Introduction
The Berlin Techno Booth Competition is part of Bee Breeders’ Small Scale Architecture Appreciation Movement showcasing small projects that contain big ideas. Designers were tasked with proposing a temporary structure that, in light of the ongoing pandemic, could accommodate a single dancer, allowing them to dance and enjoy Berlin’s techno music in a socially-distanced fashion. The only constraint was that the structure has a maximum area of 4 m2.
Berlin club culture is a bedrock to the techno music establishment. Venues that were once locales for illegal raves have transformed into popular businesses known internationally for showcasing original interpretations of techno.
As with the majority of social venues around the world, techno clubs and raves have been forced by governments to shut their doors over the past two years in an attempt to limit the spread of the coronavirus. This competition was a light-hearted initiative to generate new ideas for activating the streets of Berlin with techno music. While there were no specific requirements for design submissions, participants were encouraged to express their creativity through thoughtful and innovative design ideas.
Bee Breeders worked with an outstanding international jury of architects and street artists: Jürgen Mayer H., founding partner of Berlin-based J.MAYER.H und Partner; AKUT, Berlin-based urban contemporary artist and photographer; Dan Dorocic, member of design & architecture collective ON/OFF; Gonzalo Lopez, PhD candidate at Polytechnic University of Madrid and partner of knitknot architecture; Kerim Miskavi, architect and founder of Istanbul-based MAS – Miskavi Architecture Studio; Nicolas Sterling, and Elke Sterling-Presser, co-founders and Directors of Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers in Berlin.
Bee Breeders and its jury panel would like to thank all the designers that participated in this competition.
We sincerely thank our jury panel
for their time and expertise
Jürgen Mayer H
founding partner of J.MAYER.H und Partner
Germany
Nicolas Sterling
Co Founder and Director, Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers
Germany
Elke Sterling-Presser
Co Founder and Director, Sterling Presser Architects and Engineers
Germany
Falk Lehmann aka AKUT
urban contemporary artist and photographer
Germany
Dan Dorocic
designer ON/OFF
Germany
Kerim Miskavi
Miskavi Architecture Studio - MAS
Turkey
Gonzalo Lopez
knitknot architecture
USA
1st Prize Winner +
BB STUDENT AWARD
BB STUDENT AWARD
Re-Unite
Actively participating in competitions helps to broaden the mind and understand architecture from different perspectives. As students, it is particularly important because we easily stick to thinking in one way which is taught at school.
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Jury feedback summary
Largely a favourite among the jurors, “Re-Unite" proposes a flexible, customisable structure inspired by scaffolding. It consists of triangular and square prototypes that can be wrapped in translucent fabric and expanded according to the needs and number of participants. The jury praised the proposal for the intelligence of its simple modularity and its sensitivity to both connectivity and separation. The jury writes, “The translucent fabric lets the silhouette be seen by the observer as a continuous curtain, but remains independent, separated by the vertical frames. Bodies are free to move while experiencing distancing. The strength of the project lies in the agglomeration of the individual, solitary units that generate collective forms, united by a shared interest of activity. It is a proposal that establishes references to the Occupy movement and informal/temporary settlements through the choice of materials, construction techniques, and collective use. The visualization is quite enticing in the way it occupies urban space while maintaining a grade of individualism.” The jury also commented that while the modular elements are simplistic and straightforward, they lack a layer of specificity that relates to techno music's audio-visual aspects.
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2nd Prize Winner
SNB-F1
Participating in architectural competitions is an opportunity to look back at our practice and philosophy. It showcases our work and the way we think. As students, we can escape from scholar or corporate projects. It gives us the freedom to venture into our very own obsessions. It sharpens the way we draw by testing alternative ways of representing architecture. Participating in architectural competitions is also constantly questioning urban and social problematics while seeking for the simplest answer. It is the chance for radical ideas.
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France
Jury feedback summary
“snb-f1” (a name combining SFB radio with Funktion-One sound system) is a project for an autonomous and itinerant device dedicated to techno music inspired by French DJ Laurent Garnier who once described techno music as generated by “taking machines out of their context to make futuristic music with them.” The design comprises a scissor lift sandwiched by two digital advertising panels, allowing an individual to privately party inside while its envelope interacts at an urban level. According to the jury, “snb-f1 is a provocative proposal that takes into consideration the underground, hidden nature of Techno, and it explores the idea of a billboard that communicates to the exterior while hiding its main activity within. Although this concept could have been more developed, the use of the element of the screen, its portability, and its modularity are well-incorporated into the solution. The project’s flexibility of deployment is a great aspect; it innovatively uses existing infrastructures and machines from Berlin to create a whole new function. It's realizable and it's fun.”
3rd Prize Winner
Invisible Bodies
It was our first collective participation in an architecture competition and, to be honest, we were only looking for a reason to work together on a project.
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Germany
Jury feedback summary
‘Invisible Bodies’ is a proposal for a dance box that can be located throughout the city while remaining invisible, traced via mobile application. From the exterior, it is an anonymous structure clad in mirrors; the interior presents an intimate space enclosed by organic, soft shapes that are the colour of human skin. The jury comments, “‘Invisible Bodies’ is a poetic and original response to the brief. The title itself speaks to the contrasting experiences that one could observe during the pandemic: an absence in the city, and a bodily connection. The reference to the naked body suggests a return to the essential notions of human connection without any other artifice. The project represents and pictures an intimate inner experience and feeling.”
BB GREEN AWARD
Tanzblock
I enjoy the creative freedom that competitions give, as well as the diverse range of settings and scenarios that competitions can expose me to.
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Honorable mentions
Shortlisted projects
UNTZ UNTZ
Poland UNSTABLE RHYTHMS
TechnU
SNB-F1
The Berlin Box, The club for one
hawting's booth
Exquisite Techno
Tekno in your head
The Ina Kraviz
The infinity Box
Re-Unite
Die Techno - Kabine
Tanzblock
Squat Kollektiv
EINZELGÄNGER
TECHNOLITH
BOOTH CITY SILENCE
Forgotten Dreams
Te(ch)mple
Berlin Techno Net
spotlight
MULTITUDE
Techno ring
The Lanterns
TechnoPump
Invisible Bodies
MASQUERADE
4dRoom
#BackInTheGroove
SHIFTING THE BODERLINE
YZY.TECH BOOTH
Autonomous Techno Booth
SHAPING MOVEMENT
Aura Troupe
Womb
Latent Bodies
Tesoro
Techl
BUBBLE
