Mirko
Winkel

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Mirko Winkel is the coordinator of the mLAB. The artist and curator teaches at the University of Bern and other places with the aim of synthesizing art with scientific research and socio-political concerns.

Susan
Thieme

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Susan Thieme is professor of Critical Sustainability Studies at the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern. She brought the Global Science Film Festival to Bern and co-developed the Social Learning Video Method. She is co-founder of the mLAB.  MORE

Carolin
Schurr

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Carolin Schurr is professor of Social and Cultural Geography at the University of Bern. As a feminist geographer, she has developed and experimented with affectual and visual methods to grasp the emotional effects of globalization processes on our intimate lives. She is co-founder of the mLAB.  MORE

Alexander
Vorbrugg

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Alexander Vorbrugg is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in Critical Sustainability Studies at the University of Bern. His research interests include visual forms of research and science communication. He is part of the coordination group of the mLAB. MORE

Laura
Perler

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Laura Perler is a postdoctoral researcher in Social and Cultural Geography at the University of Bern. In her research she investigates inequalities in relation to reproductive technologies and the Swiss asylum system. In her projects she uses audiovisual approaches and collaborates with artists. Together with Mirko Winkel, she is currently organizing a traveling exhibition on egg donation. She is part of the coordination group of the mLAB. MORE

Adrien
Mestrot

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Adrien Mestrot is a professor in Soil Science at the University of Bern. Part of his research topics is analyzing the biogeochemistry of soils under global change to improve environmental health and food production.  MORE

Stefan
Brönnimann

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Stefan Brönnimann is a professor in Climatology at the University of Bern. His research focuses on weather and climate reconstruction, climate models, climate dynamics, effects of volcanic eruptions on climate and climate and society interactions. MORE

Sinje
Grenzdörffer

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Sinje Grenzdörffer (she/her) is a Postdoc researcher in Economic Geography and Transformation Studies at the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern. Her research explores the transformative potentials of economic practices and structures in the light of liveable presents and futures. Her focus is on transdisciplinary and transformative methods and formats of knowledge creation and scientific communication.

Prisca
Pfammatter

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Prisca Pfammatter (she/her) is a PhD student in Critical Sustainability Studies at the Institute of Geography at the University of Bern. Her research explores the experiences of queer farmworkers in Switzerland, using dance-based methodologies to examine the intersections of gender, sex, sexuality, and social sustainability in agriculture.

Sarah
Hartmann

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Sarah Hartmann is a Postdoc student in Critical Sustainability Studies at the University of Bern. Her research looks at issues around work, transnational mobilities and future transformations in healthcare from a critical sustainability perspective. MORE

Luca
Tschiderer

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Luca Tschiderer is a PhD student in Critical Sustainability Studies at the University of Bern. His research focuses on alternative practices of work in health- and care related contexts. As part of his PhD project he uses social learning videos as a participatory method towards workers inquiry. MORE

Johanna
Paschen

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Johanna Paschen is a PhD student in Critical Sustainability Studies at the University of Bern. Her research interests include social and environmental justice, transdisciplinarity and artistic research. In cooperation with the Academy of the Arts Bern, she is involved with the research project EcoArtLab. MORE

Elisabeth
Militz

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Elisabeth Militz is an Assistant Professor for Social and Digital Geographies at the University of Innsbruck. As a feminist political and cultural geographer, her focus lies on global/intimate relations and digital transformations. She experiments with affectual and feminist digital methodologies for human geographies. MORE

Nora
Komposch

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Nora Komposch is a PhD student and assistant in Social and Cultural Geography at the University of Bern. Her research interests are geographies of the body, care and reproduction, migration and labor, and politics of the global intimate. MORE

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Building Together

Art-Science-Collaboration
Baukultur
ChildrenGeographies
Sustainability
Collaboration
Education
Carolin Schurr
Mirko Winkel
Participation

This project explores how children and young people can grow into an active and responsible role in architectural and urban planning processes. It starts from the premise that participation is central to shaping attitudes towards social and ecological justice, and that sustainable urban development must address not only the careful use of resources but also the socio-cultural dimensions of the built environment. Based on participatory research, the project asks how children and young people imagine a sustainable and just building culture in their own living environments, and which goals, contents, and methods are needed for a sustainable, participatory building culture education in schools. A children’s and youth advisory board accompanies the process, while BauKulturLabs in different locations test ideas and findings in practice. 

The project will result in a handbook for building culture education and a method kit with playful elements. While the handbook provides foundational knowledge for teachers and building culture educators, the BauKulturLabs in schools work with artistic and spatial research methods to collaboratively develop scenarios for a sustainable building culture. Running from 2025 to 2029 and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the project is carried out by a transdisciplinary team spanning building culture education, architecture, art education, art, geography, and civil society practice. 
At the mLAB, Institute of Geography, University of Bern, the project involves Carolin Schurr, Eva Chen, and Mirko Winkel. Further project partners are Gila Kolb, Lea Weniger, Andreas Schäli, Eveline Althaus, Marta Brkovic Dodig, and Anna Pontais. Together, they bring expertise from geography, education, architecture, art, and applied research into a shared effort to rethink Baukultur from the perspectives of children and young people.