The young architects of Baupiloten translate users dreams into physical reality.

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1 56 Baupiloten Berlin viewpoint mark #8/ Members of Baupiloten s Taka-Tuka-Land team, from top left to bottom right: Christian Necker, Katrin Zietz, Niklaus Haller, Daniel Hülseweg, Susanne Hofmann, Annika Köster, Katja ZiMMerling and Ole Hallier. The young architects of Baupiloten translate users dreams into physical reality. Text Rahel Willhardt Photos Jan Bitter

2 58 Baupiloten Berlin viewpoint mark #8/ Traumbaum (Tree of Dreams) Kindergarten Berlin 2005 An installation in the entrance hall of this kindergarten invites children to snuggle up, look around and play. Traumbaum consists of a trunk world that sprawls along the ground floor, dream blossoms that grow out of the trunk, and a world of leaves above, which reflects sunbeams into the darker space below Tageszeitenblätter, Sonnenstand 21.3 bzw. 21.9, 12:00 1 Winterglitzern, Sonnenstand 21.12, 14: Schnarchblätter Kicherblatt Leuchtblätter Tageszeitenblätter Funkelblätter Glitzerblätter Christian Necker of Baupiloten: This drawing, made by a child, was the starting point of our design. We found it extraordinary that a kid was drawing noises! Section. Ground floor. Children can interact with the Tree of Dreams by simply sitting down or shaking the branches. Today there are six million fewer children living in Germany than there were in the 1970s. It s a decrease that has not resulted in well-funded places of education to prepare children for the future, however. On the contrary. Day nurseries, schools and universities generally consider spending money only when they can no longer avoid reorganization or when they are obliged, as an outcome of Germany s PISA (Programme of Student Assessment), to optimize space when converting their facilities into institutions that are open full time. When architects succeed at little additional expense in changing a building s often austere appearance with bright colours and cleverly designed installations, the result is already seen as educational progress. The sensuous architecture of Berlin-based Baupiloten (Building Pilots) clearly addresses education in greater depth. The focus of the group s designs is a setting in which the architects formulate the main aspects of the users vivid imaginations. Light, sound and colour are applied in a playful way to create fascinating installations, and essential functions are integrated with the same sort of whimsical touch. A good example is Traumbaum (Tree of Dreams) in Ber- On the outside, we resemble an ordinary architecture practice, but we don t operate like one Susanne Hofmann lin, a kindergarten featuring a tree that has been giggling, snoring and glittering in the entrance hall for the past year and a half. The two-storeyhigh installation has fabric-covered blossoms that change colour with the changing light and invite small children to snuggle up, look around and play. The tree is an optical treat in what had been a far too businesslike interior, but it also stimulates the eager minds of 110 youngsters from 14 countries and encourages pupils to join hands, so to speak, across linguistic and cultural barriers. Baupiloten had already demonstrated the use of architecture as a social catalyst with its very first project, the prizewinning makeover of Erika Mann Primary School (2003), which is located in a multiethnic Berlin district marked by high unemployment and a poor scholastic background. For the building designed in 1914 by Ludwig Hoffmann in authoritarian style, the architects came up with the idea of a dragon that, in its search for somewhere to sleep, turns the spaces through which it passes into magical caves. On the first floor, the dragon s breath can be detected in translucent veils hanging from the ceiling and in wardrobes made of a silvery fabric; on the second floor, tables and chairs moulded in the shape of dragon wings fold down from the walls. Here, the children can read and carry on discussions. Three floors up, one finds small groups at work among glowing metal dragon tails. The various corridors that have been transformed into places of learning and living, courtesy of the dragon, are interconnected by a harplike staircase that makes music with the pounding of little feet. The expressive, playful refurbishment, financed by a social district improvement development programme, cost 148,000. Money well spent, as the silver dragon has provided some 400 youngsters with a touchstone of intercultural identity. It s become a place with less shoving and brawling and more concentration on work. not all of Baupiloten s conceptual designs for educational facilities revolve around social and

3 60 Baupiloten Berlin viewpoint mark #8/ Entrance hall before and after completion of the project. cultural progress, however. Currently, the architecture gang with a feel for ambience is optimizing the interior of TU Berlin s cafeteria with a lightning installation. Beginning this summer, ceiling-mounted droplets of light will change mood in keeping with the weather, as will the seating and the bar. On the outside, we resemble an ordinary architecture practice, but we don t operate like one, says Susanne Hofmann, architect, lecturer at TU Berlin, and the unfaltering brain behind Baupiloten. Actually, Baupiloten is an umbrella name for constantly changing groups of architecture students who independently develop and execute building projects on tight budgets. This is a project of student reform that tests how much practical experience education can sustain. If there were no research, it would rapidly become a higher-vocational course of study; that s why we work in an experimental way. Student research also serves our goal: to produce socially committed architecture that promotes interaction and communication. The project also enables Baupiloten to develop This is a project of student reform that tests how much practical experience education can sustain Susanne Hofmann an architectural idiom based on the effective use of valuable building materials like light, air, sound, textiles and colours. Yet, more than materials, it is participative impetus that influences the designs and that allows Baupiloten to translate the dreams and requirements of users, large and small, into physical reality. The group s Taka- Tuka-Land Kindergarten, which in January opened its lemonade-filled tree trunk for preschool children aged one to five, gives an idea of how these young architects articulate hard-toexpress ideas in built space. Two years ago, we encountered a dilapidated building with a rational layout and unappealing metal boxes in a pretty garden. We wanted to connect the garden to the really ugly building, says trainee architect Niklaus Haller, explaining one of two design concepts for the kindergarten. The other, conceived by the school itself, was already called Taka-Tuka-Land. Accordingly, Pippi Longstocking was soon required reading matter for the six-strong project team, while the toddlers were set to work hammering and painting Taka-Tukas: bridges, thrones and nests made of straws, pipe cleaners, shells and the like, which gave the children, as well as Pippi, places to romp, climb and hide. Not every object that emerged from the disorganized collection of materials could be rendered as a full-scale piece of play equipment. What followed were discussions in which each building pilot studied the design of the mini-architect assigned to him or her before presenting the findings to fellow students. The potpourri of children s dreams was only one source of inspiration, though. For three days we took close-ups in the kindergarten in an effort to discover the true nature of these children, says Haller. How do they filter things? Might what we see as a beetle look like a crocodile to them? Series of photos still grace the office walls. In well-ordered fashion, they depict the little ones

4 62 Baupiloten Berlin viewpoint mark #8/ Erika Mann Primary School Berlin 2003 The idea behind the renovation of this 1914 school building is an imaginary silver dragon that, while searching for a place to sleep, changes the spaces through which it passes into magical caves. Children attending the primary school participated in the design process by making collages. One of the corridors before it was visited by the Baupiloten s dragon. Ground-floor corridor with greenery. It s here that the dragon finds a place to sleep. Section. Initial ideas for throne on the beat of the wings, an installation on the third floor. everyday activities, like stripping off leaves or looking for things, and provide almost tangible models for the programmatic architectural concept. The students analysed the children s vivid fantasies, along with the resulting moods and ambiences, and interpreted them in collages and models. What does an explorer look for when climbing foliage or encountering lemonade-treasure walls? How do you take the leaves off sparkles in the ocean? We supervise the architecture students as they work out their ideas, says Constantin von der Mühle, architect and project coordinator at Baupiloten. Often, good design ideas turn out to be completely impractical. This means taking a step back, adding new ideas or finding fresh inspiration. at Taka-Tuka-Land, it was time to adapt ideas to reality. Playful prototypes had to be converted into objects for everyday use and formulated in legally acceptable indices. For an even better understanding of what children like, Baupiloten critiqued each idea, a process that led to more models. Initially, teachers at the kindergarten held back; the further the design progressed, the more their practical discussions switched to evaluations. It was really hard to find the right way to get children and teachers to give us the feedback we needed to reach the next phase, admits Often, good design ideas turn out to be completely impractical. This means taking a step back, adding new ideasor finding fresh inspiration Constantin von der Mühle Haller. He selects a model from among those on his desk to make his point. It resembles a stage set for a doll s house. The old oak tree in the garden has a rough exterior that makes it gleam mysteriously when light strikes the surface in a certain way, he says. We got the children interested in that effect. They would have never understood a 1:50 section. fellow student and Baupiloten colleague Christian Necker summarizes the design descriptions with two quotations: Lemonade grows in the tree, and on Thursdays chocolate does too and Glittering in the caves of Taka-Tuka-Land. He says they saw the entire kindergarten as a tree filled with lemonade that flows out of the façade and into the garden. It was important that the design address both interior and exterior, because replacing or refurbishing the shabby façade panelling was also included in the 90,000 renovation budget. Rather than opting for a cheap overall solution, however, Baupiloten concentrated on a few strategic interventions. One example is the playroom adjacent to the main garden, where the bark ruptures to release a climbing frame that spans the space inside and out. Others are the lemonade bubble, which is fitted with soft yellow gym mats, and new windows, which are so large and low that small children can use them as a short cut to the sandpit. at another place, the wall that was due for renovation now holds a large panoramic window that juts out and is orientated towards the entrance, allowing children at play to see their parents arriving to collect them. This glittering cave is filled with dewdrops, which change sunbeams into a lemonade-producing glow that fills the kindergarten. The cheerful, riotous twinkling is caused by prisms that can be adjusted in height. Details of the dewdrops installation are the work of Baupiloten s Daniel Hülseweg, who simulated sunlight on the computer and built a 1:1 model that was tested for qualities such as durability. The students became totally immersed in the work, says kindergarten teacher Manuela Fahrenholz. They went into more detail and took more aspects into account than many an architect would take. She mentions small, practical

5 64 Baupiloten Berlin viewpoint mark #8/ First-floor corridor, where translucent veils convey an image of the dragon s breath. Second-floor corridor, where chairs and tables moulded in the shape of dragon wings fold down from the walls. elements like the corridor gallery, where notices for staff and parents are posted at adult height and paintings by pupils at child height. Or the climbing frame at the entrance, a place where parents and teachers often pause for a chat. Unfortunately, such euphoria was not evident on all sides. Bernhard Lewandowski, manager of ASB-Kinder- und Jugendhilfe (Child and Youth Aid), and thus a client as well, says his colleagues were sceptical at first and not used to working pedagogically with others on an architectural concept. This scepticism did not prevent him from commissioning Baupiloten twice in two years, however. Doubts aimed at the durability of the imaginative structures have not proved justified, and feedback today is generally positive including that of parents, who continue to express appreciation for an architectural concept that shows such an understanding of children s needs. what s more, an experimental design like this one, with obvious added value, costs the client little more than a renovation by experienced architects, whose regular fees do not cover timeconsuming communication and research work. In a small project like this, each student works on a particular aspect that interests him or her. It s my responsibility to get everything built and functioning correctly, says Susanne Hofmann, Trainee architects have illusions that persist into old age Hans-Joachim Rieseberg who also deals with the legal aspects of Baupiloten s projects. The experimental side takes longer, but I have experience in that area I get involved and promote ideas. That may be the big difference between our group and professional practices. I take the students ideas seriously. It s often exhausting, as they don t realize how much time highly detailed design work takes. Being part of Baupiloten is a full-time job for students, but their reward is not only practical experience but also considerable prestige. You acquire a certain routine that far exceeds what traineeships can give you, because you re already responsible for the planning, says former building pilot Manuela Döbelin, recalling her professional debut at PE-P Architects. Many architects dream of working on things and experimenting without budgetary constraints, she adds. For two full semesters, her Baupiloten team concentrated on the smart, flexible refurbishment of H100, TU Berlin s multifunctional auditorium. They came up with a layout and a cost estimate. And Hans- Joachim Rieseberg, head of the university s building department, proved to be a committed client. Trainee architects have illusions that persist into old age, reveals the 65-year-old architect. Maintenance of an institution that covers 440,000 m2 has given him an unerring feel for pragmatism. Teaching-reform projects like Baupiloten provide an opportunity for students to be more radically focused on reality. Happily accepting the challenge of a productive generation gap, he pinpoints the factor that makes Baupiloten different: Discussions are longer and tougher. But it s worthwhile. Where else are architecture students asked to add fun to university spaces and encouraged to install lightning in a cafeteria? Not to mention light flowers already planted in anticipation of the urgently needed renovation of the H100 auditorium. Baupiloten needn t worry about a lack of projects in the near future: three Berlin schools are awaiting or are in the midst of renovations enhanced with the stuff of children s dreams. Taking shape at the Galilei Primary School, for instance, are atmosphere generators and mood machines ; and next autumn the Carl Bolle Primary School promises to rouse suspicion as a spy in a shimmering cape. π Third-floor corridor, where dragon tails provide places for study and discussion.

6 66 Baupiloten Berlin viewpoint mark #8/ Kindergartners attending a workshop were asked to build Pippi Longstocking s house. A net around the house protects the occupants from bandits and invites the kids to climb. Taka-Tuka-Land Kindergarten Berlin 2007 Prompted to draw and build an imaginary Taka-Tuka-Land, the children used shells to create beds and flowers to build bridges and carousels. The makeover of this kindergarten features an interpretation of Pippi Longstocking s old oak tree, in whose hollow interior lemonade is produced. The lemonade breaches the rough bark of the walls to flow outside while providing children a space in which to climb, hide and nap. Many models were built to study the complex wooden climbing structure. Kids can climb, hide and nap in the bark of the oak tree. Axonometric view of the various interventions. A pile of studies for the façade that breaks open to release lemonade. Plan. Section. The corridor of the kindergarten becomes a lemonade gallery.