The architecture and urban design practice CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF will turn Aedes into a working architecture studio where visitors can follow a real design process as it unfolds. Ahead of the opening, Berliners, institutions and civic initiatives are invited to put forward places or urban challenges in need of transformation. Four projects selected through the open call will then be developed by CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF’s team, working directly in the gallery throughout the six-week exhibition, and presented at a closing event. Conceived as a process rather than a fixed display, the exhibition will be activated by a live programme of film screenings, public lectures and workshops, besides a presentation of the offices' international projects.
For six weeks, Aedes will become an open, working studio led by CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF, the international architecture and urban design practice, founded in 2010 in Brno, Czech Republic. Building the Existing City will bring the practice’s team, working methods and ongoing urban research directly to Berlin – not as a presentation of ready-made answers, but as a starting point for new design processes. At its core, the team will develop four new proposals for Berlin directly in the Aedes space, while evolving the exhibition week by week through research, conversations and design work.
OPEN CALL: 4 TRANSFORMATIONS FOR BERLIN
To identify these four challenges, CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF is launching the open call: 4 Transformations for Berlin. From 11 September to 11 October 2026, public and private organisations, local authorities, property owners, schools, cultural and non-profit institutions, civic groups and community initiatives as well as individuals, are invited to submit a building, site or urban situation in Berlin that needs a new future. Full details and submission guidelines are available at https://chybik-kristof.com/aedes-berlin/.
“We believe architects today should play an active role in the wider public debate about our cities. Their role is not only to respond to predefined commissions, but also to identify overlooked potential, bring the right people together and use their expertise to help turn ideas into real projects. In Berlin, we will put this approach into practice by working directly on four selected projects. The exhibition will not present the result of a process. It will start one.”
Ondřej Chybík and Michal Krištof, the founders of CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF
ARCHITECTURE IN THE MAKING
Once selected, the four projects will become the focus of CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF’s open studio at Aedes. Visitors will be able to observe the architects at work and follow each proposal as it takes shape. Working pro bono and in close collaboration with the organisations and communities connected to each place, the team will develop initial architectural and urban design studies, which will be presented publicly at the closing event on 3 December 2026.
PLAY, LIVE, ACTIVATE, ADAPT
The working architecture studio at Aedes is complemented by a presentation of projects along the principles that shape CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF’s practice. Four themes – PLAY, LIVE, ACTIVATE and ADAPT – will each be anchored by one key built project, complemented by drawings, models, videos, material studies and ongoing research drawn from a broader selection of twenty projects from the studio’s practice. Together, they explore how architecture can enrich public life, strengthen neighbourhoods and extend the life and relevance of the existing built environment.
“Rather than being a finished presentation, this exhibition is conceived as an evolving process. The opening event is therefore less an inaugural ceremony than a housewarming party. Our new roommates will embark on a six-week process of working on four selected projects in Berlin.
I am curious to see how CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF will include stakeholders, visitors and invited experts in new active formats and what will emerge by the end of the exhibition period, when the results will be presented.
Hans-Jürgen Commerell, Director. Aedes.
Alongside the open studio, a live public and educational programme will form an integral part of the exhibition. Public lectures and film screenings will broaden the discussion around the four themes, while workshops for school groups as well as dedicated lectures and critique sessions for university students will connect the project with architectural education at different levels. Details on the accompanying public program – including dates, speakers and registration – will be announced by 30 September 2026
ABOUT CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF (CH+K)
CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF is an architecture and urban design practice founded in 2010 by Ondřej Chybík (*1985) and Michal Krištof (*1986), with studios in Prague, Brno, Bratislava and London. Working across a wide range of scales, sectors and typologies, the practice integrates architecture, urbanism, research and education to reimagine cities. This approach reflects a commitment to cultural continuity, social engagement and environmental responsibility – principles that underpin the studio’s vision for a more adaptable and inclusive built environment and that invite critical reflection on the ways in which a city is perceived and understood.
CH+K’s diverse body of work spans both the private and public sectors, including cultural, residential, educational, workplace and civic projects, as well as masterplans and public spaces. The studio is working on commissions in major European cities, notably London, Vienna, Berlin, Prague and Tirana. Among their completed works are the 5,650-capacity Jihlava Municipal Arena, Nusle Brewery neighbourhood and the Lahofer Winery.
In parallel with its built projects, the practice engages in temporary and experimental projects – pavilions, installations and meanwhile urban activations – that extend its discourse into the public realm and foster dialogue between communities and their environments.
CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the London Festival of Architecture (2024, 2026), the Venice Architecture Biennale (2025), and Bread and Heart Architecture Festival in Albania (2025, 2026).
