Between Cost Estimation, Breast Milk and Construction Revolution
The exhibition "Between Cost Estimation, Breast Milk, and the Construction Revolution" brings together the most pressing questions, positions, and demands of young architects in Austria. The challenges are significant: actively shaping the construction revolution, creating fairer work structures, and expanding their own scope for action through changing framework conditions. A collectively curated mapping, developed together with 60 architects, is presented, which serves as a prelude to an open discussion. The installation invites exchange, poses questions, and is intended to grow further through visitors' comments.
Despite multiple crises, the current generation of young architects is operating with tactical optimism. Amidst pressing challenges – the climate crisis, rising construction and rental costs, buildings as objects of speculation, and limited scope for action – they are building their own practices. The exhibition "Between Cost Estimation, Breast Milk, and the Construction Revolution," or zkmb for short, provides a snapshot of their questions, positions, and demands.
The exhibition title provides the framework for a comprehensive, collectively curated mapping exercise, divided into seven thematic areas and opening up spaces for discussion: What motivates young architects to establish their own practices? How can we demand and help shape fairer working structures? Who actually designs space, and for whom is it designed? Are we still allowed to build (new) spaces in times of the climate crisis? How do we form alliances to expand our scope of action? What must the planning process and stakeholder constellations look like in order to pursue social and ecological concerns? How can we demonstrate a stance, and what practices are needed to maintain this stance?
A total of 60 young architects establishing their practices in Austria and the surrounding area were involved in the preparatory work for the exhibition. 34 of them came together for workshops in Linz, Dornbirn, and Graz in spring 2023. Some from this group and 26 others were also interviewed about their concerns in a series of interviews in 2022. Eight of these 60 young architects form the zkmb core team.
The exhibition is not intended to be a final point, but rather a beginning. zkmb is a platform for discourse that collects questions and positions and demonstrates which approaches and strategies offer opportunities, especially for young architects. The exhibition installation consists of reused material that has been transformed into a new spatial structure. Visitors can move through the three-dimensional mapping, which invites them to linger and discuss. Empty spaces were deliberately left in the design to provide space for visitors' additions and comments.
Opening: 11.6.2025, 7 pm