Hybrid Identity @ Bauhaus University

Animal Club connects creatives, ecologists, biologists, artists, philosophers and other experts with professionals from the club scene to generate new concepts and develop new business models for a sustainable future of clubbing and culture.

Presentation, Workshop, Panel, Party @ Amsterdam Dance Event @ SEXYLAND World, Amsterdam, 16.00-24.00, 2022

Animal Club connects creatives, ecologists, biologists, artists, philosophers and other experts with professionals from the club scene to generate new concepts and develop new business models for a sustainable future of clubbing and culture.

Presentation, Workshop, Panel, Party @ Amsterdam Dance Event @ SEXYLAND World, Amsterdam, 16.00-24.00, 2022

The way people communicate and connect around the world today, is being radically redefined by digitalization. With the acceleration of digitization as one of the most obvious consequences of the pandemic, the use of digital tools is experiencing an unprecedented rise among arts and cultural institutions and practices.

Publication @ tanz Yearbook 2022, Germany, 15 August 2022

For the German Federal Cultural Foundation we developed Co-Creating Hybrid Culture that addresses the augmenting of physical cultural sites and practices through digital spaces via transdisciplinary co-creating events.

Research & Concept  @ German Federal Cultural Foundation, Halle an der Saale, Germany, 1 April 2021

Concept Development @ German Federal Cultural Foundation, Halle an der Saale, Germany, 1 April 2021

The workshop “Conflict Space” taking place at the International Symposium on Electronic Art ISEA2022 in Barcelona deals with the re-signification of a very contentious Franco monument and is part of the ‘Deep Space’ research on the politics of memory and heritage in the digital age.

Convers(at)ions engages creatively with exchanges over border phenomenology and performativity, it transforms negative spaces such as military demarcations and borders by adopting a ‘more-than-human’ perspective and taps into the potential of nature and environmental conservation activities.

What are engaging, inclusive, and sustainable hybrid formats and spaces for art and culture?

Hybrid Workshop “The Future is not Digital. Hybrid is the Future!” @ HoloLab – dive in Program for Digital Interaction, 13.30 – 18.00, 14 October 2021

In our globalized world the accelerating speed of socio-political and cultural change collides with the longue-durée of heritage sites and territories. As social and political contexts around places with a public meaning change, controversies often arise.

Publication Re-Charting Places @ Contested Spaces – Concerted Projects: Designs for Vulnerable Memories, LetteraVentidue Edizioni, Syracuse, Italy, April 2021

Focussing on rereading the cityscape, granting visibility and recognition to voices and histories previously silenced, the program focuses on fostering memory-making and processing through the development of innovative, participatory methods that do not physically touch the spaces involved.

Club Futures is an international laboratory with the aim of developing new perspectives for the club and cultural scene.

Exchange, Ideation, Research, Panels, Parties, Prototyping, Workshops @ Club Futures, Hybrid Space Lab, Berlin & Amsterdam, 2022~2023

Reboot Culture experiments with collective cultural experiences deeply rooted in urban space, combining public physical space and public digital space. Through hybrid formats and the support of a mobile, modular media infrastructure, the program engages with practices that can make culture ‘go-round’ in its hybridity, embedding cultural co-creation in the city fabric. With floating stage and studio facilities at the riversides Reboot Culture merges (urban) landscapes with Hybrid Staging, developing a strong symbolic momentum for the rebooting of culture.

As museums and cultural institutions face the prospect of a 1.5mt-apart life and economy, how to offer meaningful visitors’ experiences whilst keeping afloat of financial needs has become a most pressing question.

With its physical distancing measures, the COVID-19 pandemic is destroying public space as we know it. The current crisis creates the necessity – and emergency – to rethink cultural space.

Human activity and its far-reaching interactions have always transformed territories by moving people, plants, goods and animals. As such, territories have become richly stratified – and interactions are always mutual and two-way. Countries and cities projecting their influence elsewhere have, in turn, been transformed by external inputs.

By unlocking the potential laying at the intersection between arts, technology, memory studies and sciences, the workshop has cracked open the interwoven, historically painful meanings of the monument, envisioning its possible futures, once Franco’s remains will be exhumed from the site.

The “Future Narratives and Immersive Experiences” symposium addresses the challenges posed by these developments by bringing together interdisciplinary co-creators in the audiovisual sector, companies with a background in media, VR / AR / MR, games, 3D sound, in the staging of productions, in communication and advertising as well as cultural and heritage institutions and players from other fields with the urge of delivering high-quality storytelling in the digital era.

As a consequence of the more than 65 years long near absence of human activity, the Korean DMZ  land strip has become a verdant 984 square kilometers nature reserve where endangered flora and fauna species had the chance to regain space.
The Korean DMZ has become a testimony to unintentional beauty. Thriving vegetation and undisturbed wildlife now cover the painful, conflict-born void along the military demarcation.
Over the last few years, it has gathered international attention due to its symbolic value as well as to individual and bilateral bids by North and South Korea securing UNESCO Biosphere status for areas of the DMZ.

What’s the future like? For professionals in the exhibition business this is a very relevant and difficult  problem. Because the future does not give us any objects yet.

Deep Space is a long-term investigative program initiated to deal with politics of memory,controversial space and monuments, digitalization and heritage.”Deep Space: Re-signifying Valle de los Caídos” was initiated and conceptualized in February 2018 by Hybrid Space Lab as an element of the long-term “Deep Space” exploration and intervention program.

For a week, from 8 October till 15 October 1999, a boat descended the Rhine, the archetypal symbol of connection between Germany and the Netherlands, as a floating media-laboratory, from Cologne on its way to Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

Floating Media Laboratory, Cologne to Amsterdam, 8-15 October 1999

A sort of staircase enveloped in jungle thickets, a waterfall and food offerings on the way up to the roof of Berlin’s city castle.

Publication @ RBB, Berlin, 5 February 2023

As adventurous as Humboldt himself: The design by the architecture firm Hybrid Space Lab for the Berlin Palace.

Publication by Julia Weiss @ Tagesspiegel, Berlin, 31 January 2023

Article by Sílvia Marimon Molas in the leading Catalan newspaper ARA on how Spanish authorities are relocating symbols of the dictatorship.
“It (Augmented Reality app) would make visible what Franco wanted to hide and would bring out everything that is hidden and buried in the Valley, transforming the totalitarian story into a polyphonic memory,” says Vogelaar.
This could be a tool as long as there is no physical transformation of the Valley, but archaeologist Alfredo González Rubial, who has excavated Cuelgamuros to trace the lives of prisoners who did slave work there, believes the monument cannot be left as it is.

Article by Sílvia Marimon Molas @ ARA Catalan Newspaper, Barcelona, Spain, 16 July 2022

We need a fresh, radically innovative and solutions-oriented approach to address the various forms of contested heritage sites in a way that is fit for the 21st century: Article on Hybrid Space Lab’s work on contested monuments, is published in Italy.

Re-Charting Places  @ Contested Spaces – Concerted Projects: Designs for Vulnerable Memories, LetteraVentidue Edizioni, Italy, April 2021

Hjärnstorm, the Swedish independent journal of art, literature, philosophy published an article on Deep Space.

Deep Space @ Art Journal Hjärnstorm, Stockholm, Sweden, 5 January 2021

Hybrid Space Lab analyzed “Valley of the Fallen” near Madrid – the pompous tomb for the fascist dictator Francisco Franco. They suggest leaving it unchanged but covering it with a new critical layer. Using augmented reality, they want to make hidden layers visible and write history from the victims’ perspective.

Deep Space @ Archithese, Switzerland, 25 November 2020

The Valle de los Caídos is highly controversial as a memorial of the fallen of the Spanish Civil War: for a long time, it mainly served the glorification of the dictator Franco. The “Deep Space” project wants to show visitors also the site’s dark side.

Interview @ Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Germany, 6 August 2020

Berlin’s contribution to the debate on monuments: What to do with Franco’s mausoleum?
Do not destroy it, says the Berlin office Hybrid Space Lab as it lays out ideas for a new way of dealing with the controversial Franco memorial in the “Valley of the Fallen” near Madrid.

Article @ Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin, Germany 16 July 2020

Monuments are Vehicles of Meaning. Elizabeth Sikiaridi and Frans Vogelaar research how to negotiate monuments’ narratives and how to bring criticism.

Interview @ TAZ, Berlin, Germany 14 Juli 2020

Humboldt Jungle and Humboldt Volcano are mentioned by author and historian Merlijn Schoonenboom in the book on identity “Een kleine geschiedenis van de grootse Duitse worsteling”.

Book “A small history of the great German struggle” @ Publisher Querido, Amsterdam, 5 December 2019

Hybrid Space Lab plan is in line with the undoubtedly most important question for contemporary cultural identity: the relationship between tradition and innovation. Their idea of ​​a growing green world around the castle is the portrayal of the idea of ​​tradition as a dynamic phenomenon.

Publication @ A small history of the biggest German struggle, Merlijn Schoonenboom, 11 November 2019

The Valley of the Fallen without Franco: the fate of the other 33,847 dead”
This is the title of the article by journalist Sílvia Marimom Molas in the Catalan Newspaper ARA on the future of the Valle de los Caídos with an interview on Deep Space.

In the article “Without Franco, what to do with the colossal Valle de los Caídos?” for HuffPost, Anthony Berthelier describes the project “Deep Space: re-signifying Valle de los Caídos” with its creative approach for addressing controversial history and contested heritage.

Publication”Without Franco, what to do with the colossal Valle de los Caídos?” @ Huffington Post, France, 24 October 2019

The main Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, published an article on the Green party questions on the implementation of the Humboldt Jungle raised in the Bundestag, the German parliament.
“And in order to honor their name, the Greens asked for the “state of the considerations (…), a greenery, a so-called Humboldt Jungle, to be installed”. The brief reply: “Further measures on the facades are not provided.”

Publication @ Tagesspiegel, Germany, 19 July 2019

The Valley of the Fallen is a large memorial erected near Madrid in the mountain range of the Sierra de Guadarrama on the initiative of the dictator Francisco Franco. It is dedicated to the fallen of the Spanish Civil War. Within the scope of the project “Deep Space” it is proposed to transform the monument by digital means.

Publication @ Magazine for Architecture and City Marlowes, Germany, 16 July 2019

One of the “questions” concerning the Humboldt Forum that the German Green Party (Fraktion BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN) put before the German Parliament, the “Deutscher Bundestag” on 2 July 2019 was:
Question 22: “What is the current state of the considerations on the part of the Federal Government for the greening of the facades, to install a so-called Humboldt Jungle?”

Publication Answer 19/11306, @ Deutscher Bundestag, Germany, 19 July 2019

Article “We come for the place, not for Franco “: El Valle de los Caídos, a tourist site almost like the others” by journalist Juliette Campion, France Televisions.

Publication @ France TV, Paris, 10 June 2019

Article “Creative Crossovers: Negotiating Past and Future” in the University of Southern California Public Diplomacy Magazine issue summer 2019.

Article @ Public Diplomacy Magazine, University of California, 7 June 2019

Deep Space is an international project to re-think the burial site of former dictator Franco.Deep Space, presented at the Goethe Institut in Madrid, uses augmented reality to change the totalitarian nature of the Spanish Civil War monument the Valley of the Fallen.

Publication @ El País, Madrid,  6 June 2019

Working on places of conflict can be extremely challenging. As soon as a polarised discussion is addressed with a proposal, it is bound to cause some sort of backlash by at least one of the affected parties. There is no clear way out of it. Or is there? Architecture practice Hybrid Space Lab takes a rather unique approach for the re-signification of the controversial site of Valle de los Caídos in Madrid, the burial ground of Spain’s dictator Francisco Franco and 33,000 victims of the country’s brutal civil war.

Article by Elena Rossoni @ Bnieuws TU Delft, The Netherlands, 5 February 2019

Frans Vogelaar wants to give the Valley of the Fallen in Spain, one of the most controversial places in the world, new meaning.
How does the founder of the Berlin design lab and think tank Hybrid Space Lab think to do that with use of digital technology?

The Valley of the Fallen, the shrine of Franco’s dictatorship, is still dividing Spain. A workshop wants to crossfade it with new projections.

Article by Paul Ingendaay @ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany, 1 November 2018

Catalan journalist Sílvia Marimon Molas describes in her article “The Gaze of European Experts” in the Catalan newspaper ARA on 31st October 2018 the workshop “Deep Space: Re-signifying Valle de los Caídos” participants’ visit to the site and the necessity of a change of the monument’s narrative.

Article by Sílvia Marimon @ ARA, Spain, 31 October 2018

In the chapter “International Developments; The Schlossplatz and the Museum Island in Berlin” Humboldt Volcano is mentioned as the example of the rethinking of the Humboldt Forum.

Publication, The Vienna Hofburg since 1918,  @ Institut für kunst- und musikhistorische Forschungen, Austrian Academy of Sciences , 2018

How is Berlin becoming a socially just smart city?
The Make City Festival discussed ideas like a Volcano at the Humboldt Forum designed by Hybrid Space Lab.

Publication @ Garten + Landschaft, Germany, 15 August 2018

The “MakeCity 2018” architecture festival with 250 events in 18 days aims to make architecture in the capital more transparent and invites people to join in the conversation and help develop it

Article @ YEAST, Germany 15 June 2018

With the increasing urbanization and the virulent climate crisis, interest in nature is also growing. In various formats, such as talks, discussions, guided tours, exhibitions, workshops, open-house events and more, the public is invited to think of green and gray infrastructure in the city. Something like this: what if we were to look at urban space from the perspective of animals and plants?

Publication @ Baunetz, Germany, 15 June 2018

The “MakeCity 2018” architecture festival with 250 events in 18 days aims to make architecture in the capital more transparent and invites people to join in the conversation and help develop it.

Publication @ Berliner Kurier, Berlin, 14 June 2018

Berlin urgently needs new ideas, impulses and visions.

Publication by Iris Braun @ TIP, Berlin, 14 June 2018

Rüdiger Schaper, author and head of the cultural department of the Berlin “Tagesspiegel” presents his biography on Alexander von Humboldt and discusses Hybrid Space Lab’s  Humboldt Volcano project during our Studio Talk @ MakeCity Festival. Moderation is by Merlijn Schoonenboom, historian and journalist.

Reading, Presentation & Discussion, biography on Alexander von Humboldt and GRÜNtopia, Studio Talk, @ Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Klosterstraße 50, Berlin, 19.30-21.00, 15 June 2018

The Swiss architectural magazine Archithese published “Humboldt-Dschungel” as part of the issue on “Ruines”.
How would it be if the Berlin City Palace grew huge trees, sprouted up exotic plants and toppled a waterfall?
The Think Tank Hybrid Space Lab presents a refreshingly ruinous idea in the discussion about the controversial reconstruction.

Publication, 15 Januari 2018, Archithese, Swiss architectural magazine  Humboldt Dschungel” as part of “Ruines”

Hybrid Space Lab developed Humboldt Volcano the utopia of an extension to the Humboldt Forum: a vertical jungle consisting of terraces, a roof garden and a winter garden, referring to the explorer Alexander von Humboldt.

Social Design Award @ Spiegel, Germany, 29 September-26 October 2017,

Only a few construction projects in Germany are more controversial than the rebuilding of the city palace in Berlin. With this daring plan, the Dutch professor Frans Vogelaar manages to break open the jammed discussion.

Publication @ duitslandnieuws.nl, 15 September 2017

Only a few construction projects in Germany are more controversial than the rebuilding of the City Palace in Berlin. With a bold plan, the Dutch professor Frans Vogelaar knows how to break the stuck debate.In the heart of Berlin one of the most controversial buildings of the moment stands out: the rebuilding of the Berliner Stadtschloss.

Publication @ Duitslandnieuws, Berlin, 17 September 2017

Rüdiger Schaper, head of the cultural section of the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel presents the Humboldt Volcano in an article entitled “Welcome to the Jungle – rescheduling is not forbidden, there is still time. The article, which gives an overview of the current discussion about the Humboldt Forum, is illustrated with a large-scale image of Humboldt Volcano. Humboldt Volcano acts as a symbol and icon for a better Humboldt Forum.

Humboldt Volcano @ Der Tagesspiegel, 1 September 2017

In Deutsche Bauzeitung the author Bernhard Schulz, who is editor in the culture edition of Tagesspiegel Berlin publishes an article on the reconstruction of the Berlin City Palace. The article also refers to Humboldt Volcano.

Article Fake Architecture, Bernhard Schulz @ DB Deutsche Bauzeitung, Germany, 1 September-1 October 2017

Reconciling supporters and opponents of “Humboldt Forum”, the Humboldt Jungle and Humboldt Volcano received a strong positive reception in the Berlin cultural world.

24 January 2017, @ Kathimerini, Greek Newspaper

The special art edition of DER TAGESSPIEGEL, the German newspaper, publishes interview on the changing role of design in times of crisis.

Publication Design Zone by Bettina Homann @ DER TAGESSPIEGEL Kunst 2016, Berlin, 2 September 2016

Berliner Kurier, the Berlin newspaper, publishes an article by Stefanie Hildebrandt on Humboldt Dschungel.
A new green proposal for the design of the facade of the Berlin city Palace causes a lot of rustling in the urban jungle and the forest of the press.

Humboldt Dschungel @ Berliner Kurier, 20 February 2016

DIE ZEIT, the German weekly newspaper publishes an article by Dr. Werner Bloch on Humboldt Dschungel.
Berlin discusses a big idea: the Humboldt Dschungel.
It is the idea to elicit from the bold cultural monster, the Humboldt Forum, something more playful, rampant, outlandish…Is Humboldt Dschungel the better Humboldt Forum?

Humboldt Dschungel @ DIE ZEIT, 16 February 2016

German radio presents interviews and discussions on Hybrid Space Lab’s Humboldt Jungle proposal for the future of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin.

Humboldt Dschungel @ MDR Figaro & WDR3 & Deutschlandfunk & Ö1 ORF1 & SWR2 & SR2, Deutschland, 11-19 Februar 2016

At the Berlin Castle, where the baroque façade is still missing, “Humboldt Jungle” is to grow.
On Tuesday evening, the project initiators spoke to experts and representatives of the various castle initiatives about possible implementations.

Humboldt Dschungel @ TAZ, Berlin, 8 July 2015