Lab Talk

WATER: CURSE OR BLESSING!?

#4 Water Infrastructures

The fourth Lab Talk in the series focuses on how to deal with urban water infrastructures in the wake of changing conditions for our cities.

Moderated by Aric Chen, supported by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Berlin, and on the occasion of the opening of the Aedes exhibition Wind Blows, Water Rises with NODE, design office of Architecture & Urbanism, Shenzhen; and the Greater Bay Design Innovative Lab (GBA Lab) of Shenzhen University

Shenzhen Lotus Water Culture Base: Landscape Design for Honghu Park Water Purification Station ©️ Zhang Chao

Date: Friday, 7 February 2025, 16:00

Place: Aedes, Christinenstr. 18–19, 10119 Berlin

Registration: www.eventbrite.de

Introduction

Focusing on water in urban spaces, invited experts will discuss examples from river delta regions in China and Europe, exploring architectural research and practice. In light of the current challenges posed by aging water infrastructure, such as the collapse of the Carola Bridge in Dresden, the discussion will address programmatic and technical aspects of renovation, improvement, reuse and conversion, as well as the management of water in urban areas and across regions.

The Lab Talk will be followed directly by the Exhibition Opening.

Programme
Lab Talk

Welcome and Introduction
Dunya Bouchi, Managing Director, Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory, Berlin
Eduard Kögel, Urban Planner, Berlin
Yue Fan, Professor, Dean, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen University

Presentations
Doreen Heng Liu, Founder and Principal, NODE, Shenzhen / Director, GBA Lab, Shenzhen University
Anna Friedrich, Engineer for Technical Environmental Protection, Rainwater Agency Berlin
Jiang Feng, Professor of Architecture History, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou
Koen Olthuis, Architect and Founder, Waterstudio, Amsterdam

Panel discussion with participants and peers, moderated by Aric Chen, Curator, General and Artistic Director, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam

Front Row Peers
Michele Bonino, Professor, Dean, Architecture and Urban Design Department, Politecnico di Torino
Margaret Crawford, Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Xinggang Li, Founder and Principal, Atelier Li Xinggang, Beijing
Momoyo Kaijima, Professor, ETH Zurich
Eduard Kögel, Urban Planner, Berlin
Thomas Waldmann, Innovation Management / Start-Up & Venture Manager, Würth Elektronik, Berlin
Hubert Klumpner, Professor, Chair of Architecture and Urban Design, ETHZ / Design Principal and CEO, Urbanthinktank_next, Zurich

Programme
Exhibition Opening

Welcome
Hans-Jürgen Commerell, Director Aedes, Berlin
Xinggang Li, Member of Chinese Academy of Engineering, Beijing
Doreen Heng Liu, Founder and Principal, NODE, Shenzhen / Director, GBA Lab, Shenzhen University

Video

Video by Reframe

The Series

WATER: CURSE OR BLESSING!?
Aedes’ international, interdisciplinary programme aims to establish new planning processes and structures related to water use and distribution in the built environment. Through a series of six Lab Talks dedicated to building future resilience, Aedes seeks to identify and discuss sustainable water-related architectural and urban development projects that also address the (re)establishment of socio-economic coherence through conscious water management.

Interdisciplinary experts explore the role of water in climate change mitigation — from reducing CO2 emissions and ecological footprints to adaptation and resilience in urban and national contexts, and recognising water as a common good from source to sea. As an element, resource, and infrastructure, water has a profound impact on the natural, built and living environments. In Water: Curse or Blessing!?, architects and planners engage in innovative knowledge exchange with experts from environmental research, science, and politics, deriving insights for their work processes, planning, implementation, and building projects.

Lab Talk Series

Water: Curse or Blessing!?

Aedes Theme

Water: Curse or Blessing!?

In collaboration with:
Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Osnabrück
The Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, The Hague
The OBEL Award, Copenhagen
Transsolar, Stuttgart
PolyUrbanWaters Research Project
GBA Lab, Shenzhen