In Episode 13, “New Tools for the Existing Built Environment,” Birgit Knauer (Heritage Conservation and Building in Existing Contexts, TU Wien) and Dominik Wagner (Legal Studies, TU Wien) speak with Verena Konrad (Vorarlberg Architecture Institute), Irene Lundström (City of Vienna), and Christian Inderbitzin (EMI ArchitektInnen and KIT) about the need for new tools in the management and planning practice of existing buildings. They discuss the necessity of activating already available planning instruments and point to bold initiatives such as HouseEurope!, emphasizing the importance of an open discourse on cost transparency in the construction sector.

Birgit Knauer studied art history and Romance studies at the University of Vienna. After completing her doctorate, she worked as a research associate at the Chair of Heritage Conservation at the University of Bamberg. Since 2020, she has been conducting research and teaching at the Chair of Heritage Conservation at TU Wien, focusing in particular on discourse and practice in urban planning and heritage conservation in the 20th century.

Dominik Wagner has been a university assistant (prae doc) in the Research Unit of Legal Studies at the Institute of Spatial Planning since May 2020. After studying law and history at the University of Vienna, Dominik Wagner worked as a policy officer at the Austrian Financial Market Authority (banking supervision division) and as a trainee lawyer in a renowned law firm in Vienna.

Verena Konrad is an art historian specializing in architectural and design history, as well as a curator, author, and cultural manager. Since 2013, she has headed the Vorarlberg Architecture Institute as a cultural and educational organization in the field of architecture and building culture mediation. She represents the European initiative HouseEurope! in Austria.

Christian Inderbitzin works as an architect and is Professor of City and Housing at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Together with Elli Mosayebi and Ron Edelaar, he founded the office Edelaar Mosayebi Inderbitzin ArchitektInnen in Zurich more than ten years ago. In addition to teaching and architectural practice, he has also been involved in numerous exhibitions and publications on housing and the city.

Irene Lundström studied architecture at TU Wien and is Head of Department at MA 19 Architecture and Urban Design of the City of Vienna. In her professional work, she engages with questions of architectural heritage, the contemporary development of Vienna’s cityscape, and appropriate and fabric-preserving renovation methods.

Podcast information
The podcast ZUKUNFT STADT is a project of the Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Planning at TU Wien. It is produced in cooperation between future.lab and the Research Unit of Local Spatial Planning at TU Wien.

Concept and production, audio and editing: Lukas Bast, Lena Hohenkamp, Lisa-Marie Kramer and Madlyn Miessgang
Intro music: Jakob Kotal