Forschungspreis Architektur der Bundessektion Architekt:innen 2025 für Matthias Treviranus

STRUCTURE (&) CHANGE 
— An adaptive system for redensification in the urban context of the Gründerzeit

Diploma thesis, supervised by Prof. Tina Gregoric and Katharina Urbanek, Research Unit Building Theory and Design

Our society is constantly changing. This calls for flexible architecture that can respond to changing social, functional, and spatial needs. Particularly in an urban context, buildings often change users and must be able to withstand the changes in urban life. 
The city of Vienna, whose cityscape is still characterized by many 19th-century buildings, is a positive example of how architecture can enable change over a long period of time. 
The focus of the context is on the vacant lots in Vienna's densely built-up urban area, which offer great potential for efficient redensification and the creation of living space in the city.

A prototypical design creates a replicable system. This is primarily a scalable concept for spatial and structural organization, which can be adapted to the context using variables and thus adapted for other properties. The system provides the framework for individual building design and is primarily designed to ensure maximum flexibility in use in relation to the structural effort required for changes. Therefore, the building should not be seen as a finished object, but as a process that is further developed by its users. With its focus on resilience and durability, the design is a proposal for sustainable building development in the future.
 

CONCEPT
The design pursues the goal of adaptability: a building that can evolve over the course of its use. At its core is the idea of polyvalence—spaces are deliberately designed to be neutral in terms of use in order to accommodate a wide variety of living, working, and community forms. This openness is supported by clear grid structures, equal room proportions, and high ceilings. Serving functions (e.g., kitchens, sanitary areas) are relocated to a secondary layer in order to keep the primary rooms flexibly combinable and permanently open for various uses.
User participation is an integral part of the design: the separation of static structure and flexible fittings enables individual appropriation and redesign. At the same time, the design aims to achieve a high degree of social diversity – with a wide range of housing options, communal facilities, and public open spaces. The result is a lively, resilient place with urban roots. The design is intended as an adaptive system that can be transferred to other sites while still responding specifically to the respective context.

 

BUILDING ORGANIZATION

The spatial organization is based on a precise grid that defines square main rooms and connecting zones. This structure allows for a clear separation of flexible and fixed areas, thereby supporting free room combinations. The organization is based on four central elements: external and internal supporting structures, open space modules, and buffer zones. This creates a finely tuned zoning system, both vertically and horizontally, which enhances the quality of the space and provides orientation. On the ground floor in particular, the open façade creates a strong connection to the urban space, allowing the building to extend the public space.

STRUCTURE AND MATERIALITY
The visible supporting structure significantly shapes the spatial and atmospheric identity of the building. It consists of monolithic brick walls and prefabricated wooden elements that create structural clarity and legibility. The structure remains deliberately visible and gives the building its character. Even in the space-defining façade, the construction is not hidden, but merely protected with a thin layer of lime plaster. The building is thus understood not as a neutral shell, but as an identity-forming spatial carrier that promotes individual development and design.
 

CONCLUSION
Constantly questioning our social structures and hierarchies is an important factor in their further development. Society is in a state of constant change—and this must also be reflected in architecture.

So how can buildings respond to the changes in our society, our changing social needs, and our demands on them?

The answer seems obvious, yet extremely complicated: They must grow with their users. They must leave room for the unpredictable and put people at the forefront of their development. 
A flexible system was developed that leaves room for change and subordinates itself to its users. Nevertheless, the building is not an interchangeable shell. Its design and structure give it character and an identity that anchors it in the urban space. It is seen as an object that will be maintained, transformed, developed, and used over the years. The history of the building does not end with its completion, but has only just begun.

 

Link Bundeskammer der Ziviltechniker:innen Preisträger:innen Forschungspreise Architektur 2025 
https://www.arching.at/aktuell/veranstaltungen/forschungspreisverleihung-architektur/preistraegerinnen

Link project pdf 
https://www.arching.at/fileadmin/user_upload/redakteure_bk/Arbeiten_Forschungspreise_2025/TREVIRANUS.MATTHIAS.pdf