RAW BERLIN _ Material Driven Experiments in Spatial Design and Furniture

A ten‑day hands‑on workshop exploring ephemeral spatial design through Berlin's material culture, upcycling, sensory mapping, and experimental pavilion making processes.

Raw Berlin is an exploratory design workshop that examines the city's unrefined material identity and transforms it into innovative approaches for furniture and spatial design. The purpose of the workshop is to immerse students in Berlin's sensory and material landscapes, enabling them to develop experimental design strategies rooted in real-world observations and material behavior. Participants will engage with key themes such as material storytelling, upcycling, sensory mapping, and experimental prototyping. By conducting site walks through distinct urban environments, students investigate how texture, sound, light, and movement shape spatial experience. These findings inform hands-on material experiments and the development of small-scale furniture concepts and spatial installations. The workshop carries strong academic and professional significance by promoting research-driven design methods and material literacy, qualities increasingly valued in contemporary architecture, product design, and spatial practice. It aligns with emerging trends in experiential design, sustainable material innovation, and context-responsive fabrication. In particular, the focus on upcycled materials reflects the growing global shift toward circular design thinking. Offering this workshop is valuable because it equips students with the ability to translate environmental observations into creative design interventions, bridging theoretical analysis with practical experimentation. Through narrative-building, prototyping, and conceptual synthesis, students develop skills that prepare them for future multidisciplinary design challenges while cultivating an understanding of how materiality shapes lived experience. Raw Berlin ultimately encourages designers to view the city not only as a backdrop but as an active generator of ideas, materials, and spatial possibilities.