Animalesque
Animalesque is a collective of architects (Jorge Godoy Roman, Ana Zatezalo Schenk, Sjoerd Krijnen, and Florentin Steininger) dedicated to knowledge production about the potential of design as a stimulus for biodiversity. They received a grant for “Soil Pipers” (formerly “Encountermeasures”), an observatory of human–animal cohabitation within the exhibition Cohabitation. Working with the fauna encountered on the site at Silent Green, Berlin and with youth from the Theodor-Heuss-Gemeinschaftsschule, “Soil Pipers” consisted of a series of eight learning sessions between April and July 2021, featuring lessons on drawing, observations, use of microscopes and endoscopes, inputs on urban nature, and a curator-guided exhibition tour.
As part of the exhibition, both installation and program served as an anchor point for a guided on-foot excursion with Animalesque and guest experts from gardening and animal protection, a (live and online) presentation, film screening, and panel discussion with Animalesque and guests from architecture and curation, a filmed interview with Animalesque for the exhibition archive, and a number of informal talks with neighbors, participating artists, journalists etc. You can read more about Animalesque’s work at Azure, and watch a video discussion of their radical visions for human–animal cohabitation.
