Elemental Imprints – The Jute Made Pavilion

Bio Design Lab: Bangladesh Chapter

Imagine seeing your design built and showcased internationally!

The Dhaka Lab in collaboration with Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and BRAC University invites architecture students to experiment with jute, rethink material possibilities, and design a lightweight modular pavilion that could be built and exhibited across South Asia and Germany.

The lab will be guided by Lead Mentor architect Marina Tabassum and scientist Dr. Mubarak Ahmed Khan. Finalists will get to build their pavilion and travel to New Delhi in 2027 for the Bio Design Lab South Asia exhibition, and lead a workshop at Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi with participants from Goethe-Institut across South Asia.

About the Project

Jute—renewable, biodegradable, and deeply rooted in Bangladesh’s agricultural and cultural identity—offers immense potential beyond its conventional uses. What if Bangladesh’s most familiar fiber could shape the architecture of the future?

This lab encourages architecture students to experiment with fibers, composites, and lightweight structural systems, discovering how this abundant material can be reimagined in contemporary architecture.

Participants will explore the intersection of traditional material knowledge and contemporary design research, developing innovative, sustainable, and adaptable architectural ideas. Rather than simply submitting a project, participants will engage in a process of research, experimentation, and collective design, exploring how a familiar local material like jute can inspire new architectural possibilities and the opportunity to build it in real scale.

The Lab Experience

Selected participants will take part in a two-stage collaborative journey:

Stage 1 — Open Call (Portfolio-Based Selection)
Applicants are invited to submit theirportfolio and work samplesthat reflect their interest in:

Material exploration
Sustainability and ecological thinking
Craft, making, or spatial experimentation
Innovative or interdisciplinary practices

There is no restriction on format or discipline—your submission should communicatehow you think, make, and experiment.

Stage 2 — Design & Make (Collaborative Lab)

Experiment with jute fibers, composites, and structural possibilities
Develop concepts collectively
Build and prototype selected ideas at real scale

The process will culminate in the creation ofinnovative, lightweight, and adaptable structures or installationsthat reflect the idea of an “elemental imprint.”

Who Can Apply

This open call is for:

Artists
Architects
Designers (spatial, product, textile, graphic, etc.)
Artisans and craftspeople
Engineers and makers
Researchers
Anyone interested in material experimentation and sustainable practices

No specific professional background is required.
Curiosity, openness, and a willingness to experiment are key.

Forms:

https://forms.gle/xqua9a9NtRvsJxTP7

Timeline (Key Dates)

10 May – 25 June 2026: Open call (portfolio submission)
01 July – 25 July 2026: Weekend workshops (online + in-person, Dhaka)
5 August 2026: Final submission
21 – 28 August 2026: Final in-person Bio Design Lab session (Dhaka and Faridpur)

Awards & Opportunities

Selected participants will have the opportunity to:

Work closely with leading practitioners and mentors
Receive astipendduring the in-person sessions
Be part of aregional South Asian platform
Contribute to projects that may bebuilt and exhibited internationally
Travel to one of the exhibition venues in South Asia in 2027
Lead or participate in workshops with regional collaborators

Jury Panel

Bettina Korintenberg is a German curator, cultural scholar, and researcher whose work explores the intersections of contemporary art, architecture, media ecology, and society. Since 2021, she has served as the Director of the ifa Galleries in Stuttgart and Berlin, part of the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), where she develops international exhibition and cultural exchange programs focused on global perspectives, social transformation, and decolonial practices.

Korintenberg holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, where her research examined museums from a postcolonial perspective. Prior to joining ifa, she worked as a curator and project manager at the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (2016–2020), co-curating major international exhibitions such as Critical Zones: Observatories for Earthly Politics alongside thinkers including Bruno Latour and Peter Weibel.

Her curatorial and academic practice critically examines digital and global media ecologies, the legacies of Western modernity, and contemporary social and ecological transformations. She is particularly interested in collaborative and interdisciplinary approaches that imagine alternative forms of collective life and new relationships between people, culture, and the environment.

Throughout her career, Korintenberg has contributed essays and publications on contemporary art, museums, media culture, and postcolonial theory, and has lectured internationally at universities, biennials, and cultural institutions

About the Lab

The Dhaka Lab is part ofElemental Imprints – Bio Design Lab South Asia, a regional initiative exploring how local materials and traditional knowledge can inspire new design futures.

The initiative is led by the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan South Asia in collaboration with the Bio Design Lab at Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe (HfG Karlsruhe)

For inquires: fatimanujhat.quaderi.extern@goethe.de