The Museum Oberamteistrasse by Wulf Architekten in Reutlingen brings a contemporary timber structure into dialogue with one of the German city’s oldest streets. The museum project restores a sequence of medieval houses and completes the corner with a new volume that traces the footprint of the former Stone House.

The surrounding fabric dates to the 12th and 13th centuries, and the surviving basements and timber frames carry more than seven centuries of construction history. The rehabilitation treats these buildings as both exhibition spaces and primary artifacts. Walls and beams are expressed and are shrouded in a dramatic facade and rooftop of translucent glass shingles.

images © Brigida González

wulf architekten’s shimmering facade of glass shingles

On the corner plot where the Stone House once stood, the team at Wulf Architekten introduces the Museum Oberamteistrasse intervention to reestablish the street edge without imitating the historic fabric. The volume follows the scale and roof geometry of its neighbors, while its surface announces a glowing, contemporary intervention. Cast glass shingles, shaped like traditional beaver-tail tiles, form a continuous skin across roof and facade.

The glass cladding shifts in tone with the light. In overcast conditions the envelope appears pale and matte, while interior illumination reveals the geometry of the timber structure behind it. This layered effect gives the project a changing presence within the tight grain of Reutlingen’s old town.

the contemporary Museum Oberamteistrasse occupies a medieval street in Reutlingen

the exposed timber truss system

The structural design by Str-ucture centers on an exposed timber truss system that defines the Museum Oberamteistrasse’s interior volume. Large triangular frames span the height of the building, bracing the envelope and supporting adjacent historic walls. Their rhythm is legible from both inside and outside, where the grid reads faintly through the glass shingles.

Within, the timber structure forms a spatial framework that guides circulation. A broad stair rises alongside the trusses, offering views across excavated stone foundations below. The preserved basement walls of the former Stone House remain in situ, their rough masonry contrasting with the precise joinery of the new wooden members above.

Light filters through the glass tiles and washes the interior with a soft glow. The timber takes on a warm tone against the diffuse exterior brightness, and the triangular geometry casts a shifting pattern across floors and walls.

translucent cast glass shingles form a continuous roof and facade surface

restored houses from the 12th and 13th centuries are both exhibition space and artifact

preserved stone foundations remain visible beneath the new construction

the structural design by Str-ucture supports historic walls and frames circulation

cast glass shingles are shaped like traditional beaver-tail tiles

old and new construction techniques are presented as legible architectural layers

project info:

name: Museum Oberamteistrasse

architect: Wulf Architekten | @wulfarchitekten

location: Reutlingen, Germany

structure: Str-ucture | @str.ucture.gmbh

photography: © Brigida González | @brigidagonzalezwork

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Berlin Design Week returns to the German capital from May 28 to 31, 2026. Under the theme DESIGN REAL, the festival marks a strategic shift toward design with substance — solutions that address real-world problems and drive change across the spectrum of architecture, product design, and research. Joining the 2026 edition as the official media partner, designboom takes on the task to amplify the festival’s international reach and connect Berlin’s vibrant community with a global audience.

Berlin Design Week returns from May 28 to 31, 2026 | all images courtesy of Berlin Design Week

THE FESTIVAL BECOMES AN INTERNATIONAL STAGE FOR DESIGN

Organized by state of DESIGN GmbH, the festival has grown into an essential annual event that celebrates the diversity of the discipline. Festival Director Alexandra Klatt emphasizes that the event is evolving as an independent platform for genuine sustainability and real impact, aiming to solidify Berlin’s status as Europe’s primary creative force. By bringing together international guests and local designers on equal footing, the festival creates a cross-disciplinary space where future visions meet concrete, real-world implementation.

the event offers four interconnected formats – from open studios and talks to a curated market concept

FOUR FORMATS TO SHOWCASE THE FUTURE OF DESIGN

The 2026 programme is built around four interconnected formats designed to bring the DESIGN REAL motto to life. The event kicks off on May 28 with Berlin Design Nights, where studios, galleries, and agencies across the city open their doors to the public. This is followed by The Berlin Format, a high-level conference where brand strategy and design research meet keynotes and panel talks. On May 30 and 31, the Design Pool at PLATTE.BERLIN transforms into a curated fair-meets-market, offering designers and producers a direct line to an audience looking for small-series furniture, fashion, and interior products.

For brands and designers looking to establish a presence alongside the many satellite events of the four-day festival, the new Design Hub Partner programme offers curated spaces in unique locations, ranging from former courthouses to contemporary studios. Participants benefit from inclusion in the official festival catalogue and the dedicated press cloud, ensuring maximum visibility. Registration for participants, exhibitors, and partners is currently open for those ready to join Berlin’s most impactful design conversation yet.

participants can showcase their work in their own locations or at one of the festival’s design spots | Sweef CO Kameleonten

in previous years, up to 91 satellite locations participated throughout Berlin | Berlin Rodeo lab, ®Jordana Schramm

over four days, Berlin becomes an international stage for design across its full spectrum | ® Bernhard Musil

Crafted Liberation by Arshia Maljaei, Berlin Design Week 2025

project info:

event: Berlin Design Week 2026 | @berlindesignweek
organizer: state of DESIGN GmbH
dates: May 28 to 31, 2026

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Hofgut Sonnenalp is a new development set within the Sonnenalp Resort in Ofterschwang, Germany. The project spans more than three hectares and introduces an ensemble of buildings dedicated to equestrian sport, dining, and accommodation. At its center stands a new indoor riding arena structured by exposed timber trusses that define the architectural character of the complex. Nestled into a slope adjacent to the arena, five prefabricated Lumipod cabins curve with continuous panoramic glazing that frames the surrounding mountains. Together with a series of loft-style guest rooms integrated into the Hofgut building, the addition establishes a new programmatic focus within the resort.

The standalone timber structures follow a curved footprint and open to the mountains through uninterrupted 180-degree glazing. Interiors rely on natural materials and simple detailing to create functional living spaces with direct access to private outdoor areas. Two Deluxe Lodges serve couples and include private terraces, individual saunas, and access to a shared relaxation pool. Three larger Premium Lodges address families with open layouts and private gardens.

all images courtesy of Sonnenalp

hofgut addition in alpine landscape centers around riding hall

The riding arena forms the architectural core of Hofgut Sonnenalp. The building relies on a structural system assembled from 330 tons of regionally sourced wood, and the visible timber trusses span the full width of the arena in a precise V-shape. The material remains exposed throughout the interior and becomes both structure and finish. Daylight enters from multiple directions, and the transparent envelope maintains direct views of the landscape. The project led by Jakob Fässler emphasizes clear construction methods and local craftsmanship rather than applied decoration.

Hofgut Sonnenalp functions as a year-round center for equestrian activities. The arena provides protected space for lessons and training regardless of weather conditions and complements the resort’s existing outdoor riding facilities. Sonnenalp currently houses 22 horses on site and plans to accommodate additional guest horses beginning in 2026. The facilities remain open to hotel guests as well as local residents and visitors from the region.

cabins include private terraces, individual saunas, and access to a shared relaxation pool

timber and floor-to-ceiling glass reference bavarian nature

Above the riding hall, Hofgut incorporates a restaurant that links sport and hospitality within a single structure. The dining space overlooks the arena and features an open kitchen visible from the seating area. The menu focuses on straightforward dishes prepared with regional ingredients and international influences, and serves guests from midday through evening. Floor-to-ceiling windows connect the interior to a large terrace that operates during warmer months. Hofgut also integrates a new category of guest rooms directly above the arena. The HofgutLofts occupy two levels and combine Alpine materials with an industrial character. Each loft opens to the landscape through balconies that look toward the mountain peaks, while the activity of the stables remains audible below. Guests can reserve neighboring lofts and connect them through internal doors to create flexible units for larger groups. With Hofgut Sonnenalp, the lofts, and the new lodges, the resort establishes a coherent expansion that connects sport, dining, and accommodation within the landscape of the Allgäu Alps.

the curved cabins offer direct access to private outdoor areas

three larger cabins address families with open layouts and private gardens

interiors rely on natural materials and simple detailing to create functional living spaces

the standalone structures follow a curved footprint and open to the mountains through uninterrupted glazing

the private sauna

the riding arena relies on a structural system assembled from 330 tons of regionally sourced wood

hofgut sonnenalp functions as a year-round center for equestrian activities

the new riding hall nestles into the natural slope and opens its long facades with extensive glazing

timber trusses span the full width of the arena and restaurant in a precise V-shape

floor-to-ceiling windows connect the restaurant interior to a large terrace

project info:

name: Sonnenalp Resort Hofgut & NaturLodges

interiors: Berchtold Innenräume

cabins: lumipod | @lumipod_cabin

location: Ofterschwang, Germany

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This competition-winning opera house has been designed by Snøhetta as the future home of the Oper am Rhein at the center of Düsseldorf. The building is organized into three trapezium-shaped volumes placed on a compact urban plot, creating varied passages at grade and allowing daylight to reach deep into the interior. The roofs tilt in opposing directions, adjusting to the scale of neighboring structures while lifting upward to frame key views across the German city.

Across the ground floor, the architects draw from the Rhine’s long geological influence on the region. The base of the building reads as an eroded cavern carved through time, an open and continuous space that welcomes movement from every side. This porous level becomes a public arena for Düsseldorf, where entrances, gathering areas, and glimpses of rehearsal activity contribute to a sense of shared cultural territory.

‘This forum, filling the entire ground floor, will become a large, open, and accessible space in the heart of the city,‘ says Snøhetta founding partner Kjetil Trædal Thorsen.

the new opera is a densification within a triangular block bound by three streets | illustrations © Mir/Snøhetta

snøhetta composes a massing of three sloping volumes

The Düsseldorf opera house is designed by the team at Snøhetta as a constellation of rooms that guides visitors inward from the sidewalk and toward performance spaces within. The openness of the ground plane establishes a gradual threshold between the city and the world of the opera house. Visitors are encouraged to enter this public area even when no performance is underway.

The tripartite massing symbolizes the union of three institutions — the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the Clara Schumann Music School, and the Music Library — brought together within one architectural frame.

The positioning of the building’s three volumes shapes pockets of space at the ground level that double as informal stages or quiet resting points. Meanwhile, sloping roofs accentuate these relationships and create terraces recessed into the upper levels.

the public ground floor opens out through generous glazing in all facades

the architecture draws from the region’s geology

The opera house’s facade uses a light natural stone cladding chosen by Snøhetta for its thermal performance and its ability to align with Düsseldorf’s muted palette. Stone modules in a variety of formats reduce waste and support a surface expression defined by subtle shifts in texture. Rough and finely ground finishes appear in horizontal bands, evoking the layers of sediment that shaped the region and linking the outer skin to the carved quality of the ground floor.

Two window systems support the building’s environmental and spatial aims. Larger openings frame the foyer, bar, and select rehearsal spaces, drawing attention to areas where public life is most visible. Smaller filtered openings provide consistent light and ventilation, helping regulate the interior without interrupting the facade’s calm rhythm.

Together, the rough stone, pixelated apertures, and stepped terraces create a profile that responds to its context but still maintain a monumental presence.

the sidewalk extends fluidly into a terraced, cave-like interior landscape

‘eroded’ interiors

Inside, Snøhetta’s theme of erosion continues through mineral surfaces with a muted flow of texture and tone. Circulation spaces maintain a sense of calm, guiding visitors toward the 1,300-seat main auditorium. Here, smoked oak paneling and red upholstery draw from the palette of Düsseldorf’s existing opera house, a decisions which establishes continuity as the institution transitions into its next chapter.

Above the stepped volumes, the roof forms a biosolar landscape composed of photovoltaics, green terraces, and integrated skylights. Plantings native to the Lower Rhine floodplains occupy bands between PV arrays and technical strips, creating a layered system that supports biodiversity and energy production.

For the competition jury, the design offered a convincing vision for a cultural building at the heart of the city. ‘The building, which is cleverly divided into three segments, skilfully reacts to its surroundings, opens up a variety of views of the city and shows a design of high sophistication,‘ says Heiner Farwick, architect and chairman of the jury.

the studio stage shows neutral, warm gray tones and dark green seating

interiors follow the logic of the facade and the theme of erosion

the main auditorium is designed to provide visual and acoustic intimacy for all 1,300 seats

the Rhine river is the central source of inspiration for the building

project info:

name: Düsseldorf Opera House

architect: Snøhetta | @snohetta

location: Düsseldorf, Germany

client: Deutsche Oper am Rhein | @operamrhein

status: competition winner

visualizations: © Mir/Snøhetta

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The new Hamburg State Opera by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) will establish a contemporary home for the State Opera and Hamburg Ballet. The project is set to be located on the Baakenhöft peninsula in HafenCity — a sprawling waterfront development — and will replace the company’s mid-century house on Dammtorstraße. It will extend the German city’s long tradition of pairing cultural architecture with the harbor’s open horizon.

Imagined as both a working opera house and a civic landscape, the 45,000-square-meter building combines production, rehearsal, and performance spaces with a new public park that reaches to the river’s edge.

BIG’s proposal was selected by unanimous jury decision, recognizing its ability to synthesize the demands of a major cultural institution with the fluid urban fabric of HafenCity. The opera is envisioned as an island structure of terraced green roofs and a new hinge in Hamburg’s waterfront transformation.

the design forms a terraced landscape that links city and water | visualizations © Yanis Amasri

BIG’s landscape of concentric terraces

Architect Bjarke Ingels describes the design as ‘a landscape of concentric terraces,’ expanding outward from the main hall like ripples on the surface of the water. The building’s roofline forms a continuous, circular geometry that opens toward the harbor, creating a sequence of terraces accessible from multiple directions.

These landscaped paths weave between gardens, plazas, and lookout points, turning the entire site into a three-dimensional park open to residents and visitors throughout the day.

The transition from exterior to interior is fluid. Stone pavements from the park extend into the foyer, unifying ground and building. This large, timber-lined hall functions as an urban living room, animated by two central staircases that rise toward upper levels. Every main floor connects directly to outdoor terraces, which can host events or serve as informal gathering spaces overlooking the Elbe and the city skyline.

a continuous circular roofline shapes a walkable topography across the building

an auditorium of sculptural wooden layers

At the heart of the Hamburg State Opera, the main auditorium is enveloped in bands of horizontally layered timber that modulate both sightlines and sound. The wood surfaces create a warm tonal register, visually linking balconies and walls into a single flowing form.

BIG partner Jakob Sand says: ‘The main hall is the heart of the project – — space with state-of-the-art acoustics and perfect sightlines to the stage.’ Concentric wooden rings shape the hall and its balconies and dissolve the divide between performers and audience.

the foyer acts as an urban living room animated by central timber staircases

Landscape as infrastructure

Supporting spaces — including a smaller studio stage, rehearsal rooms, and workshops — are organized directly behind the main hall, enabling seamless movement between preparation and performance. The plan reflects BIG’s ongoing exploration of buildings as networks of connected activity rather than fixed hierarchies of front and back.

Partner David Zahle emphasizes this openness: ‘Visitors can move along the facades and glimpse into the foyer, rehearsal rooms, backstage areas and offices, revealing the complexity behind a working opera house.’

BIG Landscape’s design extends the opera’s design language into the surrounding park. Flood management is integrated through a system of terraces, planted dunes, and wetlands that absorb and slow water flow. Rain basins collect and filter runoff, creating habitats for local flora and fauna. This way, a resilient ecological zone is created which responds to the tides of the Elbe while framing the opera as a living landscape shaped by natural movement.

the main hall features layered timber surfaces that guide acoustics and sightlines

visitors can move along the facades and see into working areas of the opera

wetlands, terraces, and rain basins form a resilient landscape that adapts to the tides of the Elbe

stone paths from the waterfront park flow directly into the foyer to create a unified ground plane

project info:

name: Hamburg State Opera

architect: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) | @big_builds

location: Hamburg, Germany
client: Kühne Foundation, The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg represented by the Ministry of Culture and Media, Hamburgische Staatsoper GmbH

collaborators: Theatre Projects, Bollinger + Grohmann, Transsolar, K+H, Duschl, Yanis Amasri

size: 45,000 square meters

visualizations: © Yanis Amasri

project team:
partner-in-charge: Bjarke Ingels, Jakob Sand, David Zahle
design lead: Sarkis Sarkisyan, Michael Leef
team: Mariia Nakonechnaia, Carlos Ramos Tenorio, David Benjamin Wilden, Jianuo Xuan, Jacob Engelbrecht Ødum, Celia de la Osa Muñoz, Gilana Antonova, Giovanni Vergantini, Mathis Paul Gebauer, Hou Ming Ng, Martino Hutz, Veronica Hamilton
BIG landscape: Giulia Frittoli, Ulla Hornsyld, Gaspard Del Marmol, Lucia Ayala

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Museum Ehrhardt, designed by Francis Kéré, has broken ground in the small village of Plüschow near the Baltic Sea. The work marks the architect’s first cultural project in Germany and his first museum building in Europe. Covering 1,400 square meters, the timber and rammed earth museum is dedicated to photography and contemporary art, with a focus on the work and legacy of Alfred Ehrhardt (1901–1984), a leading figure of the New Objectivity movement, a German modern realist movement which arose in the 1920s as a rejection of romantic idealism.

The site sits beside Schloss Plüschow, a historic castle that now houses an artist residency and gallery. The new museum adds a contemporary layer to this context, engaging with its rural surroundings through material honesty and spatial restraint. Rather than standing apart, the building integrates with the landscape, encouraging a quiet dialogue between past and present.

images © Kéré Architecture

francis kéré’s structure of timber, clay and rammed earth

The architecture of Museum Ehrhardt reflects architect Francis Kéré’s long-standing interest in local craftsmanship and environmentally responsive design. Constructed mainly from timber and clay, the building’s structure is defined by a central rammed earth wall that runs along its main axis. This wall, formed with a rough yet precise texture, anchors the space both physically and atmospherically. It balances humidity and temperature while shaping the rhythm of the galleries.

Above this earthen spine, a timber framework spans the museum’s full width. Designed for future dismantling and reuse, the wooden structure embodies a circular approach to building that prioritizes adaptability and longevity. Developed in collaboration with HK Architekten from Austria, the framework demonstrates a meticulous understanding of material performance and joinery, combining regional craft traditions with forward-looking engineering.

Museum Ehrhardt in Plüschow introduces Francis Kéré’s first museum in Europe

museum ehrhardt’s integration with landscape

The museum’s outer form is defined by a timber pergola that recalls the familiar geometry of rural gable roofs. Its contours trace a vernacular silhouette while allowing the roofline to open toward the surrounding fields and sky. A roof garden extends across the upper level, acting as a biotope that visually and ecologically binds the museum to its setting.

At ground level, a garden unfolds from the museum café, designed with subtle topographical shifts that guide rainwater into collection areas. This system reduces dependence on external water sources and supports the vegetation that softens the building’s perimeter. The landscape and architecture are conceived as one continuous surface, each of which supports the other through an economy of means.

Francis Kéré’s design language remains calm and tactile. Clay, timber, and rammed earth create a sense of groundedness appropriate to the rural setting, while the open layout encourages fluid movement between interior and exterior spaces.

a timber framework designed with HK Architekten allows for future reuse

a central rammed earth wall defines the spatial rhythm of the exhibition halls

the wall’s thermal mass stabilizes humidity and temperature throughout the building

the roof garden functions as a living biotope integrated into the rural landscape

wood and clay construction connects the museum to northern Germany’s craft traditions

rainwater collection shapes the garden’s topography and irrigation strategy

project info:

name: Museum Ehrhardt

architect: Diébébo Francis Kéré | @kerearchitecture in cooperation with HK Architekten | @hk.architekten

location: Plüschow, Germany

status: broken ground

photography: © Kéré Architecture

design team: Leonne Vögelin, Mathis Zondler
contributors: Andrea Maretto, Daniel Melendez, Gökçe Senol, Gudrun Müller, Klara Johnsson, Oskar Haushofer, Benjamin Gabler, Carolin Ackermann, Lara Schöllhorn
partners: Engineering: Merz Kley & Partner GmbH
fire safety: Fire & Timber Ing.
building services: Knecht Ingenieure
building physics: Hafner Weithas Bauphysik
lighting design: Bernd König Lichtplaner
landscape: Erik Dhont Landscape Architects
project management: GAPP GmbH, Antony Gross, Felix Bodenmüller
client: Dr. Jens Ehrhardt, Elke Weicht-Ehrhardt

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The Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, welcomes a deeply personal and spiritual addition with the completion of the Doshi Retreat, a contemplative space designed by Pritzker Prize laureate Balkrishna Doshi together with Studio Sangath, led by his granddaughter Khushnu Panthaki Hoof and her husband, Sönke Hoof. The project marks both Doshi’s first built work outside of India and the last he conceived before his passing in 2023.

Designed as a winding subterranean path, the steel retreat guides visitors beneath the surface of the Vitra Campus, bringing together Indian philosophy with meditative spatial rhythm. Along its curving walls, soft tones of gong and ceramic flute echo through hidden recesses. ‘This architecture was born from a dream Doshi had of two interweaving cobras,’ explains Khushnu Panthaki Hoof, a poetic image that finds form in the spiraling movement of the structure and symbolic reference to Kundalini, the coiled energy said to lie dormant at the base of the spine in yogic tradition.

all images by Julien Lanoo, courtesy of Vitra, unless stated otherwise

brass mandala sits in the center of the steel retreat

An audio system, embedded into concave cavities in the ground, diffuses layers of gong and flute tones that accompany one’s passage through the space. The soundscape is not composed as music but experienced as vibration. ‘It is sound, resonating through the visitor’s body, that erases the boundary between self and structure,’ observes Hoof.

At the culmination of the path, visitors encounter a contemplation chamber illuminated by a hand-hammered brass mandala crafted in India. Its reflective surface scatters light across the interior, suggesting an inner cosmos of still movement, a fitting metaphor for Doshi’s lifelong search for harmony between material and spirit.

The Doshi Retreat is built from forged and formed XCarb® steel, a low-carbon-emissions material made from recycled steel and produced with renewable energy, donated by ArcelorMittal. Over time, its surface will weather to a natural patina through controlled corrosion, merging with the earthbound tones of the surrounding landscape.

Following Doshi’s passing, Studio Sangath in Ahmedabad continued shaping the retreat in close dialogue with his vision. Together, they translated its conceptual rhythm into physical form, weaving it into the fabric of the Vitra Campus.

the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, welcomes the Doshi Retreat

a contemplative space designed by Pritzker Prize laureate Balkrishna Doshi

Doshi’s first built work outside of India and the last he conceived before his passing in 2023

designed as a winding subterranean path | image by Marek Iwicki

a fitting metaphor for Doshi’s lifelong search for harmony between material and spirit

the steel retreat guides visitors beneath the surface of the Vitra Campus

bringing together Indian philosophy with meditative spatial rhythm

a poetic image of two intertwining snakes that appeared in the late architect’s dream takes form

an inner cosmos of still movement

at the culmination of the path, visitors encounter a contemplation chamber

along its curving walls, soft tones of gong and ceramic flute echo through hidden recesses

project info:

name: Doshi Retreat

architects: Balkrishna Doshi with Khushnu Panthaki Hoof and Sönke Hoof of Studio Sangath | @studio_sangath

location: Vitra Campus | @vitracampus, Weil am Rhein, Germany

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Construction has begun on the MVRDV-designed campus of the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI) in Heilbronn, Germany. The Dutch practice designed the masterplan for the IPAI Konsortium, the 30-hectare development will accommodate over 5,000 researchers and students dedicated to advancing responsible AI technologies.

At the heart of MVRDV’s masterplan is a large circular form, defined by two offset axes that organize the site into distinct yet connected zones. The geometry establishes a sense of cohesion across the campus while maintaining openness to the surrounding landscape. Within this framework, MVRDV envisions a network of laboratories, housing, and a cultural building that bridges the scientific community with the public.

The first construction phase defines the campus core. Buildings extend from the western edge toward a central plaza anchored by the communications centre and restaurant. Around this public space, the architects have arranged key functions: a mobility hub, start-up and innovation centre, living lab, and a ten-story office building. Together they form a legible foundation for future expansion.

MVRDV designs the masterplan with a distinctive circular shape | visualizations © IPAI / MVRDV / Vivid

mvrdv’s Human-Centric space for ‘responsible AI’ research

‘Working in AI is very technical; people spend a lot of time tied to their screens,’ MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs says, describing the spirit of the Innovation Park campus. ‘We designed the IPAI CAMPUS as a counterweight to this, with a focus on wellbeing.’

This intent is evident in the site’s pedestrian character and extensive green landscape. Wind studies informed the arrangement of open spaces to create comfortable microclimates, encouraging outdoor work and recreation. Sports facilities, shaded paths, and tactile materials bring a rhythm of movement and rest uncommon in technology campuses.

Across the site, buildings incorporate organic surfaces and visible timber structures. The tactile quality of facades, together with breezy interiors flooded with sunlight, demonstrates MVRDV’s aims toward human-scale design within a tech-driven environment.

the mobility hub serves as a central hub for logistics and infrastructure | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV / Vivid

A Family of Buildings with Distinct Identities

Each structure within the Innovation Park reveals a specific spatial logic tied to its program. The cylindrical communication centre, clad in a reflective facade, will serve as the public heart of the campus with exhibition and seminar spaces. Across the plaza, a cream-colored restaurant is carved by orange recesses that form sheltered terraces for social gatherings. The mobility hub introduces visitors through a light-filled atrium, while the living lab opens outward with panoramic glazing that allows passersby a glimpse of ongoing experiments.

The start-up and innovation centre, defined by its bright red volume and pitched roof, invites informal collaborations around a central green courtyard. Nearby, the ten-story office building’s pleated facade integrates photovoltaics and creates a shifting play of light across its surface. Inside, double-height communal ‘living rooms’ punctuate the work floors, offering moments of pause and exchange.

the communication centre will serve as the public heart of the campus | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV / Vivid

Since winning the IPAI CAMPUS competition in 2023 (see designboom’s coverage here), MVRDV has refined the masterplan through close collaboration with the IPAI Konsortium. Sustainable principals have been embedded in each design decision through the use of MVRDV’s CarbonSpace tool, which quantifies the embodied carbon of materials and guides the selection of low-impact alternatives.

As a result, several of the campus buildings employ hybrid timber construction, including the start-up and innovation centre, the living lab, and the office building. Each aims for a reduced carbon footprint without sacrificing spatial ambition. The communications centre, start-up and innovation centre, and office building are all pursuing DGNB certification from the German Sustainable Building Council.

the mobility hub introduces visitors through a light-filled atrium | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV

a restaurant is carved by orange recesses that form sheltered terraces | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV / Vivid

the ten-story office building’s pleated facade integrates photovoltaics | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV

a start-up and innovation centre shows bright red volumes and pitched roofs | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV

inside, double-height communal ‘living rooms’ punctuate the work floors | visualization © IPAI / MVRDV

project info:

name: Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence (IPAI)

architect: MVRDV | @mvrdv

location: Heilbronn, Germany

client: IPAI Konsortium (State of Baden-Württemberg, the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, Schwarz Gruppe, the City of Heilbronn)

in collaboration with: LOLA Landscape Architects alongside Thornton Tomasetti, Studio
Animal-Aided Design, REALACE, Peutz Consult, and Gruner Deutschland

previous coverage: March 2023

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Brutalist Berlin, published by Blue Crow Media, is an architectural guidebook devoted to the raw materiality and social ambition of Berlin’s postwar concrete structures. Written and photographed by architectural historian Dr. Felix Torkar, the volume documents more than fifty sites across the city — from housing estates and cultural institutions to infrastructural landmarks — and situates them within the political and cultural framework of Germany‘s Cold War reconstruction.

Torkar’s images present the city’s Brutalist landmarks as both familiar and estranged, structures that belong as much to the fabric of Berlin as they do to an era of ideological tension and material experimentation. His writing emphasizes how the optimism of the postwar decades translated into a new design language that’s at once pragmatic and expressive.

Brutalist Berlin explores the city’s postwar concrete architecture | images © Blue Crow Media

berlin’s architecture of resilience

Each building in Blue Crow Media’s Brutalist Berlin is examined through both a visual and spatial lens. The monumental Mäusebunker, with its cantilevered concrete fins and gridded facade, appears almost defensive in its precision. By contrast, the Pallasseum housing complex, an elevated slab of dwellings straddling remnants of the Berlin Wall, reads as a social experiment in vertical living. Together they embody the tension between endurance and adaptation that defines the city’s urban identity.

Torkar’s photographs approach concrete as a living surface that’s pitted, stained, and marked by time. The play of light on coarse formwork reveals an unexpected warmth, while his compositions often position the viewer at eye level with the architecture’s scale and texture. The rigorous visual study is attuned to both proportion and atmosphere.

the book features more than fifty buildings documented by Dr. Felix Torkar

blue crow media’s guide for exploration

Printed by Blue Crow Media on premium uncoated paper, Brutalist Berlin invites direct engagement. It functions as a guidebook for those tracing the city’s architectural evolution, but it also stands as a scholarly reference, connecting the work of figures like Werner Düttmann and Ulrich Müther to a broader conversation about European modernism and material honesty. The tactile quality of the publication mirrors its subject matter, translating concrete’s roughness into the grain of the page.

This new title marks the beginning of a series that will expand in 2026 with Brutalist London and Concrete New York. Together, the books will form an atlas of the twentieth century’s most uncompromising architecture, charting how civic ambition and material innovation shaped distinct urban identities.

Torkar situates Berlin’s Brutalism within the cultural and political landscape of the Cold War

Based in Berlin, Dr. Felix Torkar bridges photography and historical research. His academic work, including a 2023 dissertation at Freie Universität Berlin, examines what he calls ‘Neobrutalism,’ a contemporary resurgence of raw architecture that revisits the ethics and aesthetics of mid-century design. In Brutalist Berlin, that perspective manifests as both empathy and critique: a recognition of how concrete once embodied progress, and how its endurance continues to frame urban memory.

photographs reveal the material richness and texture of the city’s concrete structures

the Mäusebunker and Pallasseum illustrate the monumental and social ambitions of the era

project info:

name: Brutalist Berlin

publisher: Blue Crow Media

author: Dr. Felix Torkar

The post brutalist berlin: a concrete chronicle of the german city’s postwar identity appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The project fernsehen establishes a dialogue between two landscapes with parallel histories of extraction and renewal: Mount Rokko in Japan and Berlin, Germany. Each site hosts an identical concrete structure, creating a paired installation that connects the two through live and recorded video transmission.

Mount Rokko was extensively quarried for granite during the Edo period, resulting in large-scale deforestation and environmental decline. During the Meiji era, deliberate reforestation efforts gradually restored the terrain. Today, the mountain carries the layered traces of both damage and recovery. Berlin, the artists’ base, reflects a similar cycle of destruction and regeneration through its urban history. fernsehen, conceived by Riku Ikegaya + Kohei Hayashi + Yu Kamijo, situates itself within these contexts by installing twin cube-like sculptures in Rokko and Berlin. Each structure is punctuated by narrow tubular openings, recalling the form of telescopes. Within them, video devices project the view from the paired site: the Rokko installation displays Berlin’s urban activity, while the Berlin installation transmits images of Rokko’s natural environment.

all images courtesy of Riku Ikegaya + Kohei Hayashi + Yu Kamijo

fernsehen operates as both a perceptual device and a monument

The recordings capture contrasting yet parallel realities. In Berlin, viewers see the passing of people, vehicles, and city rhythms. In Rokko, the images reveal vegetation, shifting weather, and animal movement. Together, these perspectives connect distant environments, framing the coexistence of natural and urban conditions.

The work by creatives Riku Ikegaya + Kohei Hayashi + Yu Kamijo, highlights the act of ‘seeing far’ not only as a spatial connection but also as a reflection on shared futures shaped by climate change, urbanization, and environmental pressures. Through this mediated exchange, fernsehen positions itself as both an apparatus for extending perception and a monument questioning the role of vision in shaping responsibility and possibility. The title references the German word for television, fernsehen, literally ‘to see far.’ Its etymology underscores the duality of distance and mediation, framing the installation as an exploration of how perception, technology, and context influence the way landscapes are understood across time and place.

fernsehen links Mount Rokko in Japan with Berlin, Germany

twin concrete cubes form the paired installation

each site hosts an identical sculpture pierced with narrow openings

the structures recall telescopes aimed at distant views

video devices project live and recorded images from the paired site

the installation situates itself within the parallel narratives of Rokko and Berlin

contrasting perspectives reveal shared realities across distance

the work examines how vision bridges space and time

the project operates as both a perceptual device and a monument

‘seeing far’ becomes a reflection on collective futures

Berlin audiences observe Rokko’s shifting natural environment

Rokko viewers watch Berlin’s urban activity unfold in real time

the installation engages themes of climate and urban change

project info:

name: fernsehen
designers: Riku Ikegaya + Kohei Hayashi + Yu Kamijo

materials: wood, plaster materials, brass pipes, video devices

dimensions: 2m (W) × 2m (D) × 2m (H)

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post twin concrete cube sculptures link rokko and berlin through tiny video transmission holes appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.