Vienna Metamorphosis. querkraft is the new visiting studio at the FA CTU

Since its foundation in 1998, the Austrian architectural studio querkraft has completed over 100 projects in Austria and abroad. These include the Liaunig Museum building, the Austrian pavilion at the Dubai EXPO, the innovative IKEA department store in Vienna, the HAK urban social housing complex, and the extension of the university campus in Linz.

The studio has received many prestigious awards, a nomination for the European Mies van der Rohe Award for Architecture, the Austrian Staatspreis Architektur, the City of Vienna Prize and the Sustainability Award for the first car-free IKEA in Vienna and the Austrian pavilion for the World Expo in Dubai. The studio also represented Austria at the 2004 Venice Biennale. querkraft's work has been published in professional journals and presented at international exhibitions in Venice, Tokyo, Shanghai, Ljubljana, Boston, Bristol and other cities. The philosophy of the office is friendship, respect and joy of work.

„The guest studio aims to bring inspiring architects, current topics and new teaching methods to the faculty. I am delighted that after Winy Maas, we have attracted other striking figures of contemporary European architecture to our school. querkraft is one of the best architectural studios in Vienna and I am very pleased that Jakob Dunkl, Gerd Erhartt and Peter Sapp will be guest professors at our faculty. querkraft means "lateral force". The studio's motto is adequacy, using as few resources as possible, and creating smart architecture with minimal technology. The studio always focuses on people, on simple but strong solutions, designing buildings that people will love and thus will be sustainable," says Dalibor Hlaváček, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture CTU.

querkraft's winter semester will focus on the unfinished Lamarr department store in Vienna, designed by OMA / Rem Koolhaas. It is awaiting completion after bankruptcy of its investor and thus a transformation of its origin design-idea will be essential. The challenge for the students will be to breathe new life into the building as a hybrid facility for living, working, leisure and cultural use.

„Together with our students, we embark on a journey to discover the poetry and beauty in architecture. We will continually ask, what if their project is not just functional and sustainable, but also emotional? What if it can bring happiness and joy to people just by looking at it? Imagine architecture that is loved, cherished, and lives long. Love, in its purest form, is the best sustainability," the new visiting professors introduce the concept of the school's studio.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka's death, the Prague and Vienna writer. The museum will also be located in the building. The Metamorphosis — Kafka's most famous work — will thus become the subject of a project by Czech students under the guidance of Viennese architects.