Post by Aedes

AEDES FUTURE – The Team Takes Over In its 45th year, the renowned Berlin-based cultural institution Aedes is undergoing an organisational and strategic realignment. Aedes Architecture Forum and the Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory will henceforth operate under a single unified non-profit company. This forward-looking transition was initiated by Kristin Feireiss and Hans-Jürgen Commerell to ensure Aedes remains firmly rooted in the cultural common good of an open society. Kristin Feireiss, who founded Aedes in 1980 and led it with visionary dedication for decades, passed away on 20 April 2025, at the age of 82. In her final years, she began stepping back from active leadership and, with pride and joy, prepared the handover of her life’s work to the next generation. Kristin Feireiss in April 2025: "It is my heartfelt wish that the trust Hans-Jürgen Commerell and I have received from our cooperation partners over many years will now also extend to the Aedes team. May they embrace this new beginning with conviction and consciously claim Aedes as a place of true encounter, with renewed energy." Going forward, the leadership will lie in the hands of the long-standing Aedes team, which has shaped the institution for many years and will continue to guide it with passion, commitment and expertise. Curatorial and strategic decisions, as well as the programming of exhibitions, talks and educational formats, will be developed collaboratively. The Aedes team consists of the partners Dunya Bouchi, Hans-Jürgen Commerell, Lukas Feireiss, Christine Meierhofer, Miriam Mlecek, Julia Schlütsmeier-Hage and Mathias Schnell, supported by Francesca Bani, Ramona Kleinfeldt, Nora Ouwerkerk and Christian Thomas. With its transition to non-profit status, Aedes symbolically passes into the hands of those to whom it has always belonged: the public, the international community, visitors and the many voices in architecture, urban planning and culture – all of whom Aedes has served as a platform for 45 years. To support its future work, the non-profit association Aedes Alumni & Friends has been established. Special thanks go to our long-term sponsors – especially Cemex – as well as the many individuals who responded to last year’s donation call "AEDES FUTURE", making this transition possible. Architecture and building culture are key to an open, sustainable society. Aedes will continue to be a vibrant platform for transdisciplinary spatial discourse – a place that sparks new ideas, critically engages with current developments, remains accessible to all and carries forward the legacy of Kristin Feireiss with fresh momentum. IMAGE (L–R): Julia Schlütsmeier-Hage, Mathias Schnell, Christine Meierhofer, Dunya Bouchi, Hans-Jürgen Commerell, Lukas Feireiss, Miriam Mlecek © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk #AedesFuture #AedesBerlin #ArchitecturalCulture #UrbanDiscourse #CulturalCommons #TeamTakesOver #DesignForTheFuture #TransdisciplinaryThinking #LegacyAndFuture