skēnographia (σκηνογραφία) Greek: painting the scene

During the 2025/26 academic year, the first-year students at HSRM had to select a postcard featuring a stage design from the early 20th century—Bauhaus era, Picasso, Klee, Russian Constructivism, and others. This painterly spatial representation was then translated into plan and section drawings, thereby rationalized and further developed. The space was subsequently imbued with poetic life through an original story written by each student; this gave rise to romances, detective tales, and family sagas.

In the model-making phase of the semester, the students were challenged to physically manifest the space they had conceived. Experimenting with various materials and joinery techniques provided an opportunity to explore the intrinsic link between construction and form-finding within the design process. At the close of the semester, students were required to use their models to photograph specific moments from their stories, thereby creating a visual storyboard of the spatial experiences central to their projects. Inspired by historical stage designs, these projects thus gave rise to stages for the drama of life—spaces within which, inspired by the character of the environment, new stories can continually unfold.

Type: Teaching
Place: Wiesbaden
Year: 2025, 2026
Collaboration: Prof. Georg Windeck, Dipl.-Ing. Viola Herr (wood shop), Dipl.-Ing. Ansgar Maibaum (metal shop)

Student projects: Treppe ins Nichts by Julia Dressel, Wo das Licht zu fließen beginnt... by Marieke Heßler, Lichterwald by Keani Schwarze, Schatten und Gewürze by Lana Marcik, 0:00 Uhr Mitternacht by Sophia Bebensee, Morgendliche Meditation by Katherina Melchisedech, Felsengedächtnis by Donat Bodog