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.

TU Wien, Institute of Architecture and Design, Architectural Typology and Design:

Mentors

Univ.Prof.in Dipl.-Ing.in M.Arch (AA Dist) Tina Gregorič
Univ.Lektor Gordon Rieß-Selbach, MSc
Univ.Lektorin Dipl.-Ing.in Evelyn Temmel
Senior Artist Arch.in Dipl.-Ing.in Katharina Urbanek
Stud.Ass. Sebastian Brantner
Stud.Ass. Francesca Lysann Klute

Students

VIE/ LJU: Kim Gubbini, Mykhailo Zhuk, Emilia Kigyos, Merve Kurt, Luisa Zwetkow, Hannah Luca Kögler, Simge Pehlivan, Lukas Prokosch, Merlin Frühwald, Merlin Frühwald, Fabian Fröhlinger, Feena Oleary, Ronja Barz, Magdalena Berger, Klemen Gomisek, Pauline Krizmanich, Rachel Meagher, Maximilian Venturo, Julia Herrmann, Laurin Sommer, Johanna Schwarz, Paul Kramer, Dóra Komáromi, Laura Marjanovic, Sara Morelli, Leah Walsh;

VIE/ BXL: Luis Burtscher, Sebastian Brantner, Michael Wieser, Johanna von der Lange, Michael Haas, Paul Oechsner, Gedeon Falk, Matthias Treviranus, Felix Lehner, Noah Schmid, Valentina Gruber, Anselm Haufler, David Eibensteiner, Alexander Gikionis, Severin Vögl, Christian Regelmann, Anna-Lena Böhler, Anna Tröbinger, Kathrin Geußer, Tobias-Christoph Piesch, Tasnim Saleh, Theresa Schneeweiss, Datkayim Ibraimova, Viktoria Mandl, Lili Voko, Anna Schön, Christine Haubenberger, Marlies Klimacek, Milica Simic, Moritz Kreft, Gil Philipp Grassmann, Fanny Maria Brückenbauer, Sonia Marizzi;

VIE/BCN: Cindy Isoz, Lennon Hartmann, Isabella Mündle, Ramona Kornberger, Constanze Marek, Donata Dietz, Aurelia Goldlücke, Catia Jantscher, Nicolas Herresthal, Lukas Hertwig, Markus Häusler, Johannes Frank, Mara Potthast, Juliane Schwindun, Azra Magie, Elisabeth Gföllner, Florian Haring, Josef Schmidhuber, Daniel Koller, Maria Christina Covrig, David Wozniak, Laurent Dharmawan;

VIE/BER: Anna Bernbacher, Tobias Drösler, Merle Alexi, Arion Katana, Tara Mücke, Markos Koulelis, Rebecca Schwarz, Sophia Heather, Pia Marie Larcher, Edona Berbati, Mehmetcan Celik, Aylin Damla Özcan, Emma Schneider, Marie Gnesda, Benjamin Rettberg, Benjamin Karg, Thomas Jutisz, Max Lefevre, Max Klingenburg, Julia Cäsar, Facundo Ceretta, Mihály Sibinger, Christian Bachmann, Marie Berger, Kevin Djavan, Nele Herrmann, Franz Danhauser, Bernadette Koller, Katja Sippl, Raphael Berger, Valentin Dowhyj, Dario Fuckner.

Exhibition Team

Sebastian Brantner, Facundo Ceretta, David Eibensteiner,
Marie Gnesda, Emma Schneider, Evelyn Temmel;

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture:

Mentors

Univ.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. MA (BIA) Vasa J. Perović
Univ.Ass. Dipl.-Ing.in Anja Vidic
Stud.Ass. Andraž Tufegdžić

Students

VIE/ LJU: Tinkara Bizjan, Anton Jakob Bonča, Martin Debeljak, Ema Durakovič Koprivnik, Luka Korošec, Pavlina Košir, Klara Barbara Krajnc, Kaja Križaj, Zoja Leskovšek, Ajda Lukman, Eva Lupše, Vanesa Maček, Hana Mihelčić, Aleksandar Mišković, Lovre Mohorič, Klemen Mraz, Neža Napret, Benjamin Ocvirk, Eva Petruna, Aina Radovan, Lucija Ritoša, Ana Marija Snoj, Zala Vučko, Nika Žigon

Thanks to our Partners & Sponsors

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