LINA and the young discourse

LINA, which stands for “Learning, Interacting and Networking in Architecture”, is a European networking project between established research institutions and young architects in the fields of art, culture and architecture. LINA was initiated by the University of Ljubljana. Since then, a large number of institutions have taken part across Europe – from Ireland to Georgia in the Middle East, from Portugal to Estonia. With an annual grant, LINA enables young architects to deepen their ideas and raise their profile. This is done with the help of workshops, lectures, mentoring programs and other interdisciplinary vehicles of cooperation.

This year, 25 projects were selected with a particular focus on their potential in the climate crisis. They are intended to offer industry-wide enrichment for possible ways of dealing with the challenging circumstances of our time. They should therefore represent new approaches to practice in the context of the climate crisis. The theme was no less ambitious: “THE FUTURE OF BUILDING. Vernacular + Visionary = Future”. In the LINA Open Call, participants were able to apply to complete research stays at European partner institutions and explore their ideas in greater depth. The aim is to answer the equation specified in the topic with the help of their own different backgrounds. Networking with others should lead to solutions. In Graz, the House of Architecture (HDA Graz) served as a prominent workplace in the middle of the UNESCO-listed old town, with Graz University of Technology and the University of Stuttgart as cooperation partners.

Four architecture firms were selected from these 25 projects to reside at HDA Graz from February to March: Ralph Nabil Nasrallah (PAN- PROJECTS, London), self-office (Barcelona), Zwahlen Krupičková (Zurich) and Róisín Cahill (Dublin). Climatically highly diversified, each of the participants brings their own personal and professional approach as well as a different background story to the research residency.

They will “participate in the collection of traditional and new building typologies, construction methods and materials from different regions and climates. All architects bring their different cultural backgrounds and climatic experiences with them to Graz. The aim is to exchange these experiences and jointly develop new ideas for intelligent construction methods in response to the challenges posed by the increasing number of severe weather events worldwide,” says the HDA about the research laboratory.

As part of the stay in the Styrian capital, various public events, workshops and lectures were held(more information here). One discussion evening explicitly focused on the young discourse: “New Generation Dialog. Young Architects – Planning for the Future” invited architects as well as laypeople to join the discussion. Speakers on the podium included Elisabeth Merk (urban planner, architect and city planning officer, Munich), Alexandra Würz-Stalder (local councillor, City of Graz, Committee for Transport, Urban and Green Space Planning), Robert Piechl (Head of Urban Planning, Klagenfurt) and Raquel Ruiz (EUROPAN 16 award winner).

The average age and vita of the panel participants may well come as a surprise given the focus of this topic, and the audience itself probably didn’t consider itself to be quite so young. However, contributors to the current March issue of Baumeister were represented – as “First Row Respondents”(more information on the issue can be found here) – and spoke with great commitment. Both Theresa Reisenhofer and members of the architecture interest group focused on acute problems in everyday architectural work.

The topics repeatedly revolved around problems that young professionals are confronted with. In particular, difficult access to competition procedures was a recurring theme in all of the speakers’ countries of origin. Federalism not only makes it difficult to have equal conditions across the board, but also to compete freely. However, the days of pure criticism are long gone for the young. These hurdles have been a fixed part of the working reality of young architects from the very beginning – reason enough to work on solutions and workarounds in a low-threshold manner, which were also addressed in the discussion round:

Collaborations between large, well-known offices and young freelancers, for example, a change in the framework conditions for competitions (EUROPAN works, after all), especially with regard to the composition (and diversification) of juries, more appreciation for interdisciplinary teams (which are particularly needed today) and – in general – more freedom for new design ideas.

They paint a picture of an open architectural landscape in which cross-generational and interdisciplinary work is carried out on design solutions. Competitions should be as open as possible in order to generate innovative proposals away from outdated design ideas. Prototypes, temporary structures and experiments should be given a higher status in practice, as they feed the further development of new architectural models.

So there is no shortage of constructive wishes and proposed solutions. The problem probably lies elsewhere. But where? Perhaps the panel at the discussion evening will have an answer to this question. By the way, what do the young offices particularly appreciate about Graz as a EUROPAN location? According to Raquel Ruiz, herself a winner of the prestigious competition with the Free Mühlgang project, the willingness to innovate is strikingly great here.