AA Visiting School Berlin

Berlin — A Green Archipelago? Fifty years ago, the legendary summer school “The City in the City” took place in Berlin, initiated by Oswald Mathias Ungers. Rem Koolhaas expanded its urban planning concept through the utopia of the Green Archipelago — arguing that Berlin could be transformed back into a green, polyvalent sea into which, in accordance with its polycentric DNA, an archipelago of intensified urban islands would be embedded. He explicitly described his planning model as the first for a zero-growth Europe. Today, the question of the continued relevance of this model of thought arises with renewed urgency. Does the concept of the green archipelago contain latent approaches to climate resilience? How does a polycentric model of urban development relate to the pressing housing question? And might the principle of archipelagization help counter democratic decline? This international symposium reconvenes these questions as an editorial format — intellectually anchored by Florian Hertweck — in conversation with Rem Koolhaas, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Arno Brandlhuber, Paola Vigano, Jean-Philippe Vassal and many more. It serves as the conceptual and theoretical foundation for the Visiting School taking place in Berlin this summer. In cooperation with the @akademiederkuenste (Architecture Section), the @master.arch.lu , the @aaschool , and the @aavisiting_school . Sensing Performance: @jasmineprsly Listening: @brutalist_aesthetics Annotations: @clara_kraemer Curatorial Support: Florian Hertweck Convened by: @malte.wilms AAVS: @_ian_e · @moritzriesenbeck · @benewahlbrink · @malte.wilms Design: @george_popovv Filmmaker: @valentinaxparati Font: @abcdinamo Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz, Berlin 13 June 2026 · 10 am – 7 pm Private event — by invitation only. #BerlinGreenArchipelago #shrinkingarchipelago#architectureassociaton #akademiederkünste #internationalsymposium

We are pleased to announce that our reading performance will take place at BL Schaufenster, Berlin. On 14 August, we will present a collective reading on the theme of the Shrinking Archipelago — bringing together students of the Berlin University of the Arts and the AA Visiting School. Conceived as an editorial exhibition format, the reading unfolds as a shared act of thinking: texts, positions, and arguments are read aloud, listened to, and annotated in real time. The evening is part of an ongoing research process that began with the international symposium “Berlin — A Green Archipelago?” at the Akademie der Künste, and continues through the Visiting School this summer. @bl__schaufenster 14 August 2026 We look forward to seeing you there. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now. AA Visiting School Berlin 5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting_school @aaschool @shrinking_archipelago @bl__schaufenster #greenarchipelago #intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity transformation

We are pleased to introduce Pierre Marmy as one of our guest lecturers. Pierre Marmy is a Swiss architect and photographer based between Zurich and Lausanne. He teaches at the Chair of Maria Conen at ETH Zurich and co-founded la—clique, an architectural collective operating at the intersection of architecture, scenography, and collective design processes. His photographic practice explores urban narratives, residual, peripheral, and often overlooked spaces, and the complex relationship between humans and their environment. This research unfolds across different media and editorial work, developed in part through teaching and residency work with photographer Arnaud Bostelmann. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now.
 AA Visiting School
Berlin
5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting_school @aaschool @shrinking_archipelago @pierre_marmy @collectif_la_clique Photo: shen he #greenarchipelago #intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity

We are pleased to introduce Nile Greenberg as one of our guest lecturers. Nile Greenberg is a founding partner of Abel Nile New York. ANY recently guest edited the 2025 issue of Flash Art Volumes on the theme of Crisis Formalism— a dossier of architectural responses to re-integrate architectural form and crisis. Nile serves as Architecture Editor at The Brooklyn Rail, overseeing a section that focuses on the relationship between architecture and art. His published works include co-authoring „The Advanced School of Collective Feeling“ (Park Books, 2023), a study on the relationship between physical culture and housing in the 1920 and curating the exhibition „Two Sides of the Border“ at Yale. Nile is the 2025-26 Douglas A. Garofalo Fellow at University of Illinois Chicago. He has taught at Columbia University GSAPP and Cornell University AAP. His work has been presented at the 2025 Venice Biennale, ETH Zürich, Cornell University, Spazio Maiocchi, the AIA Center for Architecture, University of Melbourne, The Cooper Union, University of Colorado.... ANY was recognized as New Practices New York 2020-2023 by AIANY. Nile Greenberg holds a Master of Architecture from Columbia University. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now.
 AA Visiting School
Berlin
5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting_school @aaschool @shrinking_archipelago @nilegreenberg @abelnilenewyork #greenarchipelago #intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity #transformation

Throughout the Visiting School, we will provide a curated selection of readings that will accompany and inform the programme. The material will include key historical texts, theoretical essays, and contemporary reflections relevant to the themes of the school. Particular attention will be given to O.M. Ungers and Rem Koolhaas’ “Berlin as a Green Archipelago” (1977), alongside texts that address urban contraction, islandization, the politics of land, and changing relationships between architecture, territory, and governance. The reading material is intended not as a fixed canon, but as a working editorial framework—one that supports discussion, annotation, and critical positioning throughout the programme. Participants will engage with this literature as a shared reference point for the symposium, the excursions, and the design discussions developed during the Visiting School. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now.
 AA Visiting School
Berlin
5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting_school @log_grams @shrinking_archipelago #greenarchipelago #intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity #transformation

We are pleased to introduce Ellena Ehrl as one of our guest lecturers. Ellena Ehrl is an architect and publisher. She co-founded Ehrl Bielicky Architects, a Zurich-based architecture practice that explores the transformation of rural and urban contexts through research-driven design. The projects focus on the cultural, historical, and spatial conditions of the built environment, with a particular interest in the potential of existing structures and collaborative, transdisciplinary processes. Ellena is co-founder of the architecture periodical Superposition and teaches at NEWROPE, the Chair of Architecture & Urban Transformation at ETH Zurich. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now.
 AA Visiting School
Berlin
5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting_school @shrinking_archipelago @ellenaehrl @ehrlbielicky @newrope.world #greenarchipelago #intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity #transformation

We are pleased to introduce Malte Wilms as our Head of Program. Malte Wilms is an architect based in Berlin and runs ACCESS, an architecture practice in constant alteration. Working between theory and practice, he explores how architecture responds to changing ecological and technological conditions through spatial experimentation, systemic research, and the development of experimental prototypes. His research centers on thermal comfort across architecture, technology, and art, aiming to uncover the parallel realities shaping the present. He graduated with distinction from UdK Berlin, where his master’s thesis “194,000” (supervised by Prof. Vassal) proposed a reprogramming of Berlin’s Green Archipelago. He has taught as a research assistant at LUH Hannover and currently teaches DYMAXION at the Neue School of Architecture in Siegen, with additional roles including workshop leadership at the Venice Biennale Lab. Malte co-founded an.dersUrania and Architects4THF, is involved with HouseEurope!, serves as guest editor for Arts of the Working Class, and is currently a fellow of the Akademie der Künste Berlin, Section Architecture. We would like to thank the @aaschool , the @aavisiting_school and @christopher.d.pierce for their generous support in developing the program. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now. 
 AA Visiting School
Berlin
5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting @aaschool @shrinking_archipelago @malte.wilms @dymaxion__ 📷 @jack_hare #greenarchipelago #intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity #transformation

We’re excited to share the Excursion for this year’s AA Visiting School Berlin: Shrinking Archipelago (6 August 2026). As part of the “AA Visiting School Berlin,” a one-day excursion will take place across Berlin, focusing on the specific scale of urban design through built examples. Through guided tours, city walks, and talks, we will engage closely with current questions of Berlin’s urban development and meet local actors from city administration, civil society, and planning practice. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now. 
 AA Visiting School
Berlin
5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting @aaschool @shrinking_archipelago #greenarchipelago #intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity #transformation

We are pleased to introduce Bene Wahlbrink as one of our tutors. Bene is an architect and writer based in Berlin and Zürich. After completing an apprenticeship as a draftsman, he studied architecture at the Münster School of Architecture and the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio, followed by architectural history and theory at ETH Zurich. He is currently a Research Assistant at the Chair for Architecture and Design Methods at TU Berlin, leads the teaching and research program “Voices of the City”, and is working on his dissertation on “Aktion507”, a group that emerged in Berlin amid the social and political movements of 1968. Bene is the founder of the architectural practice “A407”, co-founder of the Panta Rhei Collaborative, and a member of Zurich International. His projects have been exhibited at Displays Zurich, ZAZ BELLERIVE and the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial. Engaged in diverse constellations, he works on projects of varying scales, aiming to experiment with innovative approaches to utilize existing resources. Through the former Initiative an.ders Urania, he contributed to the public discourse on urban transformation in Berlin, advocating for new alternatives to the city’s built environment. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now. 
 AA Visiting School
Berlin
5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting @aaschool @shrinking_archipelago @benewahlbrink @voicesofthecity.site @a407.eu 📷 @antonia.leicht #greenarchipelago #intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity #transformation

We are pleased to introduce Joshua Guiness as one of our guest lecturers. Joshua Guiness is an architect working at the intersection of speculative design and territorial transformation. His work applies spatial intelligence to processes of environmental, social, and institutional change. As co-lead of Architecture Land Initiative, his design projects develop trans-scalar approaches to architecture, landscape, and territory. He is a lecturer at VOLUPTAS, ETH Zurich, where his teaching explores experimental design and architectural worldbuilding. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now. 
 AA Visiting School
Berlin
5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting_school @aaschool @shrinking_archipelago @joshua__guiness @edge_effects #greenarchipelago ä#intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity #transformation

We are pleased to introduce Moritz Riesenbeck as one of our tutors. Moritz is an artist based in Düsseldorf. His work examines the layers of meaning embedded in objects and places, particularly their influence on memory, identity, and physical presence. He is interested in how spaces and objects function as carriers of stories and emotions, shaping our understanding of ourselves. His interdisciplinary practice spans various media, with a focus on site-specific approaches and the use of theatrical methods to stage non-art spaces. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now. 
 AA Visiting School
Berlin
5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting_school @aaschool @shrinking_archipelago @moritzriesenbeck 📷 @kurtheuvens #greenarchipelago #intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity #transformation

We are pleased to introduce Valentina Noce as one of our guest lecturers. Sabotage Practice is an architectural office founded in Milan in 2024 by Valentina Noce. The studio currently works on private projects, exhibition design, and research and writing. Valentina teaches at the Chair of Architecture and Care at ETH Zurich and is completing a PhD at Politecnico di Milano. Shrinking Archipelago — apply now. 
 AA Visiting School
Berlin
5–14 August 2026 @aavisiting_school @aaschool @shrinking_archipelago @sabotagepractice 📷@piercarloquecchia @dsl__studio #greenarchipelago #intelligentruin #oswaltmatthiasungers #remkoolhaas #genericcity #transformation