Gregor Buchhaus / Kollektiv Fischka
Gregor Buchhaus / Kollektiv Fischka

Talks

Talk

DEPARTURE TALK 2: MAKING HEIMAT – HOW TO GO ON AFTER REFUGEE ARCHITECTURE? The Vienna Business Agency presents departure in focus

Wirtschaftsagentur Wien, Oliver Elser, VIENNA DESIGN OFFICE

6.10.2016, 5pm

Tradition has to be nurtured, said Oliver Elser at the start of his talk. No sooner said than done: Like the year before, the curator – now an indispensible actor in the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK show – started the talk with a video clip. An impressive video clip.
The images outlined the German pavilion in the run-up to the Architecture Biennale in Venice: Where a building plot once reflected the world order in miniature, this year’s German contribution addressed the consequences of the refugee situation. But how can a massive building from 1938 articulate the present euphoric mood in architecture? How can maxims about openness apply to a bulky building with meter-thick walls? By breaking through the masonry, by
creating new entrances, the house opened itself up just as the borders once did. Suddenly the pavilion manifested itself as a symbolic sightline towards its neighbors, France for instance. Basing his argument on the eight principles of a successful “arrival city”, Elser subsequently presented various buildings for accommodating refugees, which he used to venture a cautious look into the future.