As part of the BAU 2025 trade fair in Munich, a series of lectures titled “FORWARD: Impulses of a future-oriented generation of architects” were held in cooperation with the AIT-Dialog on January 16, 2025.
Changing value systems, an increasing sense of responsibility for ecology and economy as well as the influence of AI, mobility and flexibility have brought about a paradigm shift in recent years. The major challenges of our time and multiple crises could have caused a decline in innovation, courage and a willingness to experiment. But the contrary is the case. The new generation of architects is characterized by a mentality of acting together instead of looking ahead individually. New nomadic ways of working and living are influencing the idea of home, refuge and dwelling.
It is above all the projects that go beyond conventional building tasks that catch the eye: Intermediate and mixed uses, temporary living, transformations of existing buildings into places for the community and various interventions in urban space. These are projects that focus on collective life and rediscover the immediate surroundings. Taking up, interpreting and strengthening the local context plays a key role here.
Following the community orientation, this concept is also reflected in the working methods: The newcomers operate in an interdisciplinary manner, in collectives and with variable collaborations. The synergetic collaboration of different networks makes it possible to make work processes more dynamic and to draw on a broad pool of ideas in order to achieve new and innovative results. The young generation's projects are based on solid academic discourse, which is why it is hardly surprising that many of them are also active in teaching. Their work moves between creative creation, academic teaching and participatory planning processes. As a result, this generation is making a significant contribution to the reorientation of the role of architects and demonstrating that critical reflection on construction methods and the responsible use of resources are essential. Instead of viewing reduction as a limitation, successful examples are needed that prove that high-quality architecture can be created on the basis of sustainability concepts.
Speaker:
Markus Innauer, Innauer Matt Architekten, Bezau, Austria: Sense and sensuality
Oana Stănescu, Design Studio led by Oana Stănescu, Germany/USA: Working with what is already there
Omar Degan, DO Architecture Group, Mogadishu, Somalia: Building Resilience: Designing for fragility in the age of climate crisis
Logan Amont, atelier amont, Basel, Switzerland: "Concerning topics such as the placement of a bench in relation to a tree and the sun and so on..."
Artem Kitaev, KOSMOS Architects, Zürich, Switzerland: Reinterpreting the Existing
Jan Yoshiyuki Tanaka, JAJA Architects, Copenhagen, Denmark: Working Strategically and Practically Towards Better Living Quality and Environmental Responsibility
Georgi Belyanov, Moreau Kusunoki, Paris, France: From first generation to re-generation (of museums)
Stephan Schwarz, ISSS Research, Berlin, Germany: From the house of the future to the neighbourhood of the future
Marta Sękulska-Wrońska, WXCA, Warshaw, Poland: Passion for architecture
Nicolas Lapierre, Atelier L’Abri, Montreal, Canada: A responsible architecture
Moderation:
Julia Hinderink