The Constructive Sample with Sky (Testkörper mit Himmel) exemplifies an approach of the "Constructive Experiment" that understands constructive design as a performative, material-led process – one that integrates making as an essential act of thinking.

The workshop-seminar was part of an interdisciplinary teaching format of Prof. Elisabeth Endres (IBEA), Prof. Helga Blocksdorf (IKON), and V-Prof. David Moritz (IMDR). It focused on working with material as a constructive partner, opening a space for an aesthetic that remains in motion – an evolving figure continuously tested through the process itself.

Through a collective building process, a rammed earth body emerged on site – formed in the rhythm of the ramming, layer by layer. The formwork was reconfigured into a light roof structure and seating. The birch bark roof arches in waves above the massive earthen sculpture – a poetic counterweight of lightness and density.

Design decisions were negotiated directly with the material. Each step shaped not only the built form but also a deepened understanding of planning, construction, and their intrinsic forces – between positive and negative space, communal action, and shared responsibility.
The aesthetic of the structure lies equally in the visibility of the experimental process itself – shaped in dialogue with site, weather, and body. Open to deviation, ready for transformation. The 1:1 experience enabled a mode of knowledge generation beyond representation: tactile, spatial, and rooted in process driven decision-making.

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Fotos: David Moritz, Dieter Beckert