Last Saturday, The Contemporary Food Lab launched its latest project: Little Wood, a temporary urban garden smack dab in the middle of Mitte Berlin, with an interdisciplinary workshop program guided by leading thinkers from various fields who will be discussing various topics from environmental technology, to urban food production, and biomimicry in design and architecture. As the city’s landscape rapidly evolves, ushering in a new period of urban growth, it is refreshing to see many Berliners finding creative ways to integrate nature into the urban experience.
On opening day, visitors were invited to tour the garden, pick their own vegetables, bake their own bread, and make their own wurst—all in the company of horticulture and culinary experts. Starting at noon each day for the next month, the quaint space on Invalidenstraße will be open to the public, with picnic baskets catered by Katz Orange available for purchase at the on-site solar powered kiosk designed by Graft Architects.
Photos by Leda Li Pira
Œ went through Little Wood’s full program list, picking our top three event recommendations:
Biomimicry and Bioinspiration as Architectural Game Changers
Wednesday, August 13 at 7pm – 10pm
The event is an interactive, hands-on workshop guided by architect Lukas Kronawitter, Dr. Arndt Pechstein and Dr. Prateep Beed from Biomimicry Germany, urban and architecture think tank Terreform one. The workshop will explore the influence of natural systems on architectural materials and design innovations.
Food Court curated by Carson Chan
Thursday, August 14 at 7pm – 10pm
For those looking to enjoy some great food in good company, 032c’s editor-at-large Carson Chan will host an event this thursday, serving dishes from regions currently fraught with political unrest. The event will bring together chefs from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Tibet, who will serve up summer recipes from their native countries.
Éxitos de Verano – Design Workshop with Jürgen Mayer H.
Sunday, August 17 at 4pm – 7pm
Register early and come ready to eat and compete! Berlin-based architecture and designer Jürgen Mayer H. invites you to create a model habitat out of tasty materials. In Little Wood’s own words, this is the “summer version of a ginger bread house competition.”
Little Wood
Invaliden Straße 5
10115 Berlin
Full program information can be found here.