greendesign 15.0 Symposium: RE:LOKAL – Closing Cycles

9 April 2026, 9:30 a.m.

Aula, Weißensee Academy of Art and Design Berlin, Bühringstraße 20, 13086 Berlin

The symposium re:lokal – closing cycles marks the start of the interdisciplinary design project at greenlab, which addresses the question of how regional resources and production methods can contribute to sustainable, cycle-oriented economic and lifestyle models.

In the context of our metabolism with the world and the transition to a circular economy, designers can play a pivotal role in shaping tomorrow's product culture from the ground up, starting with the use of resources. The symposium therefore focuses on local and regional potential: What raw materials are available to us in our immediate environment? How can materials be thought of in terms of cycles, waste be used as a resource, and production processes be organised in a decentralised manner? And what role does design play in enabling new forms of self-efficacy, community, and responsibility?

Experts from the fields of design, research and practice will discuss their approaches along the three main themes of cellulose, wool and microorganisms. The spectrum ranges from paludiculture and the use of plant-based raw materials to new processes for previously unused local wool and working with microorganisms in fermentation, dyeing and material development.

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Programme

9:30 a.m. – welcome

Jasmin Jouhar – moderator

Dr Angelika Richter – opening

Agora Agrar

Katharina van Bronswijk

10:20 a.m. – cellulose

Bettina Tacke

Swantje Furtak

Stefanie Silbermann

Esther Stögerer & Jannis Kempkens

Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten

12:05 p.m. – lunch break

1:20 p.m. – wool

Maxie Grüter

Fabienne Rako

Maxi Kneiseler & Katja Schmidt

Mareen Baumeister

2:40 p.m. – coffee/tea break

3:00 p.m. – microorganisms

Malu Lücking

Birke Weber

Emma Sicher

4:10 p.m. – End

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Host or Publisher greenlab - laboratory for sustainable design strategies