VOLT – Art in the shell of the HZB from 19 to 21 June 2026
Design for the services building. © DGI
An extraordinary setting: from 19 to 21 June, artists and students from the Berlin University of the Arts will be exhibiting in the shell of the services building on the HZB campus in Berlin-Adlershof. The public is warmly invited to attend the three-day exhibition.
Emerging research architecture and artistic interventions in sculpture, painting, video and photography create a dynamic blend in a space that constantly challenges the boundaries of perception.
This is the third edition of the event, organised once again in collaboration with the client, the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin. The art exhibition is curated by DGI Bauwerk and Enno Wallis.
The opening on 19 June at 5 pm will be accompanied by the music project Hannelore. To support emerging artists, three artistic projects will be honoured with the TIBES ART AWARD III on 21 June at 3.30 pm.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE.
Free admission, no registration required
PROGRAMME
FRIDAY 19 JUNE 2026
Opening 5 pm | Hannelore music project
SATURDAY 20 JUNE 2026
Art exhibition 11 am – 5 pm
SUNDAY 21 JUNE 2026
Closing event 11 am – 3.30 pm
3.30 pm TIBES ART AWARD III prize-giving ceremony
VENUE
VTII Shell Building, Helmholtz Centre Berlin
Magnusstr. 8 | 12489 Berlin-Adlershof
ACCESS
The exhibition is located on the first floor of the building shell. Please note that it is only accessible via a staircase.
ABOUT THE NEW BUILDING OF HZB
With the construction of the new Services Building II, HZB is developing the eastern section of the site for future use by the scientific and research communities. The building will be constructed as a reinforced concrete structure and will feature a timber curtain wall façade as well as a green façade. It measures approximately 31 x 12 metres, comprises four full storeys and will reach a height of just under 20 metres. The new building will house building services systems for the adjacent new laboratory buildings (drinking water, local and district heating, and electricity distribution, as well as compressed air and refrigeration) and will provide space for IT servers and building security. Start of construction: May 2025; planned completion: summer 2027.
WITH STUDENTS FROM THE UDK BERLIN:
SARAH ALBRECHT I MARIA BANDOMER I INA BELZ I ALVAR BOHRMANN I NOÉMIE BORZEIX I FELIX FUCHS I BENJAMIN KOGLIN AND ARNE GRASHOFF I JAN GROSS I LEONIE HENNICKE I ANNE-CHRISTIN ISER I HU JINCHI I FRAUKE JANSEN I MILA KLIER I FABIO KÖNIG I JEANNE LEHMANN I WIELAND LEMMERZ I LISA LITTGEN I CLIO MACLELLAN I TANJA MAIWALD I KIRA MAYER I LOTTA MIMKES I PAULA OLTMANN I YOON PARK I ERIK PIOVAN I TIL ROLLER I MIA SCHNEIDER I NINE SCHRÖDER I LINDA SCHWANZ I PAULINE SCHWABE I ORLANDO SIEBERT I NORA SOMMER I KATIA LINA STERNEL I LEONHARD STIEBER I NOELLA TAN
AS WELL AS THE ARTISTS:
ULRIKE BUHL I UWE BREMER I JOANNA BUCHOWSKA I ANNEDORE DIETZE I THOMAS DRASCHAN I STEFAN DRASCHAN I MICHAEL DÖRNER I PETER FEILER I TOM FRÜCHTL I THOMAS KAPIELSKI I MARTIN KIPPENBERGER I WERNER LIEBMANN I LUKAS LIESE I CATHERINE LORENT I ALINA MANN I SINA NIEMEYER I JUSTINE OTTO I MARI OTBERG I MANFRED PECKL I REBECCA SAMPSON I EVA SCHWAB I MARCUS SENDLINGER I CHRISTIAN STOCK I MIROSLAV TARCENKO I KLAUS THEUERKAUF I BERND UHDE
- Green hydrogen with PEC electrolysers: New insights into transport processesOne method of storing solar energy is to use PEC electrolysers to produce hydrogen. However, scaling up this technology remains challenging. Now, a team at the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels has used 2D fluorescence imaging and particle velocimetry to observe the movement of ions and dissolved gases within the electrolyte during electrolysis. These new insights may prove useful in the development of larger PEC electrolysers.
- New contact material boosts the efficiency of perovskite solar cellsA newly developed material for the electron contact improves the efficiency of single perovskite solar cells and perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. The new material is based on a carborane molecule. It offers several advantages over the standard material C60, as shown by the study led by Steve Albrecht’s team. The new material has since been patented and is already commercially available.
- Precision interface chemistry pushes perovskite solar cells beyond 26% efficiencyAn international research collaboration has developed a new molecular strategy for controlling one of the most critical interfaces in perovskite solar cells. The resulting solar cells reached a power conversion efficiency of 26.19% in the n i p architecture, together with strong operational stability under prolonged illumination and elevated temperature. The results have been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.