Conversation Piece with Friedrich von Borries (Design Theorist, Contemporary Trends Analyst, and Writer)

Speculative Archaeology—New Perspectives on the History of Architecture in the Anthropocene

in the context of the exhibition PROTEST/ARCHITECTURE: Barricades, Camps, Superglue

What does it mean for architecture if—as literary scholar Eva Horn postulates—we must rewrite history to acknowledge the reality of the Anthropocene? Or to put it another way: what kind of buildings will future civilizations excavate on which to base their understanding of our times?

Tue, 25.6.2024 7 pm — 8 pm

MAK – Museum of Applied Arts

A stretch of forest occupied since 2012 on the boundary with the Hambach open-pit mine. Over the years elaborate structures have been built there, featuring suspension bridges, solar panels, and heating stoves. A new generation of interconnected tree houses were built after the site was cleared in 2018.

A fundamental duty of architects is to render the Earth habitable. Yet the mass of humanmade material on our planet is now greater than its biomass—the total bulk of cars, buildings, furniture, and pencils is greater than that of plants and animals. A large part of this technosphere consists of architectural constructs. In addition, almost a quarter of all global CO2 emissions is generated by buildings (construction, heating, air conditioning), and a huge proportion of the world’s waste is produced by the building industry. It has long been obvious that humans’ prodigal use of resources and concomitant generation of waste have made the Earth increasingly uninhabitable for many of its creatures—to include in the long run humans themselves. So isn’t it about time architects too redefined what their profession stands for?

THE FORMAT CONVERSATION PIECES
We need to talk! In the art education format Conversation Pieces we will speak with artists, activists, scientists, and personalities from various fields about select objects from the MAK Collection. Conversation Pieces is dedicated to themes like diversity, feminism, participation or loneliness, symbiotic bodies, racism in collections, planet care, and much more. We use the MAK as a polyphonic place for the exchange of ideas and to engage in various sociopolitical discourses and problems that enable new perspectives on an extraordinary collection. Conversation Pieces can be understood as an impetus to make widespread pictorial worlds and narratives visible and to critically question them by talking about them together.

PRICE
In addition to the event fee, a museum ticket (admission ticket, MAK Annual Pass, Kulturpass, etc.) is required to attend the event. Use the online booking tool for reduced admission, or take advantage of the new Conversation Piece 2024 subscription.

Online Presale
€ 12 (incl. admission to the MAK)
€ 5 (if admission to the museum if free, eg with MAK Annual ticket)
BUY TICKETS HERE

Tickets on site on day of the event
Tickets available at ticket desk from 6 p.m. on day of the event
€ 17 (incl. admission to the MAK)
€ 10 (if admission to the museum if free, eg with MAK Annual ticket)

SUBSCRIPTION
10x Conversation Pieces for € 100,- including admission to the museum on the day in question. For subscriptions please contact education@mak.at