KuKuMu Interior Design

Project

269822

Status

Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

KuKuMu Interior Design

Full concept/idea title

Description

Kukumu fuses art, culture and music with delicious coffee. We want to give back a piece of lost culture to the neighbourhood and the whole city. In doing so, we want to emphasize sustainability, regionality and fair production. There will be workshops, concerts, readings, small film festivals and a community skate store which are just some of the concepts we will realize in the Kukumu Café. To enable all of that the space needs to adapt to different situations.

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

KUKUMU stands For “Kunst” (art), “Kultur” (culture) and “Musik” (music). We are a union of different collectives and creative minds joining forces to open a “Kultur-Café” in Berlin-Moabit. As a young association, we want to create an open, inclusive and discrimination-free space and share our interest for artistic, political and social issues with anyone and everyone who wants to join us.  We want to bring the KUKUMU Café to life and do our part in supporting culture and different art forms which have suffered in the past few months. Our sustainability concept focuses on reducing waste, purchasing goods from local suppliers where possible and insisting on fair production. The café is to become a cultural meeting place for the neighbourhood and all people, regardless of their origin, gender or sexual orientation, age or social status. Workshops to learn from each other, concerts to share joy and connect musicians, readings to trigger thought processes, small film festivals to get people inspired or a community skate store are just some of the concepts we will realize in the café. In addition, we plan exhibitions of local and international artists with a new focus each month. In our café, we will offer a platform to young and upcoming artists and enable them to shape “Das Kukumu Kultur-Café” in a new way with us. We also want to include other artistic fields such as performance, a monthly radio-show and theater in our program. Our goal is to create a place where all people can feel comfortable, develop their ideas and come together, as it is essential for new ideas of any kind to have an lifting environment to be born in, consisting of comfortable surrounding, connection to other people and space for implementations, we consider that as our main goal.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

To integrate sustainability, the design chooses the following strategies: Spatial interventions are reduced to the minimum necessary, thus saving the use of materials and resources. The dry construction measures are designed and functionally conceived for various conversions of the premises, so that they can be used until the end of their lives. The fixtures can be constructed by nailing and screwing, making them repairable and recyclable. The materials used, wood, linoleum, tile and PVC, are thus recyclable in their components, with the design favoring wood as a cradle-to-cradle material in many places. The spatial flexibility also evokes a sustainably enabled repurposing of the fixtures, modules and spaces themselves.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

The design is based on ideas of flexibility through functionality, modularity and reduction to the essentials. Therefore it proposes the composition of the KuKuMu world in three steps: First, the existing space will again allow multiple uses in the future by carefully removing closing fixtures and refurbishing wall and floor surfaces.  Then three different built-in elements will be inserted: The first, „the landscape,“ invites quiet entry and creates more usable floor space overall. The second element, „the street“, comprises two semi-transparent partitions that separate logistical areas while still allowing light to pass through. The third element, „the sky,“ is an infrastructure suspended from the ceiling that simultaneously keeps floor space free. The KuKuMu world is rounded off by two different forms of building blocks that can be combined and adapted to existing structures and fixtures: „the modules“ can be combined in all rooms and can be freely assigned to different uses. „the mask“ are folding elements to cover the bar elements in case of their reuse as additional space for people and events. All fixtures and building blocks are made of materials that can be recycled or returned to the environment. They are designed to be repairable and convertible. Thus, the design dreams not only of a café, but a small new world of art, culture and music. This world is simply conceived, sustainable and accessible.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

Our diverse offer is aimed at people of all ages who are interested in culture, an inspiring atmosphere, good coffee and a young and dedicated team. It is our special concern to cover a broad spectrum of ideas, concepts and needs with our cultural program. The cultural aspect is not just one part of many but forms the heart of this project. Through the involvement of our clientele and various creative minds, a growing and changeable community is to develop around the café. Our vision is to use this community to bring the idea of a barrier-free, cultural exchange to Berlin and the world through a variety of formats. We invite all connoisseurs, culture enthusiasts, music lovers, politically engaged people, students and neighbours to join us in creating a place of well-being and to continuously redesign it. We want to not only consume culture but also create it. Any form of extremism, racism and sexism has no place in our midst and will not be tolerated in the KUKUMU Café. The goal of this project is not financial gain for the association. All income is used to finance the operation of the café, the various events and the cooperation with various artists so that all participants can receive a fair payment. We do not strive for profit, but the promotion of cultural exchange, especially against the background of increasingly dwindling cultural spaces in the city of Berlin Moabit.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

Trying out old concepts of social interaction in a new use of space and playing with the conection of both. By combining a cafe with a galerie and a concert hall, we create a completely new space for cultural encounter. By enabling the guest to create their own space within the KuKuMu-Cafe, we open the way for new scenarios and interactions and allowing the space to change with every new soul that comes in.

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

We divide the process of our project in three phases: Phase 1: Gaining financial resources and encouraging the idea of Kukumu Starting in June we will launch our crowdfunding campaign, which for now is meant to be the kickoff for financial liquidity. We are happy to offer a variety of gifts in which one can see the diversity of our network. Additionally we are going to organize live-streams with performances of musicians and artists from our network. We have a two-track marketing strategy. Our website and of course an Instagram account keep everyone interested posted. Our second track is our guerilla-marketing strategy starting with Stickers and posters. Furthermore we will organize little pop-up café-stands all over the city, on festivals and wherever possible selling beverages of our partners and baked goods and therefore spread the idea of Kukumu not only digitally but through being personally in contact with our future customers. Phase 2: The construction of the KuKuMu Café premises Once our crowdfunding campaign was successful. We will have the financial resources we need to actually build what we have been planning for over five month now. Starting with shell and drywall construction, laying electricity and water pipes, refurbishing the floor, laying tiles and painting the walls we will set grounds for our Kukumu world. In the further construction process we will start building and implementing our interior design, such as the platform, the heart, the sky and the module system.  Phase 3: The KUKUMU-Café is only the beginning of a growing structure. Our goal is to form an ever-expanding open space for art, culture and music in a city where free spaces are constantly disappearing. Our vision is to not only perpetually transform the café through constant collaboration with musicians and artists from all fields and craft classes, but expand our efforts and networks to spaces in and outside of Moabit.

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.