ClimArt
Raising awareness and mobilizing to increase urban climate resilience through artistic interventions (reallabor)
2023 - 2025
The Center for Art and Urbanistics (ZK/U) in the former Moabit freight station is surrounded by a public park. Stadtgarten Moabit and ZK/U are a cross-generational cultural and action space, directly affected by the consequences of climate change. Long droughts, extreme heat and heavy rain events have a negative impact on the flora and fauna of the public spaces and lead to restrictions on art activities on and in the building. The expansion of ZK/U, which was completed in 2025, included new workshop spaces, as well as the creation of an urban stage on the roof terrace that is visible from afar. As part of this re-development, ZK/U addressed its own climate impact through concrete, artistic interventions and prototypes, actively involving the users of the park and the building in the development and implementation, and continues to sensitise them to the current and future challenges through a course of artistic prototypes for adaptation to climate change, test mobilising proposals for action, documented them in a low-threshold manner and made them accessible to a broad public.
In cooperation with Berlin Senate for Culture, a neighbourhood partner, StadtManufaktur Berlin (Reallaborzentrum of the TU Berlin), the civic science project Hiveeyes and various local and national partners, artistic prototypes were created for the concrete adaptation of ZK/U to extreme heat, drought and heavy rain: a green curtain became a symbol for innovative building cooling, self-constructed sensor sets created by media artists allow trees and bees to communicate about their condition and demand care by citizens. Multi-media water sculpture raises awareness of rain and lack thereof, useful plants cool the building and nourish the building users, a continuous communication programme with performances, workshops, conferences, podcasts, an artistic ideas competition and a course of action promoted a mutual exchange of knowledge between citizens and science. More information on the various actions can be found below.
The overall project aimed to demonstrate model, cooperative and sustainable climate adaptation measures and to test their transferability to other existing institutions. The artistic works stimulate a critical debate and create awareness for upcoming challenges. The project communicates that the development of a citizen-centered climate adaptation competence leads to greater acceptance and active participation in the implementation of measures, in addition to socially positive effects. In cooperation with StadtManufaktur Berlin, the real-lab center of TU Berlin, the project made parts of the concept regionally and internationally visible and available as transferable transformation knowledge. At the same time, the project acted as a laboratory and stage for artists working in the fields of 'climate justice', 'relational aesthetics' and 'public art'. The project benefitted from the findings of the Klimakunstlabor 2021 and Klimakunstlabor 2022 at BauSchilderung and in the Moabiter Stadtgarten.
Fluid Infrastructures
Opening of the Handlungsparcours at ZK/U
On November 29, 2025, ZK/U, together with the Berlin University Alliance and On Water | PARCOURS, presented Fluid Infrastructures. The full-day event brought together art, science, and civic society in a dialogue on climate adaptation, resilience, and collective action in the face of a changing urban climate.
The day marked both the conclusion of the three-year ClimArt project and the opening of a new artistic parcours on the ZK/U grounds and in the adjacent garden — a series of installations and interventions that make artistic perspectives on urban climate transformation tangible. With talks, conversations and workshops, the program explored how artistic and scientific practices can contribute to making cities more resilient to heat, drought, and shifting water cycles.
Parliament of Trees
LU’UM collective, WeField and Studio flex
Parliament of Trees, 2024 — 2025
Trees, shrub, herbs, humus, recycled steel boxes, scaffolding, tarps
Kunst am Baum creates an inviting space for all friends of the Center for Art and Urbanistics (ZK/U) who are already shaping tomorrow’s ideas today. The revitalization of the urban rooftop transforms it into a living micro-biotope high above the city — for humans, plants, birds, insects, and other species alike.
The work Parliament of Trees has created a living habitat atop the sealed rooftop of ZK/U. In large planting boxes, trees, shrubs, and herbs grow between two scaffold structures. Their textile canopies not only provide shade but also turn sunlight into ever-changing plays of shadow and light. The result is a space where humans and plants can encounter one another — with the Parliament of Trees as an equal counterpart.
The collective LU’UM understands this work as both ecological intervention and political gesture: here, trees appear as non-human actors — living beings that claim a voice in debates about the future of the city. Positioned between artistic sculpture and ecological infrastructure, the work opens a symbolic space for new stories about urban transformation and coexistence.
Tree Aware
Clemens Gruber, Stefan Koderisch
Tree Aware, 2025
Crabapple tree, sensor-kits, Raspberry Pi, speaker, microphone, AI interface
Through Tree Aware, ZK/U amplifies trees' voices. Equipped with sensors for soil moisture, temperature and weather data, and connected to an AI that translates this information into speech, urban trees can communicate directly with visitors. They speak about heat and drought, comment on city life or tell small stories – creating a playful yet profound dialogue about the role of nature in urban spaces.
Since 2021, Tree Aware has gone through various prototypes: from the literary “Quitti”-Tree to a sound performance, and the installation Baum und Platte in front of the Museum der Dinge. Today, the idea continues in multiple formats – for instance in the podcast Lenne Leaks, with the maple tree “Lenne” in Moabit’s city garden. The highlight is the final installation on ZK/U’s rooftop: a young tree that engages visitors in conversation and makes climate change directly tangible and experienceable.
Lenne Leaks
Lenne, Anna Latzko, Jürg Meister
Tree Aware — Lenne Leaks, 2024 — 2025
Norway maple, humans, audio podcast, AI interface
What if a tree could talk? In the Moabiter Stadtgarten, a small public park next to the ZK/U Berlin, there is a young maple tree called ‘Lenne’, which was equipped with Tree Aware technology: Using an AI in conjunction with sensors that provide real-time data about the weather and soil moisture on the tree, Lenne can communicate, provide information about its condition – and host a podcast!
In Lenne Leaks, the Norway maple ‘Lenne’ gives a voice to non-human creatures and, together with human co-host Anna Latzko, investigates the fate of trees in the urban jungle. What happens during heat, drought and heavy rain? What do these challenges mean for our neighbourhoods? Together with experts and activists, the unlikely pair uncover the consequences of climate change that are already being felt and present creative strategies for adapting to the effects of climate change. Find all episodes here. The podcast was produced by Jürg Meister.
Green Curtain
Gloria Jurado and Paula Cano, built by SLAB
Green Curtain, 2025
Recycled building fences and steel boxes, scaffolding, climbing plants, irrigation system
On the south side of ZK/U, vertical planting modules form a living façade. They shade the building, reduce heat and sunlight inside, and constantly transform throughout the seasons: lush green in summer, warm hues in autumn, and an open surface for artistic interventions in winter. The Green Curtain is mobile and experimental—combining nature-based cooling, urban food production, and artistic upcycling.
Created by Gloria Jurado and Paula Cano, the project is a prototype for mobile, vertical shading. Using recycled construction fences, steel boxes, and scaffolding elements, the artists built modular structures that can be planted, irrigated, and moved along the façade. The climbing plants provide shade, bear edible fruits, and create microhabitats for insects and birds.
In winter, when the plants rest, the modules become canvases for temporary artistic actions. By reinterpreting the construction fence—normally a symbol of separation—as a material of connection, Green Curtain intertwines plants, people, and architecture into new forms of urban togetherness.
Rainwater Sculpture
Michelle Christensen, Florian Conradi, Yannik Berger, Selenay Kiray, Karina Tarasiuk, Sidar Torunlu
Resonance of a Raindrop, 2025
Rain drops, sensor, micro controller, resonance body, audio sequences
The Rainwater Sculpture of ClimART explored how rainwater in urban space can be not only technically managed but also sensually experienced and collectively reflected upon.
At the start of the ClimART project in 2023, during an initial workshop with experts on rainwater management, the ZK/U team, representatives of the Berlin Rainwater Agency (Regenwasseragentur), the park gardener, and other neighbors from the surrounding district, technical possibilities and creative ideas for a “Rainwater Sculpture” were discussed.
A first step was the installation of a simple IBC tank on the rear, park-facing terrace, the former railway platform of ZK/U. It is accessible to the neighborhood, particularly to the gardeners of the community garden and the caretakers of the Tiny Forest. This simple yet effective system collects valuable rainwater and makes it usable – a low-threshold, practical climate adaptation measure that at the same time builds a bridge to the public.
From there, the artistic and scientific work evolved further: the tank became one of three starting points for a transdisciplinary process in 2025 with metaLab (at) Berlin and the Berlin Open Lab – a collaboration involving FU, TU, and UdK Berlin. In workshops and a hackathon, students, artists, neighbors, and researchers designed experimental prototypes that made the path of rainwater tangible in different ways.
The final installation, Resonance of a Raindrop, developed by Michelle Christensen, Florian Conradi, Yannik Berger, Selenay Kiray, Karina Tarasiuk and Sidar Torunlu, translates falling rain into sounds and unveils a hidden rythm, that connects nature, architecture, tech and humans.
Data Farm
Clemens Gruber, Giacomo Nanni, Matthias Mehldau, Amin Moradi
Data Farm, 2023 — ongoing
Network of sensors, data visualization, video, dashboard in the entry way
Data Farm collects sensor data from the community garden and the roof of ZK/U: temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind, and more. These data become visible—forming a shared archive of nature, technology, and neighborhood life. Here, data tell stories too: of heat, drought, and flooding.
Data Farm is an artistic-technological system capturing environmental data in the city garden and on the roof of ZK/U. Sensor kits and a weather station continuously record local conditions.
At the entrance of ZK/U, these data are made visible on a screen—accessible to everyone, not only as numbers but also as images and visual translations. Data Farm functions as a shared archive, blending the voices of nature, artistic interpretation, and sensor readings. The project creates a new perspective on urban nature—a space where people, other living beings, and technology are interconnected.
The project was developed by Clemens Gruber, Giacomo Nanni, Matthias Mehldau and Amin Moradi.
Course of Action (Handlungsparcours)
The Handlungsparcours is an interactive learning trail that invites people to engage with the city’s climate challenges through artistic, scientific, and hands-on experiences. Its goal is to empower visitors to think and act in ways that strengthen urban climate resilience.
The trail begins at the entrance of the ZK/U grounds, where a digital dashboard offers real-time environmental data and information about each station and ongoing projects. Its heart lies on the roof of ZK/U—a special place designed for collective learning, research, discussion, and creation.
Handlungsparcours connects nature-based design, artistic experimentation, and climate education. Along the way, participants encounter installations such as the Green Curtain, rainwater sound sculptures, and the Talking Tree.
Each station provides artistic and technical insights into climate adaptation and awareness in urban space. Together, they form a network of experiences—inviting people to explore, observe, and act.
The signs were design by Luise Spielhagen and implemented by Arun Gruen.
Funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) based on a resolution of the German Bundestag.
More information on BMUKN and on our lead partner. Funding code: 67DAS274.