Specific Formal Articulations of a Recognizably Public Architecture.
Re-Reading Red Vienna and its Built Reception.


with 
 Büro Bietenhader Moroder & Kryštof Otto Fučík 

#redvienna #publicarchitecture #noncreativity


The last three decades were characterized by a post-political understanding of architecture. Good architecture was about smart geometries, nice materials and original details. It was assumed to be neutral, with the explicit exclusion of questions of ownership and social context. Architects were supposed to be a-political and non-ideological and instead to creatively navigate beyond the ruins of the past.

Today, the connection between architectural form and the political situation of building projects is gradually becoming legible again: firstly, through the rise of a right-wing claim to architecture; and secondly, through new public projects responding to the cost-of-living crisis. Cities like Vienna are once again builder-owners.

Leaving behind the empty phrases of originality, creativity and smartness – the compulsory demands of exceptionality towards any design – and thereby also the mimicry of bourgeois-“luxury”-architecture the workshop will analyse examples of Red Vienna’s municipal architecture from 1919 to 1934 as well as its built reception from the late 1940s until the 1980s. The examples will be looked at in terms of what are their specific formal articulations that make them a recognizably public architecture. Are these traits still applicable to public architecture in Vienna today, or do they need to be updated?

Starting out from the municipal residential complex Sandleitenhof (1924-29) – this year's Vienna Architecture Summer School location – we will look at, among other examples, the Somogyi-Hof (1927-29) and the Bebelhof (1925-27), but also at the Maria-Franc-Hof (1955-58) or the Wohnungsanlage Einsiedlergasse 13 (1981-83). Through the critical analysis and re-evaluation of these examples of Vienna’s municipal architecture, participants will develop design proposals for specific formal articulations and elements of public architecture. Housing block volumes, facades, shared courtyards as well as public infrastructures will be investigated through models in clay.


Sebastian Bietenhader studied architecture at the ETH Zurich (BSc.) and at the Harvard GSD, as well as history and philosophy of knowledge, also at the ETH Zurich (MA.), where he did a thesis on the development of the computer modelling space, which will be essential for BIM. He headed the student discussion group ‘Ambitus.’ He is a regular guest critic at the ETH Zurich and has been teaching architecture at various institutions.

Matthias Moroder studied architecture (AA Dipl.) at the Architectural Association in London, art history (BA) and philosophy (BA) at the University of Vienna and history and theory of architecture (MAS) at the ETH Zurich. Besides the work as Büro Bietenhader Moroder, since 2018 he is co-leading MAGAZIN, an independent exhibition space for architecture in Vienna. He is currently a PhD candidate at the department of art history of the University of Vienna and has been teaching architecture and architectural history and theory at various (non)institutions.
https://buerobietenhadermoroder.com/

Kryštof Otto Fučík studied architecture in Prague and Liberec (Bc.), alongside Humanities Studies in Prague, and is currently applying for a Master's degree in architecture. He is a member of 4AM / Forum for Architecture and Media in Brno and has organized several more or less performative events exploring (not only) Central European architecture. He is also an active member of EASA and co-organizer of EASA Bałagan 2027.
︎︎︎ MEDIA   clay modelmaking, photo, video, writing

︎︎︎ LOCATION main location & various examples around the city

︎︎︎ TEACHING LANGUAGE English

︎︎︎ WHAT TO BRING no specific requirements 

︎︎︎ REQUIREMENTS  no specific requirements

︎︎︎ MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS  6

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