In the May issue, we discuss the possible abolition of the HOAI. We let the landscape architects have their say online and ask for their opinions.

In the May issue, landscape architect and expert Dieter Pfrommer discusses what would happen if the European Commission were to overturn the HOAI. He is certain that landscape architecture would face upheaval if the scale of fees were to be abolished. We asked landscape architects about their assessments and expectations, here are their statements:

Christian Burkhardt from Burkhardt Sandler Landschaftsarchitekten: We view a possible abolition of the HOAI as very critical. Without HOAI, there are no defined services. This leads to uncertainty on both sides as to what to do and what to demand. I can’t imagine how this would work without the HOAI as a basis. Do the clients make their own individual provisions, which the contractor then has to deal with anew each time, or do the contractors make their own provisions, which the client then has to deal with?

Michael Heinze from landschaftDrei: If the HOAI is overturned, it is to be feared that our services will be defined solely in terms of price. It’s easy to imagine what that would lead to. Dumping prices across the board, which makes quality-oriented work extremely difficult, if not impossible. It will be our task to convince future clients that quality has its price.

Jens Rossa from r+b Landschaftsarchitektur: Worrying! We regard the HOAI as an essential seal of quality for a sustainable building culture, among other things! Under no circumstances should the primacy of price be placed above that of quality. If you look at the costs for the landscape architect, these only make up a single-digit percentage of the costs of the building over its life cycle. Demotivation due to inadequate fees not only harms the planners in the long term, but also the clients, the much-vaunted art of building and the numerous sustainability aspects that stand for stability and the natural regeneration capabilities of the respective system.

Tilman Latz from Latz+Partner: ” Well, a discontinuation will dramatically change the business in Germany. Up to now, we have been able to achieve high quality with the calculated fees, even if the client(s) had less interest in it. In future, this would often only be possible through self-exploitation, because the VOF procedures that are increasingly becoming the norm – even following competition procedures that supposedly aim for the “highest quality” – by and large only reward dumping.

Ansgar and Benedikt Schulz teach in the context of the Dortmunder Modell Bauwesen. One focus of their teaching is South American architecture.

The architectural brothers and professors Ansgar and Benedikt Schulz place their research and teaching on building construction in the context of the Dortmund Model of Construction. They also look beyond the national horizon – the professors promote international university cooperation in order to sensitize students to different challenges and approaches.

South American architecture and the cooperation with Fadu in Buenos Aires is a key topic. Exchange programs and excursions now also include the current symposium Relaciones, which explores international development trends in architecture. Some of the most interesting protagonists of the South American architecture scene have been invited to Dortmund to discuss the challenges of current works and compare them in a joint exhibition.

The preparations for the exhibition and symposium were part of Ansgar and Benedikt Schulz’ s teaching at the Chair of Building Construction. The conception, development and implementation of the entire series of events was worked on in student groups. The focus was on the previous relationships and experiences from the cooperation with the South American partners, combined with the aim of comparing architecture and its cultural significance between Germany and South America.

Excursions and media reports in which the students had participated in the previous semesters laid the foundations. For the series of events, new multimedia exhibition and presentation formats were required that went beyond a classic exhibition of works.
The development was carried out in three working groups: Technical conception, typesetting/media department and contribution editing.

The works of the following architects were selected for the content of the contributions:

– Cristiane Muniz(UNA Arquitetos, Sao Paulo, Brazil)
– Tristán Dieguez(Dieguez Fridman Architectos, Buenos Aires, Argentina)
– Marcelo and Martín Gualano(gualano+gualano arquitectos, Montevideo, Uruguay)
– Max Núñez(Max Núñez Arquitectos, Santiago, Chile)

The exhibition will kick off with a one-day symposium. This will bring together the protagonists of the show for a discourse, moderated by Ansgar Schulz, Benedikt Schulz and Jutta Albus. There will be three panel discussions on the topics of social housing and landscape design, sacred buildings and education systems, and conversion and industrial architecture.

The 20-minute talks will be kicked off by four-minute thematic film clips on the work of the exhibition and panel guests. The talks are defined as open discussions that include opinions and questions from the audience. At the end of the symposium, there will be a joint aperitif to further deepen positions in small groups.

The stage is the multimedia exhibition, which shows photos, drawings and interviews on the architects’ work as projections on the room-forming walls.

Participation in the symposium is free of charge and is recognized by the Chamber of Architects of North Rhine-Westphalia as an advanced training event with a duration of 4 hours.

Here you can find a pdf of the daily schedule

Venue
Dortmund U
Center for Art and Creativity
University floor Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse
44137 Dortmund

Opening hours
December 1, 2017 to January 7, 2018
Tue + Wed 11 am to 6 pm
Thu + Fri 11 am to 8 pm
Sat + Sun 11 am to 6 pm
Mon closed

Admission is free