Students Unveil ‘Climate Refuge’ at NYC Climate Week in Collaboration with MIT and UC Berkeley

Clay, Code, and Climate: Rosenberg x MIT Launch Urban Refuge at Climate Week NYC

St. Gallen, Switzerland – During Climate Week New York, students from Institut auf dem Rosenberg will debut a striking architectural installation that brings climate resilience and education into direct conversation.

Called Climate Refuge, the project is a walkable, full-scale cooling structure made from 600 modular clay blocks – designed and presented by students aged 5 to 18 in collaboration with MIT and UC Berkeley. Hosted by Swissnex, the exhibition will run September 23-25, 2025, at Mabou Mines in New York’s East Village.

The installation reimagines ancient cooling strategies through the lens of modern fabrication and urban design. Inspired by traditional earth-based architecture and built using parametric design tools, the pavilion demonstrates how low-carbon, adaptive systems can address rising temperatures and energy inequality in cities.

Inside the courtyard space, visitors are immersed in a climate-conscious environment where architecture, ecology, and education converge. The evaporative façade demonstrates passive cooling in real-time practice, while interactive, student-led workshops invite visitors to test ideas in modular design, material science, and sustainable urban living.

“Students today are not spectators to the future – they are shaping it,” said Anita Gademann, Board Member and Head of Innovation at Institut auf dem Rosenberg. “This exhibition demonstrates what’s possible when learning is anchored in real-world challenges and collaboration.”

Augmented reality layers reveal climate data and speculative design futures, while the work exhibited will contribute to a Youth Manifesto for Action. Authored by students in dialogue with global experts, the manifesto will be presented during the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2026.

Climate Refuge is part of an ongoing collaboration between Rosenberg, MIT Design and Computation, MIT Building Technology, and UC Berkeley Architecture, focusing on accessible, sustainable building systems. After New York, the installation will travel to MIT Boston, Davos, and other venues before becoming a permanent feature in Rosenberg’s climate garden in Switzerland.

Learn more about Rosenberg’s innovation programs at: www.instrosenberg.ch

For interviews, press access, or media materials, please contact:

Institut auf dem Rosenberg

Höhenweg 60, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland

tel.: +41 71 277 77 77

Institut auf dem Rosenberg is an international boarding school, recently ranked as "the Best School in the World" by Premium Europe. The school's state-of-the-art learning environment is defined by its unique educational philosophy and a team of educators known as the Artisans of Education, who combine academic excellence with innovation, entrepreneurship, and real-world learning. Rosenberg prepares students from early years to pre-university level to lead with purpose in a rapidly changing world.