Mood for wood is an international design workshop for students and young designers interested in actually realising their ideas. During the workshop, students, with the help of renowned architects and designers and experienced carpenters, design and produce urban furniture for selected local communities in Poznan on their own.
It is the design stage – using participatory tools – that sets the Mood for wood project apart from similar student workshops. Participants not only make the furniture themselves – they decide entirely on its form. They work on a specific location and meet with the users of the space, learning about their needs and the problems of the place. In order to realise the project, they are obliged to get their ideas approved by the recipients, then, on the basis of a cost estimate, they place an order for specific materials, from which they build wooden furniture or installations with their own hands.
After a year’s break, we are returning with the 14th edition. The workshop will take place in Poznań (28.08-08.09.2025), where 50 design students from Poland, Germany and Hungary will work in Strzeszyn, Poznań’s youngest district, under the motto “New Territory”.
NEW TERRITORY
For more than three decades, a rather sensibly designed residential district has been growing in Poznan’s Strzeszyn. A lot of houses, terraced houses and blocks of flats have sprung up in this “new territory” developed from scratch. More are growing. However, there are far fewer places of integration with small architecture serving old and new residents. Places that would enrich the free spaces between the buildings, but would also help the residents to orient themselves, would be a kind of spatial reference in their internal communication.
Thanks to the workshop, four places in Strzeszyn will be transformed in a creative way. Each with a different character. A mini market will be created on the site of the former bus terminus at the junction of Horace and Ovidius streets. A ‘green classroom’ installation is planned for the Environmental Education Park near the school. The Albert Camus Park will be complemented by an integration area for residents. The wild beach on Lake Strzeszyńskie will be enriched with a leisure installation.
Four new and unusual forms will be created in just a few days – from the initial concept, through design, to construction and placement in the planned location. Afterwards, they will serve the residents of the new residential territory for a long time and – perhaps – will serve as a model for further urban furniture that Strzeszyn needs.
Can the ‘new territory’ be tamed through small-scale actions in the public space ? The participants of the international Mood for wood workshop faced this difficult task this year.
RECRUITMENT
Applications for the workshop will be accepted via the application form at www.moodforwood.com . Recruitment for the workshop – ends 10 June 2025.
The organisers will contact those shortlisted for the workshop by email within 3 days of the end of recruitment.
Cost: €250/£1,000
students from the University of Arts in Poznan – no charge
The price of the workshop includes:
- accommodation in Poznań (28.08-08.09.2025)
- meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
- coffee breaks
- transport from/to Poznan (Polish students from any city in Poland – public transport 2nd class), Hungarian students – transport from Gyor or Budapest, German students – transport from Berlin)
- public transport in Poznań
- safety training – completed with a certificate
- workshop materials
- a set of gadgets with the workshop logo
WEBSITE: www.moodforwood.com
ORGANISERS: SARP Poznań, Common Point Association, University of Arts Poznań
COORDINATOR: Magda Wypusz
PARTNERS: City of Poznań, Polish-German Youth Cooperation, Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, Strzeszyn Housing Estate Council, TU Berlin, CIL- Centre for Local Initiatives, Wielkopolska District Chamber of Architects, Hungarian Embassy in Warsaw, Hungarian Institute in Warsaw,Festool, Leniar.
MEDIA PATRONS: Architektura i Biznes, Whitemad Magazine, Baunetz
source: press materials
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