Form Follows Material—ProtoPotsdam’s Lessons for a Local Building Culture

Form Follows Material is the second volume in the Bauhaus Earth Manuals series, examining regenerative building case studies and their potential for scalability at a planetary level. Amidst growing awareness that the built environment is the largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions, the Bauwende movement emerged in Germany in the early 2020s. It calls for a shift from extractive to regenerative construction. While research has supported this transition, built projects have proven most effective in actually reshaping perceptions and practices.

ProtoPotsdam, a temporary pavilion in the German city of Potsdam, acts as a demonstrator that helps bridge the gap between theory and practice under real-world constraints. Grounded in its regional context, this book distills the project’s lessons into practical steps towards regenerative architectural practice.

• Material-driven design strategies tested under real-world constraints
• A manual for transferring local material knowledge to broader contexts
• Built architecture as an agent of cultural and material change