Year: 2017
Research team: Petra Petersson / Wolfgang List / Barbara Gruber / Daniel Huber
Research facility: Institute of Design and Construction Principles at Graz University of Technology
Research type: Research on Design
Research output: Exhibition / Publication

This project is a research on the process of designing. In 2017 Team Wien, consisting of Anna Paul, Bika Rebek, Büro KLK, Daniela Mehlich, Felix Steinhof, Mostlikely and Tzou Lubroth Architekten, were asked to present their concept of a collaborative and communicative architecture project at the Vienna Biennale co-organised by the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts. The research documents the work intensive and in time limited collaboration of the Team Wien in a book and an analogue model.

In the book the mainly written down collaboration of the Team Wien was documented. By presenting all collected emails, from the first meeting to the final design, in an easy readable medium, a classical book, the process of how decisions were made, on which ideas were agreed on and how ideas were rejected, the process of design can be observed. The additional analogue model can be seen as a contact tracing model of the different players in the design process.

Year: 2012 – 2016
Research team: Maik Perfahl / Mark Neuner / Wolfgang List
Research type: Research by Design
Research output: Workshops / Teaching

This research was developed during several workshops and exhibitions by the Mostlikely team. The aim of Mostlikely is to experiment with the medium of paper. We build huge paper sculptures with the help of a lot of people. These paper sculptures like THE BASILISK for the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK or THE LOOP at the KUNSTHAUS GRAZ are made out of 300 – 400 single parts. These parts are constructed by volunteers in hundreds of working hours in a museum or gallery under constant public viewing. The exhibition is not only the final sculpture, it is also the process of building something big together. There is always the risk of failing like in a big soccer game for example. The exhibitions are never repeated and are always an experiment with the material paper. We named these methods „crowdconstructing“ and „low tech prototyping“.

Crowdconstructing is our term for outsourcing the work that is normally done by designers, like developing and producing an object, to a group of volunteers.

Low tech prototyping is our term for producing something big, fast and affordable like our oversize paper sculpture. The term is meant as a critic on the expensive and in size limited process of rapid prototyping.

Year: 2017 – 2020
Research team: Wolfgang List
Research facility: Institut of Design and Construction Principles at Graz University of Technology
Research type: Research on Design
Research output: Dissertation

Drafting and designing in architecture involve an iterative process of testing and comparing architectural thoughts and ideas. The goal of this iterative process is to find the best of several possible solutions, at each stage of the design process. To bring these architectural thoughts and ideas to reality designers need tools. Tools for discussing ideas and writing, sketching, plan drawing and model making for explaining, documenting and testing thoughts. But do the users of these tools, the designers, really know how these tools work or do the designers use these tools only out of habit? Some tools are already known for how they transport ideas, other tools are used out of behaviour without understanding their deeper impact on transporting thoughts and generating new ideas.

Year: 2012 – 2015
Research team: Maik Perfahl / Wolfgang List
Research type: Research through Design
Research output: Publication

The research Most Likely Design is about designing, producing and distributing an affordable product by yourself. Every topic has its time and its relevance at a certain time in history. There was the topic of Social Design in the 60´s and again some years ago, there was the big topic of recycling in the 90´s and so on. Right now the topic of small scale business and economy is very relevant, especially for a young generation, still studying or working in their first jobs. There are countries within the European Union like Greece, Spain, Italy and many more with a huge rate – 25% or more – of youth unemployment. Since the second world war it was never so hard for young people to find a good job, but at the same time it was never so easy to start an own business and present it to a broader audience. There are a lot of funding opportunities for young entrepreneurs but it is also a mixed blessing. It is good to raise funds for some parts of a company like the development of prototypes, financing exhibitions, and so on, but if a business idea is based on funding, like a lot of companies concepts are, the business will fail. At the end a business idea must also work without funding. This research is about small scale businesses and should give the readers the tools to start an own company and focus on their own ideas. How to design, produce and distribute an affordable product?

Publication in “Nevertheless Magazine for Art & Architecture – The Passion Archive” (Issue 8)

Year: 2014
Research Team: Mark Neuner
Graphics: Mark Neuner, Atelier Olschinsky

The phenomenon of a One Hit Wonder is first and foremost known in the field of Music. Even if a hit is said to be a “once in a lifetime” event that needs a “magic moment” and cannot be reproduced, the band The KLF had a different opinion. In their publication “The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)” they explain to people how to produce this “magic moment” in order to land a Number One hit.
But what about architecture? Is there any such category? If there is, can you find a One Hit Wonder in Austrian architecture, or better still – a manual – that one could do this?

Publication in “Nevertheless Magazine for Art & Architecture – The Passion Archive” (Issue 7)

Year: 2014
Research Team: Mark Neuner
Photography: Mark Neuner

Whether it is Lainzer Tiergarten, the Donauinsel, or the Prater, they are appearing in Vienna everywhere and yet are nowhere: the “Wohnwelten” (Residential Worlds), that seem to have been reduced by a factor of 0.5. Compared to Tokyo these miniature houses are still gigantic. There the so-called mini-house often has a ground plan the size of a parked car. What seems like an absurd product is at closer inspection the answer to the questions our megacities will be confronted with in 2030 at the latest. That is the expected point in time where we will have to have completely changed our consumption.