COURSE STRUCTURE

LIVING LAB is practice-based project format, in which students develop systems for regional value chains in material and construction. This knowledge is transfered into prototypical applications in architecture. The LIVING LAB is characterized by field research, project-based organisation and design-thinking methods. The project takes place in close cooperation with regional project partners from the public sector, the building industry or cultural institutions.

For the design studio WOOD OBERPFALZ we team up with the new cooperative Holzversorgung Oberpfalz eG. The aim of the cooperative is to organise the supply chain, starting with the local forest farmers, the sawmill, to the local carpenter. Thus generating fair pricing in the entire value chain as well stabilising the supply of wood products. The students immerse themselves in the everyday practice of the individual nodes in the supply chain, enter into direct dialogue with the stakeholders from politics, forestry and the construction industry, learn to understand process flows and operational planning, and are enabling to identify possible opportunities in the system.

In collaboration with the design agency Living Systems we translate the experience and knowledge into transferable local architectural applications. We develop specific designs from the existing context and materials on site. During visits to forest farmers, sawmills and carpentry shops, the students conduct field research on site and precisely analyse the system of the supply chain. The local experts are in direct exchange with the students. How can dependencies on the timber industry be reduced and regional production potentials strengthened? What does sustainable and contemporary forest management look like? Using design-think methodologies, students develop viable ideas and solutions based on the collected assumptions and observations and materialize and implement them in architectural applications.

In preparation to this collaborative project all participants depart on October 25th with the night-train to a hands-on workshop to the mountain village of Olevano Romano near Rome. Throughout the semester students meet experts in the field. The students organising a concluding event presenting the outcome to project partners, policy makers, and the public.
 

FRAMEWORK BY

Prof. Niklas Fanelsa, Jana Wunderlich with 
Holzversorgung Oberpfalz eG
Living Systems
https://materialcultures.org
https://www.md-2.eu
Experts from the wood industry

ADDITIONAL COURSE

The following courses are recommended in addition to this course:
Ringvorlesung TUM.wood - From tree to house
Naturbaustoffe
Architectural Design Thinking 

PRESS REVIEW

Ursula Sowa MdL Fraktion GRÜNE im Landtag von München Regionale Holzversorgung - Schein oder Sein?
Baunetz Campus Regional wirtschaften: Das Design-Studio Wood Oberpfalz
proHolz Bayern Wood Oberpfalz Systems and Prototypes for Regional Value Chains