STOCKHOLM

During a two-week open studio at Färgfabriken in Stockholm (May–June 2025), RIFT – Regenerative Ideas for Tomorrow transformed two adjoining rooms into an active workspace and exhibition investigating biogenic building materials through research, experimentation, and collective exchange.

The studio unfolded across two interdependent environments: “The Hand” and “The Mind”. In The Hand, a tactile and sensorial landscape emerged through material experiments, a large-scale reed installation, and ongoing tests with hempcrete and mycelium–reed composites. Functioning as an embodied laboratory, the space invited visitors into a close encounter with the textures, rhythms, and material intelligence of plant-based matter.

In The Mind, factual and poetic texts traced the ecological lineages and architectural futures of biogenic materials. Reference projects and carefully staged material samples were presented, situating the hands-on experiments within a wider constellation of regenerative practices. Together, the two rooms established a dialogue between intuition and analysis, craft and reflection.

A central activation of the studio took the form of a roundtable conversation titled “How can we build together with nature?”—an expression of RIFT’s ongoing methodology “The Dialogue”, which convenes practitioners across disciplines to share knowledge and reimagine the cultural frameworks of building.

The gathering opened with a poetic meditation on reeds, offering an ecological and sensory attunement to the material anchoring the installation. Invited guests Jenny Nordmark (artist), Magnus Tuvendal (ecosystem services researcher and consultant), and Fredrik Fagerberg (Head of Construction at ETC Bygg) contributed perspectives spanning art, sustainability science, and large-scale biobased construction.

Moderated by RIFT, the conversation evolved into an extended and intimate exchange on regenerative processes, hyper-local material cultures, and the possibility of cities functioning as living ecosystems. Audience reflections became integral to the event, dissolving boundaries between speakers and listeners and reinforcing the roundtable as a shared space for inquiry.

A subsequent open house invited visitors to spend time with the studio at their own pace—reading, observing, and engaging directly with the materials and experiments. Across installation, research display, and collective conversation, the open studio articulated building as a collaborative practice with nature: a cultural and material process grounded in care, stewardship, and attention to place.