Draw-Design-Build: Kindergarten Villa Honighut
As part of TU Berlin’s Summer University program, 15 students of diverse academic and professional backgrounds spent four weeks learning and co-working on the course “Draw-Design-Build”, dedicated to the transformative challenge of revitalising the grounds of a Berlin Kindergarten.´
This is a micro-scale design-build project that aims to deliver maximum benefits for all stakeholders within a tight timeframe and with a minimal budget.
Draw, Design, Build
The course is based on an analogue, hands-on approach to project development, starting from the initial site analysis, through the design processes, to the construction process itself - namely Draw, Design, Build.
The program is designed to deeply engage participants in Design, emphasising social responsibility while nurturing the growth of their creative, practical, and professional skills through hands-on drawing, designing and making. The primary educational objective of this course is to cultivate insightful decision-makers who are deeply aware of the imperative to proactively contribute to the creation of a balanced living environment - socially, culturally and environmentally. This endeavour aims not only to educate, but to stimulate a committed awareness of the need to promote sustainable communities for the future.
Images and Plans
Technical Description
This project focuses on improving existing features and areas within the Kindergarten premises and the development of new structures. The approach emphasizes sustainability by prioritizing reuse, recycling, upcycling, and refurbishment, all aimed at delivering optimal outcomes within a limited budget.
Guidance was provided by a professional carpenter Alex Tiller with expertise in on-the-job training, who oversaw the use of wood as the principal building material. The primary material comprised waste timber planks—partly warped or cracked —sourced from an outdoor furniture manufacturer. These planks were carefully sorted, with the most suitable segments selected for appropriate parts of the construction. Through this extensive reuse and upcycling process, approximately 70% of the wood utilized in the project was salvaged waste material.