UHart Architecture Students Advance Sustainable Design Dialogue in Germany

The workshop, titled Resourcing Architecture Design Aesthetics through Upcycling, challenged participants to consider how discarded materials could inspire new aesthetic languages and construction methodologies. Students from five countries-Germany, the U.S., Sweden, Thailand, and Slovakia-collaborated on speculative proposals that blended environmental responsibility with design innovation.

"Working with peers from radically different contexts to develop architecture from cast-off materials was both humbling and catalytic," said John Tinelli '25, a senior in UHart's Architectural Design + Technology program. "It redefined what sustainability can look like and how we can build identity through constraint."

In Berlin, the group explored the city's rich architectural and political history, visiting sites including Museum Island, the Berlin Cathedral, the Holocaust Memorial, and Checkpoint Charlie. For students working on a master plan project for a two-block site adjacent to the Berlin Zoo, walking the actual streets brought fresh clarity and relevance to their studio proposals-bridging the speculative and the real.

This global initiative is emblematic of UHart Architecture's evolving mission: to prepare students to confront pressing ecological and social challenges, collaborate across cultural and disciplinary boundaries, and design with intelligence, integrity, and purpose.