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Technical University of Munich
The Tea is Drunk. (1934). [Advertisement in magazine]. Cornell University Library (P.J. Mode collection of persuasive cartography, #8548. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections).

Exhibiting Architectures of Transimperial Economy

Spaces of Tea's Supply Chain from Colonial Indonesia to Germany (1830 - 1940)

Modul: AR30416 MA-Project + AR30359 Architecture Exhibition (Seminar MA-Project)

Course: Research and Curatorial Studio

Credit Points: 15 ECTS

Tutors: Prof. Dr. Andres Lepik, Geraldus Martimbang

Study level: Master

Maximum number of participants: 10

Kick off: 14 April 2026

Deliverables: 

  • Individual presentation on chosen reading (20 min)
  • Catalogue of primary materials
  • Design of individual exhibition display and curatorial texts
  • Exhibition artifacts (chosen primary materials and analysis result, in model, drawing, installation, collage, etc.)

Language: German and English (Main language used will be English. However, the texts and discussions for the seminar depend on the texts' language. Desk crits, mid-term reviews, and final presentation can be individually arranged in English or German)

Schedule: 

  • Studio. Every Tuesday, 9:45 - 18:15 – Seminar Room 0340B
  • Seminar. Every Wednesday, 9:45 - 11:15 – Seminar Room 0340B
  • Crit I. 19 May 2026 – Seminar Room 0340B
  • Crit II. 30 June 2026 – Seminar Room 0340B
  • Exhibition Assembly. 20 - 22 July 2026 – Pavillion 333
  • Final Presentation. 22 July 2026, 9:45 - 13:00 – Pavillion 333

Conditions for participation: 

  • High motivation for architecture historical research, reading and working with archival materials.
  • Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and common architectural software (e.g., CAD and 3D modeling programs).
  • Willingness to actively contribute to the production of exhibition objects and the installation of the exhibition.
  • Language proficiency in German and English. Willingness to work with materials in other languages with translator programs.
Course Description:

Along with the chair's exhibition program, Convivium, this 'research and curatorial studio' aims to tackle the 'food system' issue by focusing on a seemingly harmless, yet problematic commodity: tea, in the colonial era. Students will be trained to conduct architectural historical research, curate the research results, and display them in a one-week temporary exhibition. 

The majority of all global food commodities consumed today, like tomatoes, potatos, apple, tea, coffee, chocolate, and others, originate in Western global, imperial and colonial economic system. This studio majors in studying colonial forms of tea landscape production in colonial Indonesia (production), its global trade infrastructure (distribution), and the consumption sides of tea in the Western metropoles, with a specific focus on Germany. The research studio will therefore take on a multi-sited approach and follow the tea in its transimperial journey, limiting itself to the period between 1840 and 1940. 

Other than a 'design studio', in 'research and curatorial studio', students will receive intensive training as researchers of architectural history, collecting historical sources and analysing them with architectural tools. Apart from reading and understanding relevant historical works for the weekly seminars/workshops, students will primarily engage directly with archival materials, onsite or online. Synthesizing primary materials (archives) and secondary literature, students will deploy visual and architectural research methods: architectural drawing, spatial interpretation, interpretative cartography, models, and installations. To achieve meaningful research results in a short period, such as a semester, students will be given a managable sub-topic and structured input sessions, as well as freedom to work individually or in a group.

The curatorial phase will be the final part of the 'research studio,' where students will curate their research results, determine the best way to display them in a temporary exhibition, and produce the exhibition. The material production will be funded by the chair. The one-week exhibition will open in the last weeks of the studio at the Pavilion 333. This research studio offers students a unique opportunity to experience the full curatorial process, from research to public presentation.

Excursion: Museums, archives, tea shops, tea bars in / around Munich (cost-free)

Remarks: Application via the project market. If you are very motivated to do the course, you are encouraged to send a short motivation letter to geraldus.martimbang@tum.de to be prioritized.

Scholarships: history of architecture and economy, architectures of commodity's global supply chain, transimperial history

 

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