As Visiting Professor at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Madeleine led the master’s studio Filling the Void: The Death and Life of the Great European High Street. The studio explored the future of the high street through participatory installations and performance-led design. Working along Kaiserstraße, Karlsruhe’s main high street, students identified abandoned shops, offices and arcades and tested what these could become through a series of temporary installations, artworks and performances. Each intervention acted as a live experiment, opening a dialogue between designers, the local community and the future of the high street.
Structured as three “Acts,” the studio culminated in Act III: The Finale and the Beginning, a day-long public event that brought together residents, students, local organisations and government. The installations (Ghost Town, Synthes!zer, Unframe, Unadvertised, Sensory Garden, and Patchworkshop) evolved throughout the day, activating the street and questioning how our high streets can once again become places for everyone. The installations have since been adapted and reused by Architekturschaufenster, where they continue to be used by the public in new contexts.
