“Bauhaus build(s) better!” - Hybrid MediaArchitecture Installation to visualize survey data regarding the climate emergency
Project information
submitted by
Patricia Berchtold
Mentors
Prof. Martin Hesselmeier, Dr.-Ing. Sabine Zierold
Faculty:
Architecture and Urbanism,
Media
Degree programme:
MediaArchitecture (Master of Science (M.Sc.))
Type of project presentation
Final project
Semester
Sommersemester2025
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Available during summaery opening hours
Project description
The following Master Thesis approaches Research, Concept and Design of an interactive MediaArchitecture installation, addressing climate change awareness at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. How can a physical-digital installation visualize emotional and perceptual gaps between students and the university regarding climate action, and foster dialogue?
A university-wide survey captures emotional and engagement-based responses to climate change from students and employees. Unprecedented participation, including hundreds of left messages, reveals mutual frustration and highlights that students feel unsupported, while the university perceives disengagement. Both sides express similar emotions (grief, hope, urgency), though disconnected in perception.
The Bauhaus Build(s) Better hybrid Installation visualizes those voices through a kinetic “breathing lawn” and a matching augmented reality layer, aiming to fill the perception gap. Technical design and physical prototyping of a pixelated sod matrix are simulating breath, providing the campus a lung for the climate. The concept of a virtual layer displays survey quotes as glowing, rising strings, directly responding through participation. The installation acts as a performative space of shared grief and empowerment—making invisible but shared climate emotions tangible, encouraging participation, and challenging the university to reimagine its role in climate communication.
Files and presentations
- Berchtold_Patricia_MA_Thesis_Appendix_I_Survey_Outcome.pdf
- Berchtold_Patricia_MA_Thesis_Booklet_web.pdf