Matters of Activity

We are looking forward to the transdisciplinary exchange »Plant Architectures Across Scales« with architect Susanne Brorson and material scientist Lorenzo Guiducci on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, 5-7 pm at »Matters of Activity« in Berlin-Mitte. Join us, connect, and take part in the discussion! Architect Susanne Brorson (STUDIO SUSANNE BRORSON, Rügen, @studio__susanne_brorson ) constitutes her practice as an experimental laboratory on building materials, local typologies and climatic conditions. Material scientist Lorenzo Guiducci (Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam) works on material activity, shape-programmable structures and bioinspirational design. ids and Interfaces, Potsdam) works on material activity, shape-programmable structures, and bioinspirational design. Based on their talks »Making Architecture« and »From Plant to Material: Structure, Processes and Properties of Hemp,« we will discuss the structure, processing, and material properties of plant fibers such as hemp, as well as their potential for architectural design. This transdisciplinary exchange across scales and disciplines is part of the Material Focus Studio: HEMP – Ancient Plant for New Design at the Department of Textile and Material Design (@tmd.weissensee ), led by Prof. Christiane Sauer (@christiane.sauer ) at weißensee school of art and design (@kunsthochschuleberlin ). What drives this work is not just scientific curiosity — it’s a genuine belief that the most interesting questions sit at the edges of disciplines. That’s why the research regularly pulls in perspectives from the humanities, architecture, and design. In particular many of these questions emerge directly from teaching in a design school environment — specifically from working with students who focus on materials design and hands-on fabrication with bio-based materials. Complementing empirical hands-on knowledge of materials through making with precise mechanical modelling and rigorous physical framework, keeps generating new questions and opening up unexpected directions for research. #research #hemp #textiles #architecture #transdisciplinary @humboldt.uni @mpici_potsdam

The updated line-up of tutors for Bosco Colto Campus 2026: Thinking with Animals. Welcome to Maja Avnat (@mattersofactivity ) and Nicolas Depoutot + Arthur Poiret / @toutterrain_ (@ecolearchinancy ) Apply now on boscocolto.org July 30 - August 9, 2026 Boschi di Santo Pietro, Caltagirone (Sicily, Italy)

Join us for an interdisciplinary symposium challenging the modernist paradigm of microbial exclusion. »Microbial Matters« explores the active role of bacteria in design, material culture, and the future of biotic architecture. 🏛️🦠 Program Highlights: 📖 Keynote Lecture: Architectural historians and theorists Beatriz Colomina & Mark Wigley will present their latest publication, »We the Bacteria«—an urgent manifesto for an architectural philosophy rooted in multispecies co-existence. 🗣️ Roundtable Discussion: An exchange on regenerative design cultures featuring: Regine Hengge (Microbiology) Iva Rešetar & Bastian Beyer (Architecture) Claudia Mareis (Design & Cultural History / MoA Co-Director) 🧫 Research in Situ: The program features the installation »Co-Weaving Biofilms«. Grown from bacterial cellulose, this work exemplifies the experimental research of the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity« (MoA), bringing together microbiology and materials science with architecture and design. 🗓️ Date: June 2nd, 2026 📍 Venue: Tieranatomisches Theater (TA T), Berlin 🎟️ Admission: Public event | Free of charge 📝 Registration: Not required 💬 Language: English Presented in cooperation with the Zentrum für Kulturtechnik, within the framework of the strategic partnership between Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Princeton University. Images: 1 Image of E. coli bacteria, based on SEM imagery by Alissa Eckert, CDC. From We the Bacteria: Notes toward Biotic Architecture, by Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, Lars Müller Publishers, 2025; 2 We The Bacteria, Beatriz Colomina, Mark Wigley, Lars Müller Publishers, 2025 3 Co-Weaving Biofilms, Bastian Beyer, Iva Rešetar, Moritz Liedtke, Regine Hengge, Installation for Bauhaus Museum Dessau, 2025, photo: Michelle Mantel. Copyright: Matters of Activity #MicrobialMatters #BioticArchitecture #MultispeciesDesign #ArchitecturalTheory #MaterialCulture @wig56 @regine.hengge @bastian_beyer_studio @princeton @humboldt.uni @tieranatomisches_theater

For most of history, we have treated the materials around us as inert. Wood is carved, steel is forged, and plastic is molded. We act, and the material obeys. But what happens when matter stops taking orders and begins to show signs of life? Sourced from emergent materials developed in laboratories in Switzerland and Argentina, the exhibition „Material Interactions“ at Artlab, Buenos Aires, presents a series of kinetic sculptures that feel less like machines and more like expressive organisms. In their debut collaboration, designers Heidi Jalkh and Nadya Suvorova create material-driven works that don’t just move — they respond, revealing that so-called passive matter is anything but. Don’t miss it if you’re in Buenos Aires. Open Thursday to Saturday, 7–11 pm, until 28 March. For more information, please follow the link in the bio. Images: 1: Audiovisual Installation, 2026, Heidi Jalkh and Nadya Suvorova; 2: Overview Kinetic Sculptures; 3+4: BM.01 / Bind, 2026, Heidi Jalkh and Nadya Suvorova, Materials: Grinded seashells (magellan mussels, oysters, razors) and algae biopolymer; 5+6: MG.02 / Grow, 2026, Heidi Jalkh and Nadya Suvorova, Materials: Mycelium agglomerate of Pycnoporus sanguineus and Ganoderma lucidum, anodised aluminium, PLA, plexiglas, motor, electronic components, proximity sensor; 7+8: MC.03 / Magnetize, 2026, Heidi Jalkh and Nadya Suvorova, Materials: Silicone rubber compound with neodymium iron boron particles, anodised aluminium, magnets, PLA, motors, electronic components, proximity sensors, 9+10: AS.04 / Strain, 2026, Heidi Jalkh and Nadya Suvorova, Materials: Thin-sheet EVA foam auxetic structures, anodised aluminium, PLA, motors, electronic components, proximity sensors. 11+12: MF.05 / Attract, 2026, Heidi Jalkh and Nadya Suvorova, Materials: Steel powder, anodised aluminium, magnets, PLA, plexiglas, motor, electronic components, proximity sensor. Photos: Laura Macias, Vicky Rey (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9), Ahmet Demirörs (8), (Nadya Suvorova (4, 10) Agustina Alaines (6), Mario von Rickenbach (11), Apheros AG (12)

How do landscapes shaped by extraction, experimentation, and material transformation become sites of knowledge production? This workshop on 24 April, 2026, in Berlin brings together research on extractive environments, material histories, and visual regimes to examine how landscapes are not only transformed by industrial and military practices but also reconfigured as epistemic and experimental spaces. From the global circulation of materials such as monazite to the visual politics of mining and the ecological afterlives of former military terrains, the contributions explore how environmental knowledge emerges from historically conditioned and often contaminated sites. How can these approaches be brought into productive dialogue to understand better the entanglement of material processes, visual practices, and environmental knowledge? The workshop aims to initiate a focused exchange among the participating projects, identify shared conceptual and methodological ground, and explore possibilities for future collaboration and joint scientific publications. With contributions by Michaela Büsse (TU Dresden), Ana Clara Alves de Oliveira (Universität Freiburg), Zsuzsanna Dominika Ihar (MPIWG), and Alwin J. Cubasch (ExC MoA) We warmly invite researchers in the field to participate—for the detailed program see link in bio! #extraction #environment #mining #historyofscience Images: 1: Mining Extraction - Usina Cauê - M. Itabirito (MG) BH 1967, 2: Extraction in Itabirito, IBGE Files, 3: Page of album sent by Vale do Rio Doce as a gift to then presidente Getúlio Vargas, 1954, Vale S.A. Archives, 4: Road for mining extraction- Itabira, date unknown, IBGE Files, 5: Aerial view Mining extraction Itabira, date unknown, IBGE Files, 6: Page of album sent by Vale do Rio Doce as a gift to then presidente Getúlio Vargas, 1954, Vale S.A. Archives, 7 and 8: Film still »Blazing Heath / Heideglühen«, Copyright: Michaela Büsse, 2025, 9: Monazite Mine in Brazil, C. Richard Böhm, Die Fabrikation der Glühkörper für Gasglühlicht, Halle a.S., S. 17. 10: Monazite Refinement in Brazil, C. Richard Böhm, Die Fabrikation der Glühkörper für Gasglühlicht, Halle a.S., S. 17.

Neurosurgery, AI, and the Critical Zone… Cluster member Maxime Le Calvé (@maximecalve ) will be presenting at the STSing conference »Before Ruins« in Bochum on Friday, 27 March 2026. His talk »Modelling the Critical Zone: Neurosurgery and the Limits of the Digital Twin,« draws on six years of fieldwork at the Charité to explore what happens when algorithmic certainty meets surgical contingency. 🧠 Tractographic brain maps promise surgeons certainty about where not to cut—yet many of the most experienced clinicians treat these vivid digital models with measured suspicion. When surgeons resist full delegation to the algorithm, they refuse to enter what Madeleine Clare Elish calls a »moral crumple zone«—absorbing the failures of systems whose reasoning remains opaque. The talk will share experiments from the Speculative Realities Lab at the Charité, where the team has been injecting Science and Technology Studies (STS) sensitivity into neurosurgical planning of the »critical zone« between the tumour and the neuronal networks associated with speech. To protect patients from cognitive ruin, we need not only better predictions but also more adequate ways of dwelling in uncertainty. The conference »Before the Ruins« takes place from 25.–27. March 2026 at Ruhr University Bochum, and is designed to locate STS research explicitly within practical contexts. For more info and the complete program of the conference follow the link in the bio! Image: Vanta / SpecLab 2025, Topovox prototype showing tractrographic streamlines within the brain’s envelope, Copyright: Matters of Activity #anthropology #sts #neurosurgery #digitaltwin @humboldt.uni @chariteberlin @ruhrunibochum

Ein Wissenschaftler erfüllt sich einen Menschheitstraum, baut eine Zeitmaschine – und landet im Paradies: Im Jahr 802.701 leben die Menschen in beinahe kindlicher Unbefangenheit, befreit von Hunger, Lohnarbeit und Gewalt. So scheint es jedenfalls. Doch je länger sein Aufenthalt dauert, desto mehr muss der Zeitreisende erkennen: Der schöne Schein trügt. Tief unter der Erde, in stockfinsteren Tunneln zwischen dröhnenden Maschinen, lebt eine zweite Gesellschaft. Und die Wesen an der Oberfläche? Sind nicht viel mehr als deren Fraß. Nichts wie weg. Aber wo ist die Zeitmaschine? Basierend auf dem Roman von H.G. Wells geht Helgard Haug (@rimini_protokoll ) in ihrer Inszenierung von Die Zeitmaschine, die ab dem 21. März am Staatstheater Cottbus zu sehen sein wird, der Frage nach, wie sich die Menschen die Zukunft vorstellen - früher und heute. Clustermitglied @clemens__winkler wirkte neben namhaften weiteren Wissenschaftler:innen inhaltlich beratend mit. Alle Aufführungstermine und Tickets gibt es auf der Website des Staatstheaters Cottbus. Für mehr Informationen zur Inszenierung siehe die Website von Rimini Protokoll. Beide Links findet ihr in der Bio! #theater #zeitreise #zeitmaschine #zukunft #utopie Bild: Copyright: Staatstheater Cottbus/Bernd Schönberger

Das Restaurant ist ein zentraler Ort der modernen Metropole. Hier wird der Mensch zum Großstädter. Wer bin ich? Wer will ich sein? Wen will ich treffen? In Anna Gmeyners Theaterstück »Das Automatenbüffet« von 1932, das unter der Regie von Jan Bosse am 26. März am Deutschen Theater Berlin Premiere feiert, ist das Restaurant wichtiger Schauplatz. Im Rahmen der DT-Kontext-Reihe wird Clustermitglied Alwin Cubasch am 27. März um 18:30 Uhr Einblicke in seine Forschung zur Geschichte des Automatenrestaurants geben. Für weitere Informationen zum kostenlosen Vortrag und Tickets für die Aufführungen von »Das Automatenbuffet« folge dem Link in der Bio. #Theater #Technikgeschichte #Automatenrestaurant #Großstadt #Automatenbüffet @humboldt.uni @deutschestheaterberlin

🌾 Die diesjährigen Brecht-Tage widmen sich Brechts Denken über Natur, Landwirtschaft und Technik im Spannungsfeld von Kapitalismus, Sozialismus und Klimakrise. Ausgehend von Bertolt Brechts Texten wird untersucht, wie Industrialisierung der Landwirtschaft, grüne Revolution und Klassenkampf unsere heutige Zeit beeinflussen. Im Mittelpunkt steht eine wichtige Frage: Wie können Brechts Werke bei den aktuellen Diskussionen über die Zerstörung der Umwelt, die weltweite Ernährung und eine gerechte und ökologische Veränderung der Gesellschaft helfen?🌱 Wir freuen uns sehr, dass Clustermitglied Karin Krauthausen am Montag, den 9. Februar, den Eröffnungsabend der Brecht-Tage 2026 moderieren wird. Die Veranstaltung im Literaturforum im Brechthaus wendet sich Brechts zuerst 1950 erschienenem Langgedicht »Die Erziehung der Hirse«, das in der Rezeption zumeist auf Verständnislosigkeit und Ablehnung stieß, zu und rückt es in einen zugleich werk- und wissenschaftsgeschichtlichen Zusammenhang. Ausgehend von einer Rundfunkaufnahme des Musikepos »Die Erziehung der Hirse« von Bertolt Brecht und Paul Dessau von 1954, werden Peter Berz und Helmut Höge im sich anschließenden Gespräch die biologiegeschichtlichen und agrarwissenschaftlichen Quellen der Dichtung in den Blick nehmen. Die Brecht-Tage sind eine Kooperation des Literaturforums im Brecht-Haus mit dem Netzwerk Naturwissen am Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, dem Zeiss-Großplanetarium Berlin, der Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, dem Fachgebiet Literaturwissenschaft der Technischen Universität Berlin und andcompany&Co. Vom 6. bis 12. Februar finden an verschiedenen Orten in Berlin Filmvorführungen, Lesungen, Podiumsgespräche und Vorträge statt. Für das vollständige Programm und Eintrittskarten siehe den Link in der Bio! @lfbrecht @k.krauthausen @humboldt.uni #brechttage2026 #landwirtschaft #ökologie #diskussion #wissenschaftsgeschichte #literaturwissenschaft #bertoltbrecht

»Discourse | Cracks | Narrative« is the title of the »Bauhaus Matters: Materials of Modernity« conference, taking place from 29 to 31 January in Dessau. We’re delighted to share that Cluster members Karola Dierichs and Robert Stock will present the findings of their interdisciplinary project, »Cultures of Co-Creation: Syntopia,« at the third panel, which is entitled »Building as Assemblage«. The architect and the cultural historian will argue for a novel approach to so-called beetle-infested wood that takes the qualities of this often-undervalued material into account. The final discussion with Santiago del Hierro (ETH Zürich), Philipp Misselwitz (TU Berlin/Bauhaus Earth), and Hanna Le Roux (University of Sheffield) invites debate on current architectural and architectural research approaches in dialogue with the Bauhaus's architectural heritage. The panel will be moderated by Elke Beyer (Anhalt University of Applied Sciences). The international conference under the banner of »Bauhaus Matters« interrogates the physical materials and the ideas at the core of the Bauhaus and its role within the narratives of modern architecture. For the complete program, please see the link in the bio. Image: 1 Visual of Discourse | Cracks | Narrativ, Design Heimann+Schwantes, Copyright: Bauhaus Dessau Foundation @bauhaus_dessau_foundation @humboldt.uni @karoladierichs #architecture #interdisciplinary #research #talk #paneldiscussion #materialscience #assemblage #sustainablity #cocreation #timber #wood #fungi #beetle #forest #syntopia #culturalhistory

Thank you students at @zhdkcampus @zhdk_transdisciplinary @zhdk_designresearch for sharing insights into touching cosmic entanglements — moments where matter and words find their grounding in experience and knowledge. With a belief in training patience, exercising observation, and resisting the urge to form opinions or analogies too quickly, we explored how artistic and designerly practices might decelerate intrinsic urgency. By building structural modular systems and questioning categorical approaches, we became literally entangled in the room by our self-made glossary — caught in fabrics of relatedness that might reach far beyond the present moment. What we encountered was only a snapshot in time, intersected by particle relations millions of years old, briefly rendered visible. As we said: we are all leftovers of cosmic events — thankfully. Enjoy practicing research-oriented design within these shared cosmic energy commons. also special thanks to @mattersofactivity , as well as ZHdK members Bjoern Franke, @carolinambernard , @maike.thies , @frnkwz and Roman Kirschner.

Next Wesnesday, January 14th, Clemens Winkler will be holding a talk and workshop on »matter of dark. walking in, falling out«. MoA followers in Zurich and the sorrounding area, register quickly via the link in the bio - it would be great to have you there! Call for Participation – Talk and Artistic Research Workshop This workshop, conducted on January 14th, 2026, by Clemens Winkler at Zurich University of the Arts, invites participants to explore dark, invisible materialities as active agents in artistic research and design-led inquiry. It draws on practices and conceptual frameworks developed within the Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity and elaborated in the publication Stretching Materialities. Negotiating Boundaries in Exhibition Research (2025), presented through selected material samples, their natural–cultural histories and key concepts. Building on this introduction, the workshop addresses contemporary material-discursive and ecological questions that have gained relevance since the ontological turn of the early 2000s, shaped by thinkers such as Karen Barad, Manuel DeLanda, and scholars in Science and Technology Studies (STS). In a hands-on session, participants collaboratively build three cloud chambers to make cosmic radiation and everyday radioactive phenomena perceptible as matter–energy. Concepts such as intra-action, material efficacy, entanglement, cosmos, and dark matter are explored not only theoretically, but through experimental practice. The workshop is conceived as a transdisciplinary space in which scientific models, material experiments, and poetic speculation are woven into a collective cosmic web—a form of knowledge that is not explained, but shared and situationally produced. No prior scientific knowledge is required. Curiosity for material experimentation and speculative thinking is encouraged. @zhdk_transdisciplinary @zhdk_designresearch #workshop #speculativethinking #knowledge #ecology #radioactivity #dark #material #artisticresearch #invisible