How Berlin's Floating University Is Creating a Vision for the Future
![The Floating University](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/20x11/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2.webp)
Tempelhof Airport, now one of Berlin’s most iconic abandoned spaces, was built in the 1920s. Today, this forgotten place is the site of the Floating University, a temporary structure and visionary think-tank of artists, architects and researchers, bringing together minds from 20 different schools.
The Floating University structure, which went up in May of this year, is deemed ‘an inner-city, off-shore laboratory for collective, experimental learning’. Along with the huge mass of concrete that formed the airfield, a water basin was created to capture the rainwater that doesn’t get absorbed by the ground. Since it opened, it has been hosting six-month semester programmes, as well as a series of workshops and events open to the public that include everything from water rituals and thought exchanges to building for sustainability.
![The floating university near Tempelhofer Feld](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/1.webp)
The central feature of the structure is its water filtering system, that takes dirty rainwater from a special basin and cleans it to irrigation-quality; it is then used to water the impressive tomato garden. Initiated by the Raum Laboratory Berlin, the space itself is a vision of sustainability and a prototype of the future, demonstrating what would happen if humanity dealt with the ecological and excess waste crisis the planet is currently battling.
![Explaining how water from the basin is cleaned and reused](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/3.webp)
![The central water filtering system](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/4.webp)
The Floating University Symposium aims to brainstorm, test and revise habitual urban living practices through participatory design as a solution for environmental challenges. In April, a collective effort was made by students and teachers from Berlin and the rest of Europe to co-create the campus; the current learning spaces, performative laboratory tower, sustainable toilets, bar and kitchen were all built from scratch.
![The water levels of the basin fluctuate](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/5.webp)
After successful spring and summer sessions, the Fall Open Weeks are currently underway and will culminate in a closing party on September 15. The workshops are open to anyone who is interested and cost €10, and bookings can be made online.
![Morning yoga on the platform before one of the workshops](https://cdn-v2.theculturetrip.com/10x/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/6.webp)
Find the Floating University Symposium at Lilienthalstraße, 10965 Berlin-Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany.