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BUILDING BERLIN
from Intersight 25
by University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo
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Claire Birkemeier, Ciera Chamberlain, Warren Chen
Gregory Delaney
Summer 2022
Study Abroad, Berlin
BS Arch, MArch
How can one drawing represent a city’s culture, programmatic complexity, and architecture? The summer study abroad experience titled, "Building Berlin," placed students in a context characterized by radical political and urban transformation. As a city once ravaged by war, Berlin offers a rich setting few other European cities could match, immersing students in the layered histories of landscape, urbanism, and architecture. Embedded in another culture, both through lifestyle and architecturally, students developed a deep familiarity with key works of historic and contemporary architecture in Berlin.
“We were complete strangers in the beginning but through the tours and completely new learning environment, we all became close friends.”
- Ciera Chamberlain
Group site visits and urban exploration allowed students to construct thematic and conceptual linkages through discussions and presentations.
Developing an architectural vocabulary alongside a critical analysis of some of Berlin’s most famous sites aided students in translating these conversations into analytical drawings.
Additionally, students revisited sites they connected with and spent the day drawing the atmosphere, neighborhoods, landscapes, and of course, the built environment. Each student then assembled a portfolio of drawings in their own representation style, developed through iterative processes. These composite drawings took on a unique, collagelike character by stitching together plans, sections, and perspectives. The drawings later served as entry points to student-led discussions on urban intensity, transformation, and form, among other topics.
Alongside their adventures throughout Berlin, students enhanced their abilities to identify and interpret the architectural influences around them. Berlin’s past and contemporary architectural and urban assemblages gave them a greater understanding of our global metropolis.
