In the summer semester of 2025, the Paludi Pavilion design-and-build workshop brought together Master’s students from RWTH Aachen and TU Munich to explore regenerative construction in the wetlands of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Led by Niklas Fanelsa, Theresa Zschäbitz, and Quentin Bourguignon, and in collaboration with the Greifswald Moor Centrum and Wasserwerk der Zukunft, the project focused on the use of Paludi materials: biomass resources from rewetted peatlands such as elder, reed, birch, willow, and grass. Over the course of the semester, students engaged with vernacular and experimental techniques, culminating in a one-week building workshop in Malchin where three timber pavilions were realized as open-air stages for the local Moortheater.
The workshop emphasized material-specific design, ecological cycles, and collective making. Students prototyped and constructed façade systems using braided grass, woven willow, pyrolyzed birch bark, and thatched reed. Preparatory research at RWTH Aachen and TU Munich informed the applied techniques. The project was enriched by public lectures and local engagement, fostering knowledge exchange between students, practitioners, and community actors.
The Paludi Pavilion served as a prototype for how architecture can emerge from place—grounded in bioregional resources, cultural landscapes, and collaborative practices, offering a situated response to contemporary questions of material, ecology, and construction.
Design, Construction and execution planning:
Junior professorship act of building RWTH Aachen University
The HORST Anthill Pavilion in Asiat Park, Vilvoorde, Belgium, was created for the Horst Arts and Music Festival. Designed to house Artist Afrah Shafiq’s video game installation ‘Where the Ants Go’ and the pavilion results from a collaboration between Afrah Shafiq, the RWTH Aachen University’s Junior Professorship “act of building” (aob), BC Materials and architect Jeremy Waterfield. The pavilion which was considered as a test design for BC Materials compressed earth blocks, also offered the opportunity to try reed as a façade material. Built by 45 RWTH students over two weeks of construction workshop in the framework of the annual Horst Ateliers, it showcases innovative, sustainable building practices in combination. The pavilion embodies a forward-thinking approach to architecture, merging vernacular techniques with new and rediscovered materials to create an expressive design that reflects future possibilities for sustainable construction while teaching students and professionals the material-specific craft techniques during its construction.
Client: HORST ARTS AND MUSIC, Vilvoorde, Belgium
Artist: Afrah Shafiq
Architect: Jeremy Waterfield
Construction design and execution: Theresa Zschäbitz (aob & BC architects) Bregt Hoppenbrouwers (BC materials) with the students of aob Junior professorship act of building RWTH Aachen University, Martha Vandemaesen (Democo)
Structural Engineer: buro kiss
Guest curator: Diana Campbell Betancourt, Artistic Director of Samdani Art Foundation and Chief Curator of Dhaka Art Summit
ALLIANCES is the title of the upcoming Science Day 2024 organized by the recently established Junior Professorship of Construction and Design – “act of building” (aob).
Since many years we have been witnessing the surge of multiple crisis linked to the architecture field, ranging from the climate crisis to the housing crisis. These events have been in part shaping the architectural discourse and inspired the narrative of many present (and future) practices. The architectural society has been discussing and developing ideas in response to these challenges. How these responses are received depend heavily on political and market-driv- en agendas; architectural ideas for the future risk being limited in their implementation by outdated and systemic relations between humans and nature. New sorts of alliances must be set up in order to break this pattern.
The Science Day wishes to probe for alliances along 3 strategies which the chair of aob has been working on since its start 2 years ago. We have invited a variety of international architects and think- ers to present provocations which they belief to be needed in order stimulate a radical shift in the mindset of architecture scenes and local construction sectors.
The event will take place in an informal setting of which the audi- ence is an integral part. We look forward to a fruitful and inspiring exchange. We hope to raise new questions and ideas, to motivate to act and, most importantly, to become allies of change.
Prototyping Architecture
“Prototyping Architecture” suggests looking at architecture as an ever-changing process rather than a fixed, finished structure. In this perspective, buildings are not stagnant but continually adapt and transform. They act like prototypes, evolving and presenting new possibilities while being build, used, lived in. Architecture, in this view, remains open-ended and responsive. This approach highlights the dynamic nature of architectural projects, and their capacity for change. It encourages us to reconsider architecture as an ongoing process, embracing its continuous evolution and adaptability.
We’ll explore this topic together with provocations of Nikolaus Hirsch (moderator), Andrea Klinge, Pauline Lefevbre and Laurens Bekemans.
Material Agencies
Modern distinctions, like nature/human and nature/culture, are replaced by a focus on extended processes over time and space, where networks of people and matter overlap and differ. Material agencies go beyond the influence of designers; it is materials and their cultures that define the possibilities of our constructions. Shifting attention to matter as an active force, the aesthetic and ethical aspects of architecture take on new meanings.
We’ll explore this topic together with provocations of Veronique Patteeuw (moderator), Michael Ghyoot, Guillaume Habert and Ken De Cooman.
Collective Learning
In recent decades, we have witnessed a significant rise in the prevalence of practices organized as collectives and collaborations across various domains, in particular creative agencies. These innovative structures have delivered exceptional achievements, reshaping architecture, and architecture models. However, one sphere where this transformation has been slower to take root is within educational institutions, notably universities.
We wish to delve into the evolving landscape of collaborative structures and their influence on education. Universities, often characterized by their bureaucratic nature and deep-rooted traditions, tend to resist change. The established norms and structures within these institutions can be resistant to adaptation, making it difficult to introduce new approaches.
We’ll explore this topic together with provocations of Axel Sowa (moderator), James Binning, Angelika Hinterbrandner and Theresa Zschäbitz.
The summer term workshop took place during the white week, from the 31st of May to 3rd of June. This year, three courses took part simultaneously: the bachelors’ as well as the masters’ elective course, and the students completing the year-long M2 project.
Within the course earth construction workshop, bachelor students completed a pavilion which built on the work of the previous years’ workshop. The ambitious design proposal included a curved brick wall – using factory-made loam bricks – and a wall built with unfired earth bricks. The students constructed both in the span of three days, learning different bricklaying techniques and masonry tricks of the trade.
The pavilion was topped off with a shed roof, reusing an old truck tarpaulin and steel beams. A number of tension belts connect the roof to the walls and the grounding plate, and make the entire construction easily demountable.
The master students of the elective course geosourced prototyping workshop acted as construction teams for the students completing act 3 within their M2 project the architect changemaker. Each team built a 1:1 scale model of a prototype, which had been designed by the M2 students in the course of the semester. The approaches and techniques varied from using a self-developed mortar to fully ramming a tried and tested material mix using earth from a local quarry. The individual formworks had been engineered by the M2 students, as well as the planning of the construction. This entire process was a complex undertaking, but all students were highly motivated and really pitched in – we ended up with three beautiful prototype models!
With so many people on site in Brussels at BC materials, the construction plot was a busy hub of many different things happening at once. The weather played its part as well and ensured warm and sunny days throughout the week. Lectures from BC staff and a visit to the Parckfarm project by BuildingBeyondBorders rounded off the week.
AOB would like to invite you to this year’s annual exhibition of the Faculty of Architecture at RWTH Aachen University, where we will be present. Our pop-up presentation in the foyer of the faculty will deal with the topics of sustainable building and the circular economy, as well as show perspectives for tackling contemporary building tasks with ecological architecture.
In addition to our pop-up presentation, you can have a look at the work of our students in the Lehrstuhl. There you can learn more about the importance of sustainable building and the use of earth as an innovative building material.
The annual exhibition will be held on 24 and 25 May 2023 bundled with the Science Day at the Reiff Museum.
We look forward to welcoming you at the Lehrstuhl.
AOB presents the new course offering for the upcoming summer semester. The overarching theme is the development of creative and technically sophisticated solutions for construction tasks using sustainable building materials. Both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in dealing with new materials and production methods will be taught. The programme is aimed at students who want to expand their skills in the field of modern construction.
During the White Week, the „geosourced prototyping workshop“ is offered as an excursion to Brussels. The course is intended for all students who want to expand their practical skills in working with natural building materials. Participants will work in small groups and have the opportunity to develop and implement their own projects. Students will be supported by our lecturers, who will be able to share their experience and expertise. Registration is possible for both Master’s and Bachelor’s students.
For the first time, „BXL Circular Hub“ will be offered as a free design course for Bachelor students. The module will look at the development of a place for production in the city as part of the Brussels KANAL Plan, including recycling and local production of building materials in the sense of a circular economy. We will design the circular hub, a production site for several Brussels companies involved in the production and distribution of circular building materials that through synergies of their production processes and knowledge form a catalyst for the change of the construction sector.
In the studio „the architect changemaker“ continues the M2 project from the winter semester. Here, the focus is also on practical implementation of the previous research as well as scaling up the developed geo-based materials, which will the tested in 1:1 prototypes.
Act of Building at JAA ’22 The junior professorship Act of Building warmly invites you to the lecture by Laurens Bekemans on 9 September starting at 4 pm. The presentation will take place in the foyer of the Reiff Museum as part of the opening days of the annual exhibition JAA 2022 at the Faculty of Architecture.
The focus will be on presenting the new research efforts at the Act of Building Chair around the topics of sustainable resource use, circular economy, clay and earth materials and urban mining. You will also be able to examine a collection of sustainably produced material samples as well as a feature of the results of our last semesters earth building workshop (see canvas below).
A successful first elective of the new junior professorship took place during the white week in summer 2022 as an intense earth building workshop on the production site of bc materials.
We had a great insight in the development of bio- geo- and urban-sourced building materials as well as into examplatory projects throughout all Belgium through day trips.
This elective will be offered in Winterterm 22/23 again. More infos here!
Find Act of Building @Instagram The Act of Building junior professorship is now on Instagram. We regularly post about our research and teaching activities. To stay updated, it’s well worth subscribing. Follow us @actofbulidng_rwth
