253.366 VU (10 ECTS) // Module Coordination: Sandra Häuplik-Meusburger
The Emerging Fields in Architecture module provides up-to-date knowledge from new research fields in architectural and engineering disciplines, aiming to address current and future design challenges within a broader societal context in an interdisciplinary and foundational manner. The lectures cover various interdisciplinary approaches to design processes, current developments, and results in materials and construction research, as well as planning and building in or under extreme conditions. They also explore structures that evolve or change due to shifting parameters.
In this context, strategies for design development (from the initial concept to implementation) are critically examined through interdisciplinary discourse, exploring how the journey from idea to realization can take shape and to what extent systematic creativity is achievable. The practical part requires independent cross-disciplinary engagement.
The module conveys, investigates, and discusses knowledge from new research fields in architecture and engineering to integrate this knowledge into individual design processes. These include:
- Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary strategies (from the initial concept to implementation)
- Current developments and results in materials and construction research
- Fundamentals and boundary conditions for planning and building in/extreme environments, including spatial and structural implementation, material selection, and issues of use and functionality
- Structures that adapt their form, structure, or function due to changing parameters
Core Subjects:
- Logic of Discovery: From Fiction to Architecture – VO 2.0 ECTS
- Emerging Materials and Technologies – VO 2.0 ECTS
- Extreme Architecture – VO 1.5 ECTS
- Adaptive Architecture – VO 1.5 ECTS
- Synthesis Emerging Fields – UE 3.0 ECTS
Recommended Electives:
- Mediated Architecture – VU 2.5 ECTS
- Building Material Database – UE 2.5 ECTS
YouTube Channel: Emerging Fields in Architecture
Lectures are announced on Eventbrite and ar.tuwien.ac.at.
OGIC OF DISCOVERY: (FROM FICTION TO ARCHITECTURE) (VO) 2 ECTS
Architects are visionaries and shape images of the future. Many concepts and designs contain spatial, social, and technological innovations, whose intellectual origins go far back. By exploring various interdisciplinary development processes (from fictional concepts to spatial, technical, and social innovation in architecture), students will expand their own methodological repertoire in the design process.
EMERGING MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES (VO) 2 ECTS
This course covers the latest developments and outcomes in materials and construction research. It provides knowledge about the use of innovative materials, construction methods, and strategies, drawing from sectors such as space exploration, automotive, shipbuilding, and aviation industries. This insight enriches one’s innovative design and construction process.
EXTREME ARCHITECTURE (VO) 1.5 ECTS
This course focuses on the conditions and challenges of designing and building in/under extreme environments (earth-bound or extraterrestrial). By addressing extreme physical, social, and psychological conditions, it encourages a shift in perspective that stimulates a deeper engagement with design challenges. The design process gains added significance through its interaction with the environment and its inhabitants (e.g., resource use, life cycles). Architectural approaches, their design and construction execution, material choices, and usability are discussed through real-world examples.
ADAPTIVE ARCHITECTURE (VO) 1.5 ECTS
This course explores technically feasible applications and their impact on construction, form, and function. It broadens the architectural decision-making repertoire, presenting architectural examples that change their structure, form, or function based on varying parameters (location, climate, use, time, etc.). Topics include structural approaches (e.g., kinetic architecture), flexible use models (e.g., interim, subsequent, and temporary uses), as well as integrative approaches (e.g., interactive and robotic architecture).
SYNTHESIS EMERGING FIELDS (UE) 3.0 ECTS
This exercise reinforces lecture content through experimental and model-based implementation of students’ own designs and ideas, followed by evaluation. The exercise topic “Synthesis Emerging Fields” aligns with the current lecture topics.
Recommended Electives:
MEDIATED ARCHITECTURE (VU) 3 ECTS
Artists and architects develop their own set of tools and methods to express their work. The medium in which the creative process takes place, whether digital or analog, should be deliberately chosen as it significantly influences the processes of design and production. This course demonstrates how various (new) media/technologies affect the design process, construction and material selection, appearance, and way of life
In the course, interview techniques are used as a tool to deepen knowledge. An interview can be a valuable tool for discussing relevant topics for one’s own work with renowned researchers, planners, thinkers, etc. Afterwards, a podcast is created from the interviews and published online. Selected contributions are also broadcast on a radio show. Selected contributions will be broadcast on the Radio Spaceuriosity show on Radio Orange.
Link to the podcast: Spaceuriosity Podcast
HB2 MATERIAL DATABASE (UE) 2.5 ECTS
This course involves the collection, evaluation, and digital documentation of a building-relevant material group/product type/product form. The material database is directly linked to the existing hand sample collection in the department, which is continuously supplemented and expanded.