Mon., 08.06.2026, 18:30 Scholars from the Urban Theory Lab at the University of Chicago and the Habitat Unit at TU Berlin – in dialogue with leading voices in critical urban geography and political ecology – reflect on the socio-ecological entanglements linking cities to distant geographies of extraction, production, circulation and waste. Partners: Urban Theory Lab, Habitat Unit
Rural Rebellion
Accompanying the opening of the Aedes exhibition Rural Rebellion by Christoph Hesse Architects, David Basulto, founder of ArchDaily, will lead a dialogue between Chinese architect Xu Tiantian and Christoph Hesse. Partners: Christoph Hesse Architects, Berlin/Korbach
Urban-Rural Assembly:
The closing conference of the Urban-Rural Assembly project will explore new approaches for addressing the complex interdependencies between urban and rural areas. Partners: Habitat Unit, TU Berlin
Stadt.Land.Camp.
A Lab Talk in collaboration with ANCB partner Erwin Hymer Group on the future of travel, mobile working and flexible living.
Partners: TU Berlin; Leibniz Universität Hannover; HafenCity Universität Hamburg; Erwin Hymer Group
Reinventing Rural Regions
The speakers present examples from their work and research on rural revitalisation and holistic strategies for landscapes and small towns in China, Germany and the United States.
Partners: Yale University, New Haven
Under Repair: Can Architecture Mend Places?
An ANCB Lab Talk taking place on the occasion of the Aedes exhibition Jinyun Quarries – The Quarry as Stage to investigate the effect and meaning of architectural processes for landscape and place development.
Partners: Xu Tiantian, Beijing; Xiandu Scenic Area
Integrated Urban-Rural Planning and Governance
In China, and many other countries across the world, rapid urbanisation processes have produced unevenly developed landscapes made up of urban growth centres and disadvantaged hinterlands. The first international conference within the framework of the Sino-German research and development project Urban-Rural Assembly (URA) takes this as a starting point towards a global exploration of the political, ecological and social relevance of integrated approaches in urban-rural planning and governance.
Partners: Habitat Unit, TU Berlin; CAUP, Tongji University, Shanghai
Christoph Hesse und Ritter Schumacher im Gespräch
The architects Christoph Hesse as well as Jon Ritter and Michael Schumacher present their projects and work in rural areas.
New Space for Built Experiments in Rural China
In China, where dynamic urbanisation and globalisation processes have been taking place, the question arises: what happens to the countryside?
Partners: Li Xiangning, Shanghai
Regions on the Rise. Culture and Architecture as Drivers for Rural Development
The symposium invites international policymakers, architects, planners, researchers, economists, curators and related professionals to the successful case study area of Songyang to share and archive experiences, strategies and new ideas for the development of the 'global rural region' of the future.
Partners: Songyang County Committee, Songyang County People's Government
