SPACES BETWEEN PLACES - on the Transformative Potential of Odd Lots¹ Vienna / Ljubljana / Brussels / Barcelona / Berlin

Symposium speakers

Kristiaan Borret, Bouwmeester Maitre Architecte at Brussels Captial Region;

Ricardo Flores, Flores i Prats Architects, Barcelona;
Adj. Prof. at Universitat Polytècnica de Catalunya, ETSAB;

Benoit Vandenbulcke, AgwA – architecture office, Brussels;
University of Liege, Faculty of Architecture

Carles Enrich, Carles Enrich Studio, Barcelona;
University Polytècnica de Catalunya, ETSAB;

Roberta Jurčić, b+, Berlin;
Architecture and Design, ETH Zürich;

Anja Vidic, Vidic Grohar Arhitekti, Ljubljana;
University Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture;

Gordon Selbach, Architect; Vienna;
Evelyn Temmel, BELT Architektur Buero; Vienna;
Katharina Urbanek, studio urbanek; Vienna;
TU Wien, Institute of Architectural Design;

Moderated by

Tina Gregorič, Dekleva Gregorič architects, Ljubljana;
Professor, TU Wien, Institute of Architectural Design;

Vasa Perović, Bevk Perović architects, Ljubljana;
Professor, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture;

The symposium, along with the exhibition of the design studio series Odd Lots, starts from the fundamental concept of odd urban vacant spaces—byproducts of infrastructural measures, urban development, or unique topographical features. The topic was initially inspired by Gordon Matta Clark‘s Fake Estates in New York and subsequently references Arno Brandlhuber‘s Option Lots in Berlin and Atelier Bow-Wow pet architecture in Tokyo.

“spaces between places, not out of sight, but out of mind.”
Gordon Matta-Clark, Fake Estates1 1971-1973

The lack of attention and articulation in urban development significantly contributes to environmental and social crises. The current situation demands a serious reflection on the use of forgotten and overlooked spaces and their possible transformative potential.

Transformative methods of redesigning and reactivating the urban fabric involve architectural interventions on unusual sites where development seems impossible—Odd Lots. Students propose architectural projects that explore the unused potential of diverse odd lots in various urban contexts.

A series of odd lots situated in Vienna, Ljubljana, Brussels, Barcelona, and Berlin have been carefully and meticulously curated to serve as project sites. These sites range from small 20-square-meter lots in courtyards to locked-in sites and existing open structures, each offering unique properties on all terms.

Underutilized lots that are perceived as too narrow, too long, inaccessible, dark, or in any other way unusual and unattractive for standard use hold untapped potential that can be activated through alternative approaches. By implementing new, innovative architectural and programmatic solutions, these unconventional spaces can transform the functionality of the city and its architectural and public environments.

In times marked by social, environmental, political, health, and other crises – the starting points of these architectural interventions – these student projects and their unusual settings represent architectural, typological, and programmatic innovations.

The first edition of ODD LOTS was developed in a dialogue between TU Wien (Faculty of Architecture and Planning) and the University of Ljubljana (Faculty of Architecture). Students and faculty of both faculties discussed locations in both cities, Ljubljana and Vienna, and dialectically brought fresh insights to those locations.

In the search for these Odd Lots, in their examination, and ultimately in the design projects, we attempted to highlight the unique specificities of the cities and uncover the hidden potentials of these places.

¹ Odd Lots refers to the title of an exhibition at Queens Museum of Art in 2005 revisiting Gordon Matta Clark ́s Fake Estates project of 1973. 19 contemporary artists presented speculative projects responding to Matta-Clark ́s purchase and archival documentation of 15 peculiarly shaped lots in Queens and Staten Island, New York.

Thanks to our Partners & Sponsors

MA7 – Kultur; MA 21A – Stadtteilplanung und Flächenwidmung; Architekturtage;
Bezirksvorstehung 2. Bezirk;