wednesdays 39

The initial position and prospective possibilities for the development of architecture education in Vienna

In the early 1990s Samuel Mockbee (1944-2001) and Dennis K. Ruth founded the Rural Studio in Hale County, Alabama – a region of America with a poverty rate of almost forty percent. Since then the students of Aubern University have been building simple but innovative buildings for the underprivileged inhabitants of the area.

The exhibition ‘Just Build It! The Buildings of The Rural Studio’ – and an invitation from the Architekturzentrum Wien – prompted the Vienna architecture faculties to agree to offer a thematically associated curriculum over the current Summer Semester. The courses being offered include the following aspects, which were relevant in choosing to hold the exhibition and to the vision of the Rural Studio:
– students build themselves
– social relevance for the projects
– environmental sustainability in the selection of the materials used

This evening is dedicated to presenting the resulting practise-related and socially orientated thematic treatments offered at the Vienna architecture faculties. The presentation is to be followed by a discussion on the status quo of architecture education in Vienna.

The Panel

Günter Feuerstein, University of Technology
Andreas Hofer, University of Technology
Franz Loranzi, Academy of Fine Arts
David Pasek, student
Reiner Zettl, University of Applied Art
Moderated by: Elke Krasny, journalist