Open Greeting Zone for Healthier Collaboration
Das Baumhaus is a hub for citizens of Berlin to come together and collaboratively design, prototype, and carry out sustainable solutions. It‘s owned by C. Scott Bolden and has been collectively built by 1000+ volunteers and similar contributors since 2012.
My name is Taylor Coburn and I am submitting this proposal on behalf of and in collaboration with Das Baumhaus as someone whose life has been strongly and positively impacted by the frameworks and concepts of Das Baumhaus.
What sets Das Baumhaus apart is that instead of focusing on sustainability through only the perspective of ecological sustainability, it looks at the whole and actually acts in alignment with its value of keeping a BALANCE across six comprehensive dimensions of sustainability: personal, ecological, aesthetic, cultural, economical, and social (P.E.A.C.E.S.).
This distinguishes Das Baumhaus from other creative sustainability hubs because:
It‘s not all talking and conceptualizing - it‘s real people doing real things ...actually getting stuff done… and this is done by creating conditions for organic and inclusive human empowerment (enables emergent behavior among diverse groups of people).
Das Baumhaus and its history is a light house example of authentic, values alignment. It refuses to violate its values for quick fixes, band-aid approaches, or anything else that supports creating any further imbalance in the world for the sake of short-term gains over long-term sustainable results for all involved.
Das Baumhaus brings over 14 years of experience in serving the community in Berlin, especially in the district within which it is situated: Wedding. Humans of all walks of life have gathered in Das Baumhaus and at its events (e.g. The Emergent Festival and Community Networking Night) to work together on bringing more balance to their own lives, the lives of others, the city of Berlin, and the whole world. With this simple, single focus on balance…everyone who has come in contact with Das Baumhaus (i.e. entered its location, or joined one of its events) have walked away with life-altering changes in perspective that serve as planted as seeds in their minds that have grown into sustainable community service as well as world-changing initiatives and organizations.
Even more so, people who have worked with Das Baumhaus make small alterations in their behavior in nuanced ways that can’t possibly be measured in a dominant and proving sense, but only observed over lengths of time as they come in and out of Baumhaus‘ doors and events over many years and leave with ideas that they implement in their everyday lives.
More Documentation about Das Baumhaus and its impact:
Das Baumhaus Website: www.baumhausberlin.de
Das Baumhaus Online documentation and community:
Instagram (2,700 followers)
Facebook (8,200 followers)
Meetup.com (5,518 members)
Emergent Festival (By Das Baumhaus) Documentation Archive and 2025.
Successful projects born as seeds or more in Das Baumhaus:
Our solution is the Open Greeting Zone (OGZ), a facilitated social framework designed to encourage and normalize spontaneous, authentic human interaction and connection in public settings. The core idea is to create a simple, psychologically safe "invitation" for open introduction, fostering genuine curiosity and reciprocal listening among strangers. It reframes a social situation (a room full of strangers) from intimidating to collaborative.
Core Goals
Strengthen Community: Build warmth and community through authentic relationships among diverse individuals.
Revitalize Location: Enhance the perceived trust and openness of any location, making it more inviting and "alive with possibility."
Empower Facilitators: Train individuals to replicate and spread the OGZ framework city-wide.
Evidence of proven concept:
https://www.emergentberlinfest.de/index.php/program/meet-greet/
https://www.emergentberlin2025.de/events/open-greeting-zone/
Proven Concept & Uniqueness
The OGZ is a proven concept successfully implemented at numerous events, gathering thousands of participants and forging authentic relationships. We are now scaling to a training and prototyping model:
Novelty: Its uniqueness lies in its simplicity and focus on creating an invisible space—a social contract that facilitates organic, meaningful human interaction.
Social Lubricant: It uses only a marked space and a brief explanation, allowing people of all backgrounds to immediately feel comfortable and connected.
Focus: It prioritizes patient, organic social process and psychological safety over the pursuit of efficiency.
The Prototype:
The special feature and novelty of the prototype we would like to create and place in the RealLabor is the development of a scalable, physical toolkit to facilitate the concept's expansion:
Prototype Goal: To create a distinctive, reproducible, and portable physical sign that embodies the spirit of the OGZ and serves as a teaching tool.
Design: A double-sided sign reading "Open Greeting Zone” in a graffiti or similar eye-catching and vibe-inducing style, approximately 60-70cm wide, 30cm tall, and 25-30cm deep. It will be illuminated with LEDs and designed to be highly versatile (e.g. tabletop, hanging, pole-mounted).
Sustainability: The sign will be created using 3D-printed recycled plastic or other material, ensuring the prototype itself aligns with sustainable and reproducible practices. This can lead to a product that can be reproduced and sold along with training at the base camp (i.e. Das Baumhaus) for those who wish to use the sign and facilitate an OGZ.
Planning Status: The concept is fully implemented in Das Baumhaus events with cardboard and wooden signs. The current planning status is to prototype design and fabrication of the illuminated, large-scale, 3D-printed OGZ sign as well as implement a facilitator training.
Implementation in the Reallabor (IHK Foyer):
The OGZ will be implemented in the IHK foyer to impact a diverse professional audience:
Prototype Fabrication: Use funding to create the flagship, large, illuminated, 3D-printed OGZ Sign.
Strategic Placement: Test and deploy the sign at various IHK events (networking, conferences) throughout the year.
Facilitator Training & Deployment: Conduct a program to train and employ Open Greeting Zone Facilitators (OGZ-Fs).
Activation: Trained OGZ-Fs will be present at designated times to quickly explain and activate the zone.
This three-part process (prototype creation, facilitator training, and paid deployment in a high-impact environment) strengthens the IHK location by:
Contribution to Location Strengthening and Revitalization:
The implementation of the OGZ within the IHK foyer contributes significantly to the location's vitality and the broader business/event community:
Strengthening and Diversity: By creating a socially acceptable framework for open approach, the OGZ actively encourages organic interaction between diverse professionals, entrepreneurs, and event attendees who might otherwise not connect. This broadens professional and social capital, leading to a stronger, more resilient network that reflects the diversity of the city.
Revitalization: Implementing the OGZ in a professional setting like the IHK infuses these spaces with trust, openness, and spontaneous connection. This fosters a sense of psychological safety that is crucial for genuine collaboration, transforming formal events into welcoming social ecosystems. This sense of openness makes the location more attractive and memorable for all participants.
The Open Greeting Zone (OGZ) is more than a marked space; it is a social operating system designed to solve a critical issue in modern urban life: the pervasive presence of social isolation, superficial interaction, and the lack of psychological safety required for deep collaboration. By systematically normalizing open introductions and genuine curiosity, the OGZ significantly contributes to the quality of life, professional efficacy, and overall resilience of urban society.
The core of our solution is the implementation of a simple social contract facilitated by a physical marker. This framework transforms impersonal public and professional spaces into thriving ecosystems of human connection. The OGZ has already been proven successful within Das Baumhaus, where the designated zones have gathered thousands of people, forging authentic and collaborative relationships. This demonstrates the solution's potential for wide-scale urban impact.
Contribution to Urban Society & Shaping Space:
The core solution uses a simple social contract facilitated by a physical marker, proven successful in spaces like Das Baumhaus. The OGZ shapes space through social framing, not physical structure:
Creation of Psychological Safety: The OGZ is an intentional space where traditional social barriers are suspended. The explicit "invitation" allows for relaxed body language and patient, reciprocal listening, mitigating stress and loneliness in dense urban settings.
Redefinition of Public Space Dynamics: The sign marks an "invisible space" where genuine interaction is the expected norm, acting as a connection catalyst hub. This makes the entire location feel inviting and "alive with possibility," enhancing its social revitalization.
Authentic Networking: Especially in professional settings like the IHK, the OGZ replaces transactional, business-card-swapping with authentic, trust-based introductions. It fosters collective creativity by enabling the "soft" social connection necessary for collaborative emergence.
Added Value for Businesses and Urban Infrastructure:
The OGZ is strategically positioned to benefit IHK stakeholders and urban infrastructure.
For Businesses (IHK Stakeholders):
Accelerated Trust Building: Drastically reduces the time to build foundational trust, leading to quicker, more effective partnerships.
Innovation: Acts as an engine for cross-sectoral problem-solving by connecting diverse individuals.
Talent Retention: Attracts and retains talent by fostering a culture of genuine connection.
For Urban Infrastructure (Event Spaces):
High-Value Utility: Provides a highly scalable, low-cost model that elevates the utility of any meeting space by guaranteeing a baseline of social engagement and curating positive social outcomes.
Integration and Interaction Model
The implementation in the IHK Reallabor focuses on the illuminated OGZ Prototype Sign (recycled 3D-printed plastic) and the Open Greeting Zone Facilitator (OGZ-F).
The interaction model is a simple cycle:
Visual Trigger: Attendees are drawn to the distinctive sign.
Human Frame-Up: The OGZ-F gently explains the simple social contract: "In this space, it is totally okay and normal to approach anyone and introduce yourself."
Direct Experience: Participants step into the zone and immediately experience the permission to connect.
Dissemination: The positive experience encourages participants to apply the social frame elsewhere.
The process is a cycle of Creation (Prototype), Training (Facilitators), and Activation (Paid Implementation at IHK events).
Impact on Sustainability Dimensions:
Social Impact:
Strengthening & Diversity: Removes implicit social hierarchy, making interaction equitable and accessible, increasing dialogue among diverse participants.
Enhanced Wellbeing: Acts as a preventative measure against social stress and loneliness through reciprocal listening.
Economic Impact:
Job Creation: Creates specialized, human-centric jobs by employing trained OGZ Facilitators.
Product Development: Establishes a revenue stream for a reproducible sign (circular economy).
Networking ROI: Guarantees a higher return on investment for networking time by converting passive attendance into active collaboration.
Ecological Impact:
Low-Footprint Solution: A low-tech, high-impact social protocol.
Sustainable Materials: Prototype uses recycled 3D-printed plastic.
Efficiency of Meeting Space: Maximizes the social productivity of events, ensuring resources are maximized for genuine connection.
The OGZ is an elegant, scalable, and human-first approach to complex urban social problems.
At this time there is currently no funding or grants. Das Baumhaus runs on donations, volunteer work, and the hiring of its services and itself as a rental space for group events geared towards creating dynamically balanced, sustainable solutions.
The concept and effectiveness of an “Open Greeting Zone” low-budget, hand-crafted sign with a facilitator has been proven at every Emergent Festival, other Baumhaus events (e.g. monthly community nights, service-user events inside Baumhaus).
This is explained thoroughly in previous sections.
There is no foreseen funding for implementing this idea in the immediate to mid-term future.
The prototype should be implemented in the IHK foyer. This ultimately presents the opportunity to truly test this mostly social innovation for more urban health in typical urban settings such as networking events.
