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

"Being on the run, the main form of existence in the future. Already there are more refugees than after World War II."  The issue of migration has permeated our society for decades, dominating political and social discourse, and since the wave of refugees in 2015, this topic has become the recurring focus of party-political disputes and political campaign issues.

The fact that migration is very closely linked to human suffering and fatalities is now part of everyday life and only triggers marginal consternation in broad sections of society. According to Pope Francis, "there is a globalized indifference to migration and to the people who die in these attempts to migrate." 

A particularly tragic event of this wave of refugees as part of the European refugee crisis occurred on 28.August.2015 near the Burgenland town of Parndorf on the border with Hungary:  

in a refrigerated truck, which was parked in an emergency stop bay on the A4 eastern freeway, 71 dead people were found in the airtight cargo hold. Almost all of the people, 59 men, 8 women and 4 children were identified and a large number were transferred to their home countries of Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Iran. 

"It is harder to honor the memory of the nameless than that of the famous. It is to the memory of the nameless that historical construction is consecrated."  

Monuments, memorials, places of remembrance have long had a high relevance in society. A large number of monuments, sometimes entire museums, are dedicated to the commemoration of specific events, or commemorate great personalities and different political groups. Evidently, they are always subject to a broad discourse, are often controversial and sometimes provoke a negative attitude. 

The aim of the design is to create a place of remembrance and information in order not to let this tragedy and its victims be forgotten and to draw attention to the migration that still takes place every day. What is needed is an architecture that delimits this place of tragedy and trauma and transforms it into a charged place of memory, commemoration and information. 

A memorial should be created that honors the dead and at the same time touches and informs the living. An architecture that manifests and communicates, but according to Peter Eisenmann, through ambiguity and provocation also arouses emotions that trigger a thought process, confrontation and reappraisal in the visitors. 

"You know, art has always been critical of life,..." Peter Eisenman

Building on the analyses of the theme and the building site in Parndorf, concepts are developed on the themes of "architecture of remembrance" and "culture of remembrance". These will be further developed by precise spatial refinements supporting the design. An in-depth study on landscape architecture, workshops and lectures will accompany the design process.

A first meeting and an organizational introduction will take place on Thursday 03.03.2022 at 09:30h-11:00h in the AEU 1-6. Subsequently, from 13:45h-16:00h tour of the building site in Parndorf/Burgenland.

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 TIS. Supervision times on Mondays in online mode and Thursdays in presence mode.

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

1. James E. Young: Formen des Erinnerns, Gedenkstätten des Holocaust, Passagen Verlag, Wien, 1997

2. Wittmann, Franziska: Körper in Räumen, Quart Verlag, 2019

3. Mennekes, Friedhelm: Eduardo Chillida, Kreuz und Raum, Chorus, 2001

4. Pallasmaa, Juhani: Die Augen der Haut, Architektur und die Sinne, 2012

5. Zumthor, Peter: Atmosphären:Architektonische Umgebungen, Birkhäuser, 2006

6. Tanizaki, Jun'ichiro:  Lob des Schatttens, Entwurf einer japanischen Ästhetik, 2010

7. Eichinger, Gregor: Touch Me, Das Geheimnis der Oberfläche, 2011