WEtransFORM. On the Future of Building

Exhibition
WEtransFORM. On the Future of Building
June 6–January 25, 2026
The Bundeskunsthalle has designated 2025 the year of sustainability and ecological change. Central to this year’s programme is this international exhibition project on sustainable architecture and urban development in Europe: The show invites visitors to engage in a lively debate about the future of our built environment. First and foremost among these are strengthening climate resilience / promoting biodiversity / practising sufficiency / revitalising existing buildings / optimising cycles / daring to experiment / getting actively involved. The exhibition features some 80 visionary projects from around the world that deal with the challenges of climate change in an exemplary manner. 
One of the highlights presented on the Museum Plaza is Vert – a verdant timber beam construction by AHEC / DIEZ OFFICE / OMC°C that can help to cool public spaces and strengthen biodiversity in urban environments. The foyer of the Bundeskunsthalle is dominated by the floor-to-ceiling installation Tree.ONE by ecoLogicStudio (Claudia Pasquero/Marco Poletto): a synthetic tree grown from microalgae that absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and converts it into biomaterial. Innovative research projects such as NEST UMAR (Next Evolution in Sustainable Building Technologies / Urban Mining and Recycling) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology or the Hybrid Flax Pavilion by the University of Stuttgart explore new approaches to circular material cycles and computer-based construction methods. Just to name a few.

For the exhibition design, the architecture firm MVRDV (Rotterdam) drew almost exclusively on materials already available at the Bundeskunsthalle.

The exhibition is an initiative of the Bundeskunsthalle in partnership with the New European Bauhaus and transform.NRW.

Exhibition opening: Thursday, June 5, 7pm

Opening festival
New European Bauhaus and beyond
June 6–7, 2025

A two-day festival on sustainable architecture and urban development will take place at the Bundeskunsthalle to coincide with the opening of the WEtransFORM exhibition.
Professionals, Experts and everyone who is interested in the future of our cities are cordially invited to come to Bonn to discuss the current challenges of effectively transforming our built environment. The festival is being held in cooperation with the European Commission's New European Bauhaus in Brussels. Guests include excellent climate researchers such as Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, visionary mayors of leading citys and, last but not least, numerous creative designers from renowned offices from Madrid to Helsinki.  

Participation is free of charge, registration is requested. The event will be held in German and English. All information at www.Bundeskunsthalle.de/WEtransFORM-Festival. Register by e-mail at buchung@bundeskunsthalle.de.
Please let us know whether you will be attending both or just one of the two days. 

Festival program highlights
Friday, June 6

11–11:15am
Welcome address & introduction
Eva Kraus, director Bundeskunsthalle
Sven Sappelt, curator Bundeskunsthalle

11:15–11:30am 
Beautiful, sustainable, together: New European Bauhaus
Ruth Reichstein, EU Commission

11:30am–12pm 
Key-Note: Climate Change and Architecture
Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber

12–1pm 
Talk
Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber among others
Moderation: Sven Sappelt

1–1:15pm
Presentation
Vert by AHEC / DIEZ OFFICE / OMC°C

2–2:15pm
Presentation
Tree.ONE by ecoLogicStudio

2:45–4:15pm 
Mayors’ Round Table: Leading Change in European Cities
Jürgen Odszuck, Heidelberg; Uwe Schneidewind, Wuppertal; Katja Dörner, Bonn. Moderation: Angela Kesselring & Sven Sappelt.

4:15–4:45pm
Coffee break & networking

4:45–5:45pm
Future Stories: How journalism can communicate the transformation of cities
Alexandra Borchardt, journalist and honorary professor for leadership and digitalization at the Technical University of Munich
Selina Wach, Architektur aktuell, Vienna
Bettina Köhl, General-Anzeiger, Bonn

5:45–6pm 
Wrap up and Preview Saturday
Sven Sappelt

Saturday, June 7
10:30am
Impulse
Stefan Rammler, Klimabauhaus

10:45–11:15am 
Prototyping for sustainable city development
City of Gothenburg & raumlaborberlin

11:15am–12:45pm
NEB Roundtable
Architects and City Planers for a sustainable Europe
Ruth Schagemann (Germany)
Svetlana Kirova (Bulgaria)
Among others
Moderation: Mathieu Wellner

1:30–3pm
Three parallel workshop sessions

Workshop session I
Material Flows & Theory of Change
Christa Liedtke and/or Manuel Bickel, Wuppertal Institute
Prof. Dr. Martina Fineder, Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Transform.NRW

Workshop session II
New European Bauhaus Academy

Workshop session III
Becoming politically active

3–3:30pm 
Results of the Workshops & final Round
Participants of the 3 workshops
Moderation: Sven Sappelt

3:30–3:45pm
Closing remarks
Eva Kraus & Sven Sappelt

4pm 
Reception on the Rooftop

Director: Eva Kraus / Managing director: Oliver Hölken / Curators: Eva Kraus, Sven Sappelt / Press officer: Sven Bergmann, kommunikation@bundeskunsthalle.de.

Exhibition publication: WEtransFORM. Zur Zukunft des Bauens/On the Future of Building, JOVIS Verlag, Berlin, 192 pages, German / English, ISBN 978-3-98612-267-6.

Also on view
Susan Sontag. Seeing and Being Seen
until September 28, 2025

Para-Modernism. Life Reform Movements from 1900 onwards
until August 10, 2025

Interactions x WEtransFORM
until October 26, 2025

Wim Wenders
August 1, 2025 to January 11, 2026

Expedition to the World’s Oceans
October 2, 2025 to April 6, 2026

27th Federal Prize for Art Students
November 7, 2025 to January 4, 2026

For the most up to date schedule, please go to bundeskunsthalle.de.