Vienna | The world’s most livable city. The Fall 2015 AIA Continental Europe International Conference and Chapter Meeting was held in Vienna, Austria from 1-4 October.

Thursday, 1 October The conference commenced in the evening of 1 October in the Architekturzentrum of the Museumsquartier, with an introduction and welcome from Les Jordan and AIA Europe Chapter president Bertrand Coldefy. As conference attendees continued to trickle in for registration and enjoy refreshments, a string quartet performed a calming program of Mozart and Haydn repertoire, displaying Vienna’s rich identity as a global center for Classical music.

Friday, 2 October The first full day of the conference began at the Architekturzentrum with welcoming remarks from organizers Les Jordan and Michael Elsner as well as from AIA Europe President Bertrand Coldefy. The morning schedule included two engaging talks about Vienna’s history and current urban planning projects. Professor Matthias Boeckl’s booming baritone voice condensed 2,000+ years of history into one hour, navigating from ancient times through the medieval, baroque, industrial, and modern eras. Most memorable was the comparison of Vienna’s initial inception as a Roman military encampment on the south bank of the Danube River, to its ultimate power as the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, achieved through strategic cross-territorial marriages. The Baroque era left a fingerprint of urban streets with monumental prospect views, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s final defeat of the Turks in 1683 secured the Western identity that Vienna cultivated in centuries to follow. Campaigns of industrialization spurred extremely dense housing projects in the early nineteenth century, but Napoleon’s attack in 1809, which obviated the need for a city wall, was most influential in shaping Vienna’s 1859 construction of the Ringstrasse and the 23 Bezirk (districts) spiraling out from its center. Another agent of change for northern Vienna was the construction of the Danube Canal at the end of the 19th century; this prevented future flooding of these low-lying areas and made substantial infrastructural and architectural development possible. D.I. Michael Rosenberger from City of Vienna Planning Department offered a brief summary of Vienna’s current-day population and urban structure. With 1.8 million inhabitants, 160 square miles (50% of which is green space), and more than 50% of its housing as subsidized, Vienna’s currently low-population density is increasing rapidly, most recently from deluges of refugees. Mr. Rosenberger

presented Vienna’s Planning Commission’s STEP 2025 program. The STEP 2025 program reflects strategic plans for urban development with the headline goal of creating 120,000 new dwelling units by 2025. Development methods include strategic identification of prime areas for growth or intervention, active engagement of developers in economically-distressed areas, feasible planning for comfortable mixed-use communities, design-competition projects, interest-group meetings, and specific targets for entrepreneurial science and economics office spaces. Mr. Rosenberger emphasized the necessity for long-term thinking and flexibility in such a plan, and gave attention to roadblocks of changing habits- for example changing the transportation behavior of auto-centric communities. It was an inspiring talk that painted an exciting vision for what the future of Vienna holds. After lunch, guides from Architectural Tours Vienna led 3 separate groups on a comprehensive walking tour of the historic center of Vienna. Highlights included the Hofburg Palace, the intersection of the 2 original Roman roads and Roman ruins of that ancient settlement, remnants of the medieval city wall, the 15th century Stephansdom cathedral, and a bank designed by Adolf Loos. The walking tour ended with a detailed tour of Otto Wagner’s Postsparkasse, the Savings and Loan building. Erected in 21 months, its structure is brick and cladding is marble. The post savings bank’s remarkable architectural features include its 17,000 exterior aluminum bolt heads, which adhere the cladding to the structure, its double-sky-light, and its hierarchy of 3 staircases appropriated to user class. With 2 hours of free time to wander the sunny streets of Vienna, conference attendees reconvened in the evening at the Architekturezentrum for a cheerful welcome from Laufen Bathrooms sponsor representative, Sabine Durdik. Professor of Architectural Technology at Harvard University, Martin Bechthold, delivered an engaging talk about ceramics, from their chemical constitution and cultural association, to their innovative capacity in surface effects, patterns and aggregations, thermodynamic skins, and customization. Examples of these applications ranged from FOA’s Spanish Pavilion in Aichi, Japan to prototypic multi-faceted structural columns fabricated for Professor Bechthold’s own research. Attendees mingled and enjoyed refreshments provided by Laufen for the remainder of the evening.

Saturday, 3 October The 3rd day of the conference began with a leap into modern-day Vienna. Hosted on the new University of Economics Wirtschaftsuniversität campus, in the D1/TC (Teaching Center) building, the highlight of the itinerary included a presentation and

tour from the campus masterplan designers Laura Spinadel, Jean Pierre Bolivar, and Bernd Pflüger of BUSarchitektur. The presentations began, however, with a talk by the Alan Schwartzman Scholarship recipient of 2015, Julia Kwolyk. She candidly shared her experience at the 2015 Fontainebleau School architecture program, thanking her sponsors, the AIA Europe Chapter. She is the first recipient of the new Alan Schwartzman Scholarship. Following, Niv Raz, a representative from corporate sponsor Dip-Tech, gave a presentation entitled “Functional Design in Glass”, focused on achieving custom color and imagery on glass cladding. A representative from Kovac Company, a manufacturer in the Slovak Republic, also gave a presentation soliciting their company’s techniques for digital printing on glass. Thomas Pucher of Atelier Thomas Pucher delivered a very entertaining talk peppered with humorous reflections on various struggles with clients. Though he presented several projects, he focused on 3 in particular. These were the Headquarters for the Organization of Islamic Conference, in Saudi Arabia, 7 new luxury apartment towers in Vienna called Viertel Zwei Plus, and Above the Clouds, a beachfront multi-tower complex in Hong Kong. All projects are competition wins, employing innovative geometric moves to optimize space and sun exposure. Prior to lunch, we became better acquainted with the D1/TC Teaching Center, when Laura Spinadel of BUSarchitekture, presented on the building as well as BUSarchitektur’s masterplan, and her colleagues, Jean Pierre Bolivar and Bernd Pflueger, led tours. Lunch was hosted in the café of the Library/Learning Center, a monolithic concrete institution designed by Zaha Hadid. Architectural Tours led 3 groups around the campus and explained the unique conceptual drivers behind all 6 buildings that comprise the university departments and student center. They were designed by internationally-known architecture firms: NO.MAD Arquitectos, CRABstudio, Estudio Carme Pinos, and Atelier Hitoshi Abe. After a two hour break to roam the city and rest, all attendees met for a celebratory gala dinner at Glacis Beisl, a charming restaurant adjacent to the Museumsquartier, known for its traditional Viennese cuisine. Les Jordan and Sandra Zettersten helped facilitate the evening, and Yael Kinsky presented the AIA 2015 Honors and Awards to a cheerful and congratulatory crowd. Guests chatted casually and enjoyed the wine and company for the rest of the evening.

Sunday, 4 October The day began with the AIA Europe Chapter business meeting. Les Jordan gave an introduction, Olesya Yefimov read off the minutes

from Milan’s meeting on 24 May 2015. President of AIA Europe Chapter, Bertrand Coldefy, gave the president’s report. Thomas Vonier, FAIA, and 2016 First Vice President of the AIA, made salient statements about the organization’s future. He is most concerned with the survival of the AIA and effectively championing its core purposes: 1) to stimulate demand for our work, 2) to improve the conditions of our work, and 3) to create collegiate connection. Thomas’s ideas were met with full support. Olesya Yefimov read the membership report and Sandra Zettersten gave the Treasurer’s report. Richard Anderson led the approval of elections of new Board of Directors, to include First Vice President Tiffany Melancon, Vice President Carsten Hanssen, Secretary Olesya Yefimov, and France Section director Ray Spano. All new Board Members were approved as well as continuing member posts. The meeting also included discussion of engaging younger architects and the future of the Alan Schwartzman Scholarship. Mr. Vonier recommended that if it is to be continued, the scholarship name should change to “The AIA Europe Chapter Scholarship” or something that reflects the sponsor organization, in effect promoting the identity of the AIA to younger architects. We heard from the hosts of future AIA Europe conferences scheduled for Barcelona, Girne, Copenhagen, Prague, and Kosovo. After the close of the meeting, members attended a presentation by Juergen Hagner on BIM Software from Wolff & Mueller. This was followed by a presentation from architects Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka of PPAG Architekten. This firm is responsible for designing the modular moveable seating in the Museumsquartier. Prior to lunch, Architect Dieter Henke from Henke Schreieck Architekten, presented on the firm’s current and recent projects in Vienna. Lunch was held at Dots 21 Restaurant, located in the 21e Haus Museum. The conference participants were then lead by Architectural Tours Vienna on a tour of a Henke Schreieck building currently under construction. Lastly, PPAG Architekten led a tour of their Bildungs Campus. These tours were a refreshing and inspirational lens into Vienna’s current urban educational building projects. One can attest to Vienna’s historic grandeur and identity as a European nexus, while also witnessing its progressive conceptions for revitalizing urban life. This concludes the summary of the AIA Europe Conference of Fall 2015, held in Vienna, Austria. *Summary written by Julia Kwolyk, 2015 recipient of the Alan Schwartzman Scholarship.