daily encounters with all kinds of different aspects of architecture and design - the constant exposure to our own built and designed environment - rather often evoke poorly reflected voicings of judgement, such as a building is «beautiful», «ugly» or simply «trivial» and «meaningless». however, usually these emotions are expressed that way due to the lack of suitable criteria which would render more depth to our assessments and enable us to regard architecture and design in its particular context and allow us all to become participant partners in the shaping of cities, buildings and public spaces. at school much is taught about history, biology and maths, about music, literature and art; but the socalled «baukultur» embrassing architecture and all related matters of planning and environmantal design embedded in its cultural, historical, geographical and aesthetic context is usually not part of the school curriculum. architecture, by nature tying together interdisciplinary subject matter where important questions concerning the cultural development of our society as well as design standards and more technical aspects can be negotiated, is still insufficiently conveighed at schools, despite its commonly attributed direct effects on our present and future.

working individually or in small groups, the kids observe, discuss, draw, photograph; materials are discovered, architectural models are built, presentation techniques are learned. we develop our projects starting with the initial idea, formulating a very own design concept and thoroughly working it through to its individual presentation - sometimes to an audience of other kids and the parents (often even with an additional selected jury of experts) thus offering feedback and inputs for further development. the learning benefits comprise acquiring different craft techniques, teamwork and communication, encounters with professionals in the fields of architecture and design, and many more...a wide selection of books, magazines and films, as well as excursions to our respective building and observation sites, offer additional inspiration.

the courses and workshops at spacecake are designed to encourage children and all people curious and young at heart to open their eyes, hearts and minds, in order to comprehend their environment more consciously, to question what is established and to discover new, previously unknown fields for action and to enhance their ability to form their own opinion on such matters. methods and skills are acquired that promote a curious, proactive and self-confident culture of encounter with topics of architecture, spatial planning and design. individual design potentials and skills are encouraged and developed in a playful way. spacecake takes place in a residential studio with plenty of outdoor space, deliberately removed from any school-like environment. a workspace is offered where the participants can work alone or together at big tables, they can chose to take a break on the nearby sofa with a drink and a book to gather inspiration or let off steam playing with a frisbee or the studio’s labrador - discoveries are made, ideas are transformed into physical models and drawings and self confidence begins or continues to grow here without any pressure linked to performance or predefined results!