WATER: CURSE OR BLESSING!?
#5 Materials, Energy, Technology
The fifth Lab Talk in the series explores the relationship between water, materials, building and technological requirements.
Moderated by Thomas Stellmach, supported by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Berlin
Image: Water lifting devices from the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). © Pictures Now / Alamy Stock Foto.
Date: Thursday, 20 March 2025, 18:30
Place: Aedes, Christinenstr. 18–19, 10119 Berlin
Registration: www.eventbrite.de
Introduction
Building with new or reinterpreted materials offers significant potential for advancing mitigation and adaptation strategies in water management, particularly within the framework of a circular economy. This discussion explores technical solutions that enhance resilience in water consumption, tackle shortages and support reuse. An interdisciplinary panel examines good practices, including heat recovery from greywater, urban infiltration systems, innovative fixtures and advanced surface technologies.
How can we improve rainwater collection, evaporation and infiltration in urban environments, buildings and landscapes? Can water play a decisive role in planning energy supply and infrastructure for future projects?
Programme
Welcome and Introduction
Miriam Mlecek, Programme Manager, Aedes, Berlin
Thomas Stellmach, Founder, TSPA Planning and Consulting, Berlin
Presentations
Christian Kalytta, Senior Manager Product Development & Product Management, CEMEX, Rüdersdorf
Christian Veddeler, Partner, 3XN Architects, Amsterdam/Copenhagen
Holger Wack, Deputy Head of Product Development Department, Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology, Oberhausen
Panel discussion with participants and peers, moderated by Thomas Stellmach, Founder, TSPA Planning and Consulting, Berlin
Front Row Peers
Jesko Hirschfeld, Coordinator for Water and Land Management, Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW), Berlin
Patrick Cunningham, Bundesamt für Materialforschung, Berlin
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
Aedes Theme
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
Thomas Stellmach
Thomas Stellmach
Christian Kalytta
Christian Kalytta
Christian Veddeler
Christian Veddeler
Holger Wack
Holger Wack
Jesko Hirschfeld
Jesko Hirschfeld
Audience
Audience
Photos © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk
