After successful completion of the course, students are able to...
After successful completion of the course, students are able to work extensively with theoretical, research, strategic, practical and communicational aspects of bioregional design practices and its methodologies.
Biofabrique Vienna is a pilot project of the Vienna Business Agency and Atelier LUMA, a programme of LUMA Arles. Based on its methodology of the bioregional approach; finding, connecting, implementing and sharing – the Biofabrique operates as a network as well as a knowledge and production platform that processes raw and repurposed materials which are tailored to each bioregion’s resources and needs. Bioregional design practices give us a framework for asking useful questions: what resources are available and how can we use them in a way that makes local environmental and social systems stronger? By building alliances within Viennese industry, academia and creative professionals, Biofabrique Vienna aims to strengthen the bioregion itself.
Today‘s extractive material practices demand a paradigm shift in the resource consumption within the construction industry. Our built environment must now be regarded as a resource and strategies of adaptive reuse perceived as a viable architectural approach. Transitioning towards circular building practices commands ‚new‘ values, characterised by the use of local material waste streams paired with a circular understanding of material sourcing, processing, assembly and disassembly in the context of the territories they ultimately depend on.
The design studio will focus on the prototypical development of a ‚Biofabrique Vienna Headquarters‘ at the ‚Nordwestbahnhalle‘, one of the largest buildings located on the ‚Nordwestbahnhof Areal‘ in the 20th district of Vienna. Built in 1970‘s, the building has primarily served as a bus repair facility. After its suspension, it has been used for temporary programming by numerous community-oriented associations. Today, the area is one of the largest housing developments in Vienna, which includes the demolition of all existing buildings on site. The situation thus presents a challenge and an opportunity to showcase the importance of preserving existing buildings and propose meaningful solutions for its further use as a bioregional knowledge and production platform.
Ranging from systematic research tasks – analysing existing building components, bioregional waste streams, adaptive reuse best practices – to 1:1 material prototypes, the course will aim to propose a holistic architectural, material and programmatic strategy for the future use of the ‚Nordwestbahnhalle‘. All outputs will ultimately contribute to the formulation of an operational model for a Biofabrique Vienna Headquarters in the future.
The design studio will act as a principal partner of Biofabrique Vienna and help demonstrate its first public participatory test phase in 2024 as part of major cultural events like the Klima Biennale and the Vienna Design Week.
Site Visit @ Klima Biennale Wien: Friday 1.3.2024, 09:00-11:00
Kick-Off: Monday 4.3.2024, 14:00-16:00, Office Gebäudelehre
Regular meetings @ Klima Biennale Wien: Fridays 14:00-20:00
3-day Workshop @ Klima Biennale Wien: 13. - 15.4.
10-day Hands-on Workshop @ Klima Biennale Wien: 27.5 - 4.6.
3-day Workshop @ Klima Biennale Wien: 21. - 23.6.
Presentation, Discussion @ Klima Biennale Wien: Friday 28.6. (tbc)
Presentation, Discussion @ Vienna Design Week: Friday 20.9. (tbc)
