After successful completion of the course, students are able to understand the complex processes of a design task from the field of architecture and, by developing independent solutions, to apply these processes, structured in clearly arranged sub-steps, in their own design.

The Portuguese architect Aires Mateus is convinced that architecture is a reaction to the times we live in, also a mirror of those times, and that the current period of upheaval will force architecture to give more importance to the private space - the spaces of our personal freedom.

It has been proven that every fifth person is affected by harmful street noise at their place of residence. In Vienna, the acoustic intensity in public space has steadily increased in recent years, following an international trend towards eventisation, and according to the sociologist and cultural critic Anette Baldauf, it is leading to a far-reaching transformation. The urban is blown up in a hyperbolic way, superlative productions, they lead to a city that wants to be louder, bigger and more. It leads to a complete rearrangement of the acoustic environment and leads to an acoustic restructuring of our everyday life - a challenge, often also an excessive demand, for our ears.
Initial approaches to reversing the trend are already quietly beginning to point out the essential necessity of anchoring silence in the sound image of the city. They are based on an idea of the German doctor Robert Sommer, who already in 1911 had a rest hall built in Dresden as a reaction to the rising industrialisation, an opportunity for brief, permanent rest and for the recovery of nervous energy.

The aim of the design task is to develop a place of silence that offers security and retreat, invites to explore the sound of silence and to create spaces that make the intensity and density of the space tangible. According to Juhani Pallasmaa, the strongest hearing experience that architecture can help us to achieve is silence. "To create an architecture of silence that takes people into a discourse with the space and with themselves. For a limited time, which serves as a refuge from everyday life and allows time out." The search is for different scenarios of use with simultaneously high demands on the design quality. An architecture without any commercial use in which people can be themselves.

Based on the analyses of the topic and the planned location in Vienna, concepts for the topics "architecture of silence" and "time out" will be developed. These will be further developed through precise spatial refinements to support the design. Workshops and lectures will accompany the design process.

A first meeting and organizational introduction on Friday 04.03.2020 at 10:00h in the Raumlabor (Stiege 3/EG). Followed by a tour of the construction site in Vienna.
Registrations with a portfolio will be accepted preferentially
Research and analysis as group work
Elaboration project - as individual work
A detailed semester schedule with all supervision times and the didactic structure of the design process can be found under documents in the TISS.

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If, due to the requirements of the Federal Government or the TU Wien, it becomes impossible to hold the class, the examination, and/or the class meetings on site, the class will move online. If this happens, the announced dates for the class lectures and examinations (part performances) may change. If the class moves online, the following methods and modes will apply: 

Method when moving online: 

The course will be held online via Zoom or GoToMeeting. 

Exam mode when moving online: 

Evaluation will be continuous even if the class moves online. The final presentation will be carried out on Zoom. Student work will be submitted in both analogue and digital form.

Assessment model for the online exam: both analogue and digital submissions and presentations will be assessed.

Required technical equipment for participation in the course and examination: stable internet access, Zoom or GoToMeeting.

The introduction to the design process begins with short tasks, accompanying lectures, basic analyses and in-depth workshops. The design is mainly developed on a model, starting with the urban planning scale and ending with the detailed scale. The design is presented in the form of plans and presentation models. A final digital documentation completes the task.