WINTER SEMESTER 25/26

Every person has “things” that are closely tied to their identity and thus reveal something about them. The historical late-Renaissance cabinet of curiosities was the first to display a wide variety of “things” reflecting a private individual’s interests and passions in a room created specifically for that purpose, in order to show and demonstrate them to guests, among others. These were often new technical achievements or masterpieces of craftsmanship that also served as a catalyst for discussion. The cabinet of curiosities is thus the origin of our modern museums.

With this in mind, this semester you have the opportunity to design a Wunderkammer from the collection of an architect of your choice, one that reflects the “objects” you’ve selected from the architect’s body of work, as well as the architect’s personal preferences, which will be showcased accordingly in your cabinet of curiosities. In addition, there should also be space for other items from your field of interest.

However, the “Cabinet of Curiosities Reloaded” is more than just a place of presentation. It is a space that opens up areas serving simultaneously as an exhibition, a bar, a meeting place, and a venue for exchange. It forms a structure that absorbs artistic impulses and transforms them into new forms of coming together.

At its center is a compact volume measuring five by five by five meters. Within it, a dense space emerges that interweaves design principles, biographical traces, and thematic references. We are not interested in representation, but in interpretation—an architectural narrative that stimulates encounter, exchange, and reflection. Kassel provides the urban framework for this exploration. The city is synonymous with artistic interventions, experimental structures, and public debates. In this context, we view the Wunderkammer as a place that opens up dialogues and gives shape to ways of thinking.

In the studio, we develop spaces that emerge from our own observations, perspectives, and interpretations. The Wunderkammer thus becomes not only a space for reflection but also for establishment: a place that formulates functions and themes from within its own intellectual universe. We work with drawing, models, and digital media. Step by step, a project emerges that not only interprets but also independently establishes, opens up, and narrates.

Instructors: Marie-Therese Harnoncourt-Fuchs, Harun Faizi
Tutors: Julius Wadsacks, Alina Ditenbir