanged ideas with the BDA Münster-Münsterland about materials and construction methods with which architecture can be designed in the future. There are currently many requirements to be met, economically, ecologically and in terms of building culture. We wanted to give more space to this topic with the seminar," said Dr. Christina Hagemeister, Managing Director of Hagemeister.