The Prize Bag

The exhibition "The Prize Bag: Double Lives of Architecture" was developed as part of the Styrian Architecture Prize 2025. Curated by Sevince Bayrak and Oral Göktaş of the Istanbul-based architecture firm SO? architecture and ideas, the exhibition and accompanying publication convey an understanding of architecture prizes that views them less as final evaluations and more as instruments for engaging with architectural culture.

Going beyond the prize submissions, the exhibition raises the question of what lies behind the pristine images of buildings, into which life stories are continually inscribed. What happens between design and completion, between drawing and everyday use? What remains invisible yet is crucial to lived reality?

Building on the curatorial approach of the Carrier Bag Theory of Architecture, previously developed by the architects, buildings are understood as containers of stories about collaboration, unpredictability, and transformation. Based on visits to the 14 nominated projects in Styria, in-depth discussions with the international architectural theorist Hilde Heynen, and extensive materials provided by the nominated architecture firms, Double Lives of Architecture uncovers the chaotic, unpredictable, and profoundly human processes behind the built form.

By bringing together photographs, drawings, collages, construction documents, notes, and moments of crisis, the exhibition explores the “double life” of architecture: the tension between image and use, between idealized narratives and the actual realities of construction, and the ongoing adaptation over time. The Prize Bag does not present architecture as a finished work, but rather keeps the discourse open—inviting visitors to look closer and discover the multifaceted nature of architecture.

Opening: February 25, 2026, 7 p.m.

Speakers: Sevince Bayrak, Zerina Džubur, Oral Göktaş