Skip to content

ACT OF BUILDING
PRACTICING TRANSFORMATION
Presentation, Opening
TUE, 16.6.2026, 16:00-19:00 – REALLABOR, TU WIEN
GUSSHAUSSTRASSE 28, 1040 WIEN

„Act of Building: Practicing Transformation“ explores the bioregional resource clay and its potential use as a building material in the context of Vienna. The design studio marks the third phase of a two-year research and development project at the Institute of Architectural Design, TU Wien, in partnership with Wienerberger and Wiener Linien, led by BC architects & studies & materials from Brussels.

Approximately 3,000 tons of clay are excavated daily at Vienna’s subway construction sites and, under current regulations, are almost entirely transported to landfills and declared as waste. While Vienna’s building culture in the past was always closely linked to clay as a regional resource, most new buildings still rely primarily on concrete, steel, and styrofoam. The aim of the project is to change this current practice and work towards a bioregional building culture again rooted in the material and social context of our city.

“Practicing Transformation” builds upon the insights of the 2025 “Prototyping Vienna” research, which dealt with the ecosystem of excavation and clay in Vienna and crystallized into five 1:1 geo- and bio-based material prototypes. The focus of this year shifts toward the development of an integrated 1:1 demonstrator, implemented within a real spatial context at the Reallabor of TU Wien, based on the investigation of a specific existing social housing development from the post-war period. A central pillar of this semester is the reinterpretation of architecture as a primary mediator between the human body and the environment. We explored how specific natural material properties can induce physical reactions that actively shape comfort, perception, and the quality of life within existing spaces.

The studio emphasizes the necessity of transformation within building culture, explored in its broadest sense, including shifts in design processes, material thinking, organizational structures, modes of working, and pedagogical models. The term “practicing” highlights that transformation is not merely conceptual but an active, experiential process in which hands-on experimentation is non-negotiable.

Students
Dalila Beglerovic, Til Bonhage, Eva Buder, Lisa Dragaschnig, Lena Erk, Natenael Eshaw Abebe, Julia Glinz, Hugo Gois, Ema Hocevar, Julia Horacek, Philipp Jungerwirth, Clemens Langeder, Lara Lepic, Martha Lewita, Daniil Makhmudov, Florian Ocenasek, Emil Owsanecki, Michele Pirri, Helen Rebel, Paul Ritter, Noelle Rützler, Samuel Sampson, Christine Schagerl, Katja Scholz, Miriam Semler, Ana Sovic

Mentors
Laurens Bekemans, Bregt Hoppenbrouwers, Henri Uijtterhaegen (BC architects & studies & materials, Brussels, Belgium)
Thomas Amann, Prof. Tina Gregoric (Research Unit Architectural Typology, Institute of Architectural Design, TU Wien)

BC architects & studies & materials
Wienerberger
Wiener Linien
gbl.tuwien