The Act of Building – TU Wien Guest Professorship
Academic host : TU Wien – Institute of Architectural Design
Partners : Wiener Linien & Wienerberger
A two-year guest professorship at the Institute of Architectural Design, TU Wien led by BC architects & studies & materials, focusing on clay as a bioregional building material in Vienna.
How do we reimagine construction when we begin with what’s beneath our feet?
A material narrative grounded in place
Each day, some 3,000 tons of clay are excavated from Vienna’s subway construction sites. Nearly all of it is transported away and treated as waste. At the same time, most new construction continues to rely on energy-intensive materials like concrete, steel, and styrofoam. What if instead of discarding, we reclaimed this urban resource?
The Act of Building: Act 1 – Prototyping Vienna
This first chapter of the program unfolds through a design studio, excursions, and hands-on workshops. Together with TU Wien students, industry partners (Wienerberger, Wiener Linien), and local experts, we explore the hidden potential of Vienna’s clay.
By combining fieldwork with prototyping, the studio seeks to reconnect building with its material origins and social context—treating construction not only as an act of assembly but as a layered process of observation, testing, and care.
We visit excavation sites, brickworks, and museums. We investigate soil. We make, unmake, and remake.
From that process, 1:1 prototypes emerge, architectural fragments that test recipes, logistics, and technical behaviour , but also open up new imaginaries for a Viennese building culture that is low-tech, regenerative, and rooted in place.
A long-term commitment
This design studio marks the first phase of a two-year research and development cycle led by BC. In the second phase, the program will evolve towards applied material research, further prototyping, and dissemination, in dialogue with partners across Vienna’s academic, industrial, and public landscape.
