EAAE
LESS IS MUST
Book of Abstracts
Münster 28 - 31 August 2024
MSA | Münster School of Architecture
Leonardo Campus 5
D-48149 Münster, Germany
EDITORS and DESIGN
Joachim Schultz-Granberg
Mellina Blatt
PUBLISHER
EAAE Publisher
ISBN: 978-90-831271-4-9 ISBN/EAN: 9789083127149
CO-PUBLISHER
University of Applied Sciences Münster
ISBN: 978-3-947263-42-4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25974/fhms-19304
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE MSA
Daniel Blum
Kazu Blumfeld Hanada
Verena Butt
Tim Elser
Jürgen Reichardt
Anja Rosen
Kirsten Schemel
Sielke Schwager
Joachim Schultz-Granberg
Kristina Sträter
Manuel Thesing
Neil Winstanley
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE EAAE
Michela Barosio, Politecnico di Torino
Alberto Bologna, Sapienza Università di Roma
Ivan Cabrera i Fausto, ETSA Valencia
Roberto Cavallo, TU Delft
Patrick Flynn, TU Dublin
Nicolás Mariné, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Rodrigo de la O, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Tenna Doktor Olsen Tvedebrink, Aalborg Universitet
Claus Peder Pedersen, Aarhus School of Architecture
Mia Roth, University of Zagreb
Luis Filipe dos Santos, Aarhus School of Architecture
Tim Seidel, FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
Sally Stewart, Glasgow School of Art
The EAAE Conference 2024 took place in Münster at the FH Münster - University of Applied Sciences and the MSA | Münster School of Architecture. Architectural education today is in a state of upheaval. The great acceleration – the drastic increase in the measurable parameters of human activity – requires an examination of the enormous quantitative effects of spatial development, planning and architectural production.
This also applies to the qualitative aspects with which the corresponding professions are entrusted: topology and typology, identity and heritage, structure and sculpture, dimension and scale, materialization and sensual experience, light and shadow and many more, which are and remain formative for our built, physical living environment. These essential design parameters are also capable of addressing the issues of our time in a holistic, complex and meaningful manner, which requires more than purely quantitative approaches.
In addition, the relevance of architectural interventions comes into play and requires a serious examination of the responsibility of future architects.
For this reason, the MSA organising committee chose the theme LESS IS MUST for the 2024 EAAE annual conference in Münster. It is our intention that this important topic transforms into an attitude.
OJS setup for EAAE Publishings within SOAP: Frank van der Hoeven
Issue adaptation for EAAE Publishings: Mar Muñoz Aparici
Published:
2025-07-24
Preface
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Embark on the journey towards a more graceful future today! Our dynamic ecosystem is in perpetual evolution. As architects and planners, we play a pivotal role in shaping it. In educating aspiring architects, planners and de- signers, as well as in conducting research on all facets of the built environ- ment, there is a pressing need to prioritize sufficiency and embrace interdis- ciplinary approaches as never before. We eagerly anticipate a multitude of perspectives, bold collaborations and profound...
About the conference
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Rethinking positions in architectural education, research and practice. Call for papers and concepts for the 2024 EAAE Conference in Münster.
Astronaut William Anders’s spontaneous enthusiastic reaction on December 24, 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission led to one of the most influential photo- graphs ever taken.2 Showing the Earth as a beautiful, vulnerable and seemingly self-contained system from far beyond its...
01 Programming
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Holistic design and engineering approaches offer the potential to realize strategies aimed at “form follows performance”. Such strategies serve to integrate multiple component parameters, especially those oriented on climate responsibility. As a result, the focus widens, from individual requirements of a single building or structure to agglomerations of building structures, influenced by specific local climate and site factors. The basis for such strategies are synergetic programming approaches that...
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This paper advances innovations for the preliminary design phase, which is the core of an architecture student’s creativity and self-development toward professional responsibility. Hence, an experimental didactic module consisting of three workshops running separately or as a series is proposed for a course curriculum.
“From Form to Form” delves into creativity as a foundational element in the de- sign process, cultivating inspiration and honing essential skills in model-build- ing, discourse...
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In Switzerland, despite policy efforts to transition to a high-quality built envi- ronment, current practices can be characterized as unsustainable. Regarding the potential of engaging tools that enable informed dialogue about revaluing existing buildings, compelling digital approaches targeting the next generation of built environment professionals are thus far lacking. This paper showcases empirical research on the iterative development of a serious game prototype to meet outreach targets. The...
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The Interdisciplinary Project (IDP) is a central teaching format of the master’s degree program “Resource-efficient and Sustainable Building” at the Technical University of Munich. The paper presents the IDP design studio as a case study for a transformative approach to sustainable building design. It introduces the “neighborhood-oriented and regenerative programming” approach: First, students analyze sustainability aspects at the neighborhood level and develop an urban vision. Then, they combine it with the...
02 Design
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In the future, the essential and most significant part of architectural work will be the preservation and maintenance, the adaptation and reuse, and the further development or continued transformation of existing spaces. Experts largely agree on this. If we intend to meet the climate targets we have set ourselves, we will only be able to create new spaces to a very limited extent. Even a high recycling rate and a radical shift to renewable and circular building materials cannot change this.
To...
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In response to the pressing demand for sustainable spatial practices and for systematic change, we propose an experimental effort that challenges traditional approaches in architectural education and research, fostering sustainability, inclusivity and collaborative decision-making. Situated in the rural area of Niedergrunstedt, our project “bauhHof NGS’’ revitalizes a historic farm, transforming it into a design-build laboratory for minimal and mobile constructions and multidisciplinary exchange.
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We propose this paper as a response to the conference panel topic Design. LESS revolves around the concept of the “non-finito” and effects of unfinish- edness as an important aesthetic condition for contemporary architectural projects.
It briefly formulates a theoretical background for a conceptual relation of unfin- ishedness, refinement and wholeness in order to then outline an architectural strategy, which in turn is based on the combination of disciplinary knowledge and computational...
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Handbooks and atlases of adaptive reuse predominantly discuss and illustrate architectural examples in a case study format with a practice-focused ap- proach. However, examining reused buildings collectively rather than individu- ally prompts critical attention to what is already in the urban fabric and cultivates a care-based approach to built heritage in response to the changing face of an architectural practice focused more and more on transformation. Operating with a...
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In recent years, the study of vernacular architecture has gained relevance among some professionals in the field of architecture. These professionals have understood the importance of the lessons in environmental, sociocultural and economic responsibility that this type of architecture offers. They believe that recovering past ways of life and construction techniques could be key to addressing the challenges that future generations will face.
These lessons are generally based on basic survival...
03 Structure and Construction
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In general, the term “efficiency” describes the relationship between the means used and the results achieved. In structural engineering and construction, efficiency criteria are often used for purposes of optimization, for example, to build at a minimum of financial investment or as quickly as possible.
Due to the fact that the construction industry causes 40 % of global CO2 emissions, the CO2 efficiency of buildings and especially their structure is of particular importance. Engineering constructions...
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Reintegrating architecture and structural engineering through new design tools offers a way to embrace a ‘less is best’ philosophy in response to resource constraints. It proposes teaching architects and engineers to design more with less, inspired by nature’s optimization processes.
The concept of biomimetics is pivotal in using modern design methodologies to replicate natural processes. Through topology optimization, structures can be designed efficiently, minimizing material use. This method,...
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New presentation methods offer a way to address resource scarcity and embodied carbon in building design. They emphasize that understanding em- bodied carbon requires not just quantitative metrics but also representational tools that link the conceptual design, building materials, construction methods and carbon footprint of architectural projects. The authors investigate various representational options —general, discipline-specific, and project-specific— highlighting how they facilitate understanding...
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ncreasing the efficiency of the footprint of existing buildings instead of con- structing new ones involves adding rooftop extensions to residential structures in urban areas, optimizing existing architecture. Given the constraints of some buildings due to their age, the approach relies on prefabricated, lightweight modular systems. These systems are eco-friendly, they optimize energy and material use, and they offer social benefits by creating new housing in an inner city environment.
The paper...
04 Resources and Circularity
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By consuming enormous amounts of resources, humankind has created a gigantic anthropogenic stockpile of raw materials. Around 15 billion tons of mineral raw materials, metals, wood, plastics and other materials are embedded in German buildings alone. The strategy of urban mining makes use of these materials to continue building with them. However, this can be difficult. Buildings, especially those erected after World War II, weren’t planned to become “urban mines”. Traditional craftsmanship commonly...
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Within a series of design seminars, we explored physical prototyping and digi- tal tools to study the reduction of material use and the utilization of overlooked resources in architecture in light of the ongoing concerns related to timber resources. The first subject examined was material reuse in timber construc- tion. This course introduced digital tools and design methods to study the building systems that can be achieved by using reclaimed timber. By working on full scale prototypes, the students...
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In architecture and building construction, a planning task is defined by multi-criteria requirements that are not necessarily directly linked to each other and therefore lead to increased complexity during the planning process. In order to simplify the overall workflow during the different phases, students should be provided with measures and tools to cope with the complexity of parameters within the entire architectural task. This is achieved by linking a system concept with a cycle-oriented approach for...
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Sustainability can benefit greatly from a circular economy, due to the potential of avoiding waste and thus limiting the consumption of finite resources – or at best avoiding the latter altogether. To strengthen research-oriented learning on prevailing topics, a series of elective modules was initiated at the chair of Sustainable Planning and Building in the Urban Context, School of Architecture Bremen. The aim of the first module was to understand which theoretical and practical knowledge is available on...
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The project “bauHof NGS” challenges conventional architectural approaches by adopting the concept of “form follows availability” and circular design methodologies. These methodologies allow students to move beyond the traditional linear process of design and construction, where design typically precedes materials selection. Instead, they engaged in a reciprocal relationship where the materials themselves influence and shape the design.
Through this interaction between body and materials, questions...
05 Urban Design
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Thus far, the strategies of efficiency and consistency alone were hardly capable of reducing the consumption of resources in the overall ecological balance of the construction industry. Therefore, sufficiency – a rather undervalued sustainability pathway – comes into play, especially in the wider field of urban design and under consideration of societal aspects. However, in urban design education, the concept of sufficiency has only received fleeting recognition and application. This panel looked for...
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In order to address the challenges of future architectural education, it is necessary to consider the concept of sufficiency as a part of a wider approach to sustainable urban development. In the global context of climate change, it is essential to include the role of rapidly urbanising regions in the discussion. This offers the opportunity to implement new strategies of sufficiency at a larger scale, with the potential to create long-lasting positive impacts regarding resource consumption and social...
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The topic “Architecture and urban spaces” is totally absent from the list of peer review evaluation panels of the European Research Council (ERC). “Architec- ture” appears twice, the first mention associated with civil engineering and the second understood as “Computer Architecture” in the Panel with the evocative name “PE6_1 Computer architecture, pervasive computing, ubiquitous computing”.
The observation that the digital world has its own Architecture is associated with the concept of ubiquity....
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This paper presents an interdisciplinary educational unit. It aims to connect contemporary knowledge on collaborative governance with knowledge on integrative architectural and urban planning. These thoughts and working methods are already on the borders of professions, and they are also interdisciplinary. They are connected through the criteria of sustainable development in the pursuit of achieving a citizen- and community-oriented and more integrated society. We believe that the related learning...
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Transforming urban environments in relation to sustainability and sufficiency requires developing, through an interdisciplinary approach, methodologies and tools for evaluating and valorizing certain abandoned spaces in the city: for example, areas in disuse linked to pre-existing military complexes that have significant dimensions and strategic positions.
In their interactions with territorial structures, military areas often reveal their links with networks that have characterized their...
06 Education Concepts
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Architectural teaching is as much about the content that we teach as it is about the tasks and questions that students work on. Against the background of current challenges, it becomes clear that studying architecture should be less about the fulfilment of duties or the achievement of best possible grades. Instead, students are increasingly required to demonstrate a heightened awareness of social responsibility and problem-solving skills. How can lecturers and professors organize curricula so that...
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The summer school “Bestand der Dinge”, which took place in Berlin in September 2023, introduced a novel approach that went beyond the traditional academic context. It was the result of a collaboration between baunetz CAMPUS, the German online portal for the academic world of architecture, and Prof. Jan Kampshoff of the Technical University of Berlin. With 30 students from various German and Austrian universities in attendance, the summer school challenged participants to explore the intricacies of working...
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This paper examines the use of a simulation game to implement Target Sustainability Design (TSD), a method promoting collaboration within multidisciplinary teams in construction projects. TSD addresses the conflict between minimizing costs and implementing social and ecological measures, integrating stakeholders in creating cost-efficient and sustainable buildings. The simulation game serves as a tool to teach TSD by replicating construction project processes, engaging students in two rounds of designing...
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This paper reports the outcomes of an educational experiment (set-up, execution and evaluation) in the master program ‘Adaptive Reuse’ and exchange programs at the faculty of Architecture and Arts of Hasselt University in Belgium during the first semester of 2023-2024. The framework of “non-violent com- munication” (NVC), also called “compassionate communication”, as developed by Rosenberg was introduced to a mixed group of 32 international students. The aim was to improve their intercultural...
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Architects for Future have articulated 10 demands for a transition of the building and construction sector to sustainable practices. This shift must be embedded and construction sector. This shift must be embedded in educational programs, and we need to establish new networks and teaching initiatives.Together for the the building transition, the “Bauwende”!
Since 2019 Architects for Future has been...
07 Visions
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“Imagine there ́s no heaven It's easy if you try
No hell below us
above us, only sky[...]
Imagine all the people Living life in peace ... “John Lennon’s song “Imagine”, arguably one of the best pop songs of all times(1), is essentially an enumeration of absences. These absences, however, suggest new possibilities, alternative societies and systems: new utopias.
UTOPIA, the OU-TOPOS, this “place that cannot be”2 is liberated from probabilities and reasonabilities – it is...
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Anomàli mirrors the symbiotic efficiency of an ant colony, embracing “less is enough” as a design strategy for responsible stewardship. We explore architecture that preserves our built fabric while safeguarding resources, environment and culture:
Less addition, more subtraction (the role of the architect): Architects focus on reducing energy and material use within planetary boundaries. Buildings are valuable resources, prioritized for repurposing rather than demolition and expansion.
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Landscape is a concept that increasingly experiences advancement in public space design.
But we also know that the most important public spaces in Europe - such as Piazza del Campo in Siena, Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, the Buttes-Chaumont Park in Paris, and so on - had historically already been pieces of a pre-existing landscape that has been incorporated by the city.
The basic relationship between nature and urban open space – ecological, morphological, and social, at the same time - is a...
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In the face of the advance of new artificial intelligence technologies, it is worth considering how these systems impact and construct our environment. Facing the polarized vision that the change of paradigm provokes, it is revealing to understand the historical progression of utopian visions. This is less the case from the point of view of nostalgia, but instead should be viewed as a construct capable of originating new ideas. The article focuses on the duality between the real represented by the somatic...
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The paper discusses the attempt to adjust the syllabus for freehand drawing courses taught to students of landscape architecture at the Faculty of Architecture Cracow University of Technology in Poland and the International School of Engineering at Tianjin Chengjian University in China. This adjustment addresses the changing needs and future requirements in architectural practice. New concepts in freehand drawing education (less: routine, schematic thinking, fragmentary knowledge) were introduced in order...
