Bridging Design, Sustainability & Social Impact
For Undergraduates, Postgraduates, Advanced-Level Students & Hands-On Practitioners
Explore the future of mobile architecture through a unique, interdisciplinary experience that combines real-world prototyping, immersive technology, and social responsibility.
Areas of Focus:
Architecture | Civil & Structural Engineering | Environmental & Sustainable Design | Urban Development | Social Policy | Digital & Immersive Design (VR/MR/AR) | Business & Entrepreneurship | Media Influence on Architecture
About Silverfish Project
Inspired by the award-winning documentary Lost Silverfish of Berlin, Silverfish Project brings together mobile architecture, sustainability, immersive tech, and hands-on prototyping in one transformative experience for students.
This cross-disciplinary initiative is ideal for students in architecture, civil and structural engineering, urban planning, sustainability, digital media, and social policy. It's designed to provide practical, real-world experience through immersive learning, teamwork, and prototyping both digitally and physically.
Flexible Participation Options for Universities
Universities can select from eight ways to engage with the Silverfish Project, from film licensing to building onsite prototypes for the follow-up film.
Film Licence
Licence Now
- Exclusive film screening license
- Lost Silverfish of Berlin documentary
- Educational institution screening rights
- Supporting film booklet
Guest Speaker
Book Now
- Exclusive film screening (60 min)
- Behind-the-scenes presentation
- Unseen archival footage & plans
- Interactive Q&A with Rory Ryder
- Exclusive workshop catalogue
Full-Day Workshop
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- Guest speaker presentation
- Interactive design session
- Case studies & brainstorming
- Collaboration & feedback session
- Digital certificate of completion
5-Day Berlin Discovery
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- Film screening in a real Silverfish
- Food and drinks and Q&A with director
- 4 exciting days of site visits
- Architect enthusiast tours in Berlin
- Guided exploration of architectural gems
VR & Immersive Module
Developed Exclusively For Your University
- Exclusive VR experience
- Developed for your university
- Customized learning objectives
- Cutting-edge immersive technology
- Integration with existing curriculum
Film Workshop (2-Days)
Book Now
- Learn to make, direct, edit & promote
- Film or documentary creation skills
- Fully immersive workshop experience
- Delivered by award-winning director
- Practical hands-on filming sessions
New Course Licence
10 Years of R&D
- Build your own custom course
- Licence materials from extensive database
- 10 years of research & development
- Fully adaptable to your university
- Comprehensive support materials
Build Onsite Prototype
Be Showcased in the Follow-up Film
- Design and build a physical Silverfish prototype
- Opportunity to be featured in follow-up film
- Expert guidance and mentorship
- Material and construction support
- Real-world testing of architectural concepts
Key Areas Covered
Silverfish Project offers a comprehensive approach to learning through these six core areas
Adaptive Design & Architecture
Students explore lightweight, sustainable structures and create modular designs tailored for real-world scenarios, ranging from student housing to emergency shelters.
Engineering & Materials Innovation
Hands-on experience in construction logistics, materials testing, structural design, and prototyping, ideal for civil, structural, and mechanical engineering students.
Digital & Immersive Technology
VR/MR/AR is used to simulate, refine, and present mobile housing solutions, preparing students for the digital future of the built environment.
Urban Policy & Social Impact
Modules include planning regulation, ethical design, and social responsibility, equipping students to address housing crises, displacement, and climate adaptation.
Business & Start-Up Thinking
Students learn how to pitch modular solutions to real stakeholders, councils, investors, and public bodies, building entrepreneurial and collaborative skills.
Live Prototyping & Co-Living
Unlike traditional studio-based education, students can build and live inside their designs, either physically or via immersive VR experiencing architecture from the inside out.
What sets Silverfish Project apart?
Immersive, not theoretical
Students use VR/AR, live-builds, and full-scale prototypes to test their ideas in the real (or virtual) world.
Cross-disciplinary
It merges architecture, engineering, sustainability, tech, and policy into one unified, impact-driven experience.
Human-centred design
Students are encouraged to rethink how we live, build, and share space, focusing on adaptability, community, and innovation.
Collaborative over competitive
Projects are team-based, simulating real-life working environments and fostering shared problem-solving.
Inspiration over instruction
Designed to grow independent, bold thinkers who are empowered to question norms and design with purpose.
Whether through a film screening, immersive module, new course, or full-scale co-living prototype, Silverfish Project offers your university and students a way of learning, designed to shape a new generation of architects, designers, and change-makers.
About Rory Ryder
Rory Ryder is a British designer, filmmaker, and educator who through design enjoys solving real-world problems and meeting human needs. Born in Manchester in 1968, Rory's multidisciplinary career has spanned storytelling, art, design, technology, education, and film all driven by his deep curiosity about how we live, and how we might live better.
In 2016, Rory started filming Lost Silverfish of Berlin, a multi-award-winning documentary filmed over eight years, uncovering forgotten mobile architecture from East Germany between the 1950s and 1980s. The film became the foundation for Silverfish Project an innovative educational project that empowers students to challenge conventional thinking, act with purpose, and design not just as architects or engineers, but as real problem-solvers.
Now collaborating with universities across the UK and beyond, Silverfish Project invites students to imagine and prototype modular, sustainable housing that responds to today's urgent global challenges. Designed to adapt within each institution's framework, the project encourages hands-on learning and prepares architecture and engineering students from theory to practice developing critical thinkers who rise to the challenge of designing real-world solutions.
Rich Archives & Collaborative Innovation
A Unique Academic Resource with Customisable Learning Paths
Silverfish Project can offer your university access to an extraordinary archive built over a decade of research, film production, and design development. This includes:
Historical Resources
Rare photographs, archive video footage, and original East German Silverfish building plans.
Learn MoreUnseen Interviews
In-depth conversations with architects, engineers, urban planners, historians, and other experts most of which were never released in the documentary Lost Silverfish of Berlin.
Request AccessTechnical Documents
Detailed insights into the Silverfish modular design, construction methods, and adaptive housing strategies.
View DetailsThese rich resources form the foundation for powerful, hands-on learning experiences and are available to institutions that choose to license or collaborate on the project.
But Silverfish Project goes further than offering content, it is a collaborative framework that works closely with universities to co-develop custom modules or a full course tailored to undergraduate, postgraduate, or advanced-level students. Whether a university wants a one-day workshop, immersive VR module, new course or full-scale prototype-building experience, Silverfish Project provides the tools, knowledge base, and flexibility to shape a program that meets specific learning objectives.
At its heart, Silverfish Project believes that education should be about sharing ideas, cross-disciplinary innovation, and co-creation. By partnering with institutions, it helps inspire the next generation of architects, designers, and critical thinkers preparing them to shape a more sustainable, adaptable future.
Architectural Drawings
Detailed architectural plans and elevations of the Silverfish modular architecture concept.
Silverfish Project architectural drawing - floor plan and elevations
Silverfish Project architectural drawing - detailed plans and sections