Seminar SoSe 2024
David Bauer

Spaces of Circularity
Exploring Logistical Backends of the Future Building Industry

The Circular Economy (CE) concept has risen as a counterpoint to the conventional linear production-consumption model. Within the construction industry – a lavish contributor to atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions organised within global or trans-local networks – future trajectories towards sustainability encompass diverse approaches. These include developing alternative / bio-based materials, implementing net-zero production cycles, embracing adaptive reuse practices, and adopting radical regionalism to constrain excessive transportation routes. While substantial transformation knowledge is gathered and applied in pilot developments, the scale and spatial extent of the infrastructural network organising these future models is hard to anticipate.

Photo: © Jörg Gläscher

Looking at the city region of Vienna, this seminar invites students to investigate the logistical spaces of the future circular building economy and speculate about the subsequent reconfiguration of the urban and regional contexts they are embedded in. For this, participants will (1) read, (2) ask and (3) assemble. 

The first part provides foundational texts to gain an insight into the concept of CBE and the construction industry’s current infrastructural networks and logistic backbones. 

In the second part, participants will leverage their knowledge through a series of guided interviews with international experts aimed at understanding the current state, envisioning the desired state, and delineating the pathway from the current situation to the desired outcome. 

The seminar will be conducted in collaboration with TU Wien and Biofabrique Vienna, a pilot project of the Vienna Business Agency and Atelier LUMA. Guests will include researchers from Bauhaus Earth. A site visit to Vienna is to be determined.

Download poster here.