Our Team

The Raumgeschichten e.V. team of the Ghana workshop was:

Markus Kaltenbach | Project Leader

Markus Kaltenbach studied architecture and urban planning at the Karlsruhe University / KIT, earning his diploma in 2013. During his studies he won the Prize of the Faculty three times and received scholarships from DAAD, KIT and the University of Art and Design Linz. Before working for Albert Speer & Partner, he worked for UN-Habitat and UM-net. He has participated in projects in such countries as India, Madagascar, North and South Korea, and Saudi Arabia as well as in Europe. Currently, he teaches international urbanism at the Darmstadt University / MA Urban Studies. 


Matthias Schäfges | Project Leader

Matthias Schäfges studied architecture at the Hochschule RheinMain – University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden. For his diploma thesis he cooperated with the American University of Sharjah and received a scholarship from the DAAD. By participating in several international workshops (Dubai, Austria, and Switzerland), he explored his fascination for collaborative processes and local needs. During his studies, he focused on sustainable architecture in Vorarlberg, Austria, which is one of the leading and most influential regions for vernacular architecture and the use of traditional materials in Europe. Since working for Albert Speer & Partner, he has participated in projects in such countries as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Austria and Germany. In March 2015, he become second Vice Chairman of Raumgeschichten e.V.. 


Elena Cuntz | Core Team

Elena Cuntz studied architecture and urban planning at the Karlsruhe University / KIT and received her diploma in July 2013. During her studies she focused on topics such as co-residences, ecological social buildings, and socio-economics in living areas. The principle of  minimize private space combined with providing a maximized community space led to innovative structures. She has participated in projects in such countries as Italy, Turkey, Japan, Germany and Madagascar. Furthermore, she attended workshops at the Hunan University in China and the Hanyang University in South Korea and received the Prize of the  Faculty 2011 for her urban planning project in South Korea. She has been working as an architect for Christoph Mäckler Architects since 2013 and is based in Frankfurt. 


Tabea Kaltenbach | Core Team

Tabea Kaltenbach holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from the Hochschule Darmstadt. Her final thesis was titled "Sexual Dysfunctions in Depression Patients in Social Work." Furthermore, she holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Heidelberg. Here, her final thesis was "Media Addiction and Flow Experience" in which she was awarded a 1.0 (best possible mark). Besides various jobs in the social and psychological fields, she has worked for one year at the Christaller Institut in Akropong, Ghana. Currently, she is a Master's student in clinical psychology at the University of Heidelberg and works for BASF in the Work-Life-Management department. 


Nutan Jäger | Core Team

Nutan Jäger is an American architect and artist, based in Munich, Germany. Nutan holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park and received her Masters Degree in Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1999.
Her focus is in Public Interest Design, an area of design that attempts to solve social, economic, and environmental issues using a design and planning based approach. She currently has projects in the USA, India, and Europe.
 

Sabine Tastel | Orga

Sabine Tastel studied Architecture and Urban Planning at Karlsruhe University / KIT and at Istanbul Technical University. During her studies, she focused on the urban and social revitalization of inner city districts whose boundaries lack identity and which show spacial isolation. In 2014, she received her diploma investigating the restructuring of the Magdolna Quarter, one of Budapests underprivileged districts. Before working at bb22 architekten + stadtplaner in Frankfurt, she worked in several offices in Karlsruhe and Berlin. In March 2015, she became first Vice Chairman of Raumgeschichte e.V.. 

Viktor Heß | Orga

Viktor Heß studied architecture at the Dresden University and at the Karlsruhe University / KIT. In his projects he focuses on re-use, reducing and adaptability. He described his designs in abstract stories transporting the emotional aspects of technical construction to laypersons (so called "Raumgeschichten"). For his diploma in 2013 he developed a viable project upgrading a "rómska osada" (informal Roma settlement) in the east of Slovak Republic in cooperation with a German-Roma organization. He has been working in the field of historical buildings and is based in Nuremberg since 2013. In March 2015, he became Chairman of Raumgeschichten e.V.. 

Marwa Dabaieh | Support

Marwa Dabaieh is an Egyptian architect working for the last 11 years in the field of conservation and environmental design. Marwa received her master degree in environmental planning and design in 2006 and her PhD in conservation of vernacular architecture in 2011 from Lund University in Sweden. In her research work, Marwa mainly applies a transdisciplinary approach through participatory action research methods. She has participated in several design projects in Egypt, the MENA region, and Europe. She received the Swedish Elna Bengtssons foundation prize for scientific research in 2012 for her PhD project in the Western Desert of Egypt. Marwa has several publications and lectures in the fields of conservation, environmental design, and BioGeometry.