GARTEN 133

The project was born out of a desire for more dialogue with each other and opportunities to try out the theory we had learned in practice, something we had been lacking during our studies, especially during covid. So eight of us got together and rented a small garden in Weimar to have a space for experimenting with construction and gardening. We are all architecture students, some of us with previous knowledge of woodworking, civil engineering or carpentry. We started by tidying up and planting the garden before looking for used building materials for a garden shed in Weimar and the surrounding area. For practical reasons, our first small project was to build a composting toilet, and then we started designing and building a new hut. As we worked, we got an idea of what it means to turn drawings on paper into reality and learnt how many steps there are between conceptual design and implementation.

It was important to us to build from regional recycled materials wherever possible, which is why we started by looking for materials in Weimar and the surrounding area.The only thing we had to buy new was timber for the construction.

​We also involved other students in the project in the form of participatory garden days and have repeatedly invited to evenings in the garden with a campfire or even a small concert to liven up the place and actually create a space to come together outside the university context.

As we all finished our bachelor's degrees in 2024, we handed the project over to a new group of students who are continuing to work on our vision.