Based on the work of the three studios of the Institute of Architecture (I oA) at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, the selected projects deal with the point at which form becomes politics, that is with the question of how physical constructions shape social relationships. From installations designed to promote debate and exchange, to furniture that hybridizes different functional and formal codes, to the dissolution of typical domestic configurations, all three studios share a common interest in the social implications of space and use. The works presented, all developed by students as part of their semester assignments, examine the role of design in relation to its users: as a framework for freedom and control, as instruction or impetus, or as imagined stage directions and performance.

The Institute of Architecture (I oA) consists of: Studio Sam Chermayeff, Studio Space Popular, and Studio Sam Jacob.