Arts Thread

Image credits: UdK Product Design 1. Sitcom, Charlotte Marabito / 2. Mastering the Mold, Laureanne Kootstra / 3. Familie Hempel, Marie Radke / 4. piPE, Marie Scheurer / 5. Towards a New Matter, Milan Friedrich / 6. WURM WERKSTATT, Katharina Bellinger

This year the BA Product design graduates from Berlin University of the Arts UdK presented their graduate show July 10-14 2019 under the title CIAO! The projects featured current topics such as sustainable materials, conceptual design, research in 3D printing and furniture design. ARTS THREAD takes a look at at what was on show.



Sitcom by Charlotte Marabito concerns pubic seating. Sitcom stands for “Sit & Communicate”, because this is what it’s all about. The round form of the benches facilitate a circular arrangement which enables discussion. Various and bigger formations can be built upon need. The design of the benches provides flexibility for use in many occasions, for example within workshops. Compared with conventional round benches Sitcom is mobile and stackable. Through the choice of using sustainable and new materials it is extremely weather-resistant and fully recyclable.



Mastering the Mold by Laureanne Kootstra combines digital and analog mold making. The Master Molds are designed in a way that speed up the creation of plaster molds. By digitizing the mold making process it can speed up the production of ceramics, create opportunities to easily outsource ceramic production and to make ceramics open source.

Two products were created from the project, Pot & Box. The Master Molds of Box were CNC milled and create a stackable pattern on the outside. When Box stands tall it takes the form of a stool, used for sitting although when turned horizontal it takes the form of a planter box and can be stacked, used as a vertical gardening system. The Master Molds of Pot are made with a 3D printer. This modular mold system creates different combinations of objects casted out of the same molds. Pots aesthetic reflect its unique processes.



Familie Hempel by Marie Radke is a Hommage on the classic pile of clothes on a chair. 'This Special Chair where you put clothes on which are already worn but still not ready for the washing machine. This chair looks like absolute chaos. But to be true: its pure organisation. The only problem is that you can not use it as a chair.

'Familie Hempel drags this kind of chair out of the grey area. The collection rebels against the pressure of a society which aims for a ‚Marie-Kondo-like‘ perfection. Familie Hempel provides space to be chaotic. The title is inspired by an old german saying, shouted out when somebody sees a messy room: „Bei dir sieht es ja aus wie bei Hempels unterm Sofa!“ („Your room looks like family Hempel’s place!“). It’s a collection of 4 members: a stool, a pouf, a bench, and a high seat, where you store clothes.

piPE by Marie Scheurer is a new style women's toilet designed to be used in semi-public areas. It is designed as a unit for installation in standardized single cabins. It gives the option to be used in a contactless way. Both the faucet, as well as the flushing are sensor-controlled. In addition, the WC part with the thin edge and the slight inclination can be used optimally in the contactless “skiing posture“. The strategy of draining sink water through the toilet tube avoids unnecessary flushing.



Towards a New Matter by Milan Friedrich is a material-based research project, in which denim fibres have been transformed through a recycling technique into a lightweight and sound absorbing panel material. Through rudimentary material manipulation techniques and the development of manufacturing processes, the textile fibre could be transformed into a new panel material. This biodegradable mono-material has been created without the need of adding a binding chemical, as it is entirely composed of natural resources and locally generated waste and scraps.

This manufacturing process has allowed recycled textile fibers to be converted into modular expandable elements that can be arranged within architectural spaces, into space-separating structures, thus generating spatial subdivisions or rooms within rooms, according to the user’s need. The resulted elements have a high strength and a stone-like aesthetic without loosing the warm and soft tactility of textiles.

Katharina Bellinger's WURM WERKSTATT is a fun educational toy: building huts, hiding in it, inventing landscapes, going on new trips every day - all as often as you want. Children experience the relationship between object and space and are encouraged to develop their own ideas and find expression for their fantastic inner world, both cognitively and motorically. Construction-based play can offer a wide range of benefits - creativity, fine motor skills and spatial imagination are thus actively influenced. From soft, lightweight perforated plates and worm-like to spherical connectors, they can build abstract and concrete objects by connecting, stacking, and pinning the individual components.


UdK Product Design BAs 2019: Emilia Knabe, Charlotte Marabito, Marie Scheurer, Sophie-Katharina Stanitzek, Marie Radke, Niklas Böll, Moriel Blau, Milan Friedrich, Laureanne Kootstra, Cathryn McAnespy, Katharina Bellinger.

Learn more from UdK Product Design from their Instagram and their school website page