FRAU*schafft Raum. Transformation of a Site of Violence. with Laura Frediani
Part of WHOSE BUILDING SCIENCE? - Gender Aspects of Building Sciences and Environment
Lecture series / Ringvorlesung in englischer Sprache
Trigger warning: This lecture contains descriptions of violent acts that may be distressing and retraumatizing.
FRAU* SCHAFFT RAUM
A place marked by violence transformed into a space of remembrance, solidarity, and prevention.
FRAU* schafft Raum traces the transformation of the former tobacco shop at Nussdorfer Straße 4 in Vienna into the city’s first feminist art space addressing gender-based violence. Once an informal neighborhood meeting place before a tragic femicide, the site has been reconceptualized as a dynamic memorial and platform for reflection, dialogue, and civic engagement. The project engages with social, historical, symbolic, and technical themes, exploring how architecture can preserve memory while responding to contemporary cultural, social, and political needs. The lecture traces the project’s evolution, from its conception to construction and its ongoing life through exhibitions and discourse, showing how the space functions as both a site of commemoration and a vehicle for resistance, solidarity, and cross-disciplinary exchange. FRAU* schafft Raum exemplifies architecture’s capacity to operate simultaneously as memorial, cultural practice, and catalyst for collective transformation.
Laura Frediani is an architectural designer and author, working between Austria and Italy. Through FREDIANA.studio, she explores socially and culturally relevant themes in architecture. She has co-curated exhibitions at Architektur Zentrum Wien and Architektur Haus Kärnten, held lectures for TU Wien and Kunst Universität Linz, and led workshops at international summer schools such as EASA and VAS². She also contributes regularly to Austrian and Italian architecture magazines. Her work combines architecture, research, and public engagement with a multidisciplinary perspective.
LINKS OPEN-SOURCE ARTICLES
- https://frediana.studio/Paesaggio-Urbano
- https://frediana.studio/Koralle-Magazin
- https://www.buildingonthebuilt.org/site-specific-frau-schafft-raum
BACKGROUND
- Yvonne Wifler, Heimat bist du toter Töchter, Warum Männer Frauen ermorden- und wir nicht mehr wegsehen dürfen https://www.kremayr-scheriau.at/wp-content/uploads/asolmerce/download-1424-leseprobe_widler_heimat_bist_du.pdf
EXTRA
MATERIALS