Ball der Technik 2026 – “Bauen im Takt”

Held on January 30, 2026, at Congress Graz, this year’s “Ball der Technik” (Ball of Technology) was conceptualized by the Faculty of Architecture in collaboration with the Faculty of Civil Engineering Sciences at Graz University of Technology, the Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, and the Chamber of Chartered Engineers for Styria and Carinthia, with a thematic focus on “Sustainable Construction.” Contributions from the Faculty of Architecture transformed the historic rooms of Congress Graz into an experimental environment positioned between dance performance and spatial production. Costume structures designed by Evelyn Temmel and Bernhard Luthringshausen from the Institute of Design and Building Typology, developed together with students and inspired by Oskar Schlemmer’s Triadisches Ballett (Triadic Ballet), abstracted architectural elements of the Congress Graz and reintroduced them in performative form. As wearable architectures, these costumes activated the ballrooms and corridors and playfully engaged with the movement of the evening’s guests. Additional spatial installations were contributed by the Institute of Architecture and Media. Developed under the direction of Milena Stavrić, the installations animated the rooms through a range of material and atmospheric interventions: light sculptures formed from organically knitted fibers transformed into stable ceramic structures; textilebased columns designed to change shape under load; and an animated pendant light made from reused materials suspended above the main staircase. “Bauen im Takt” (Building in Rhythm) thus refers not only to a metaphorical proximity of music and architecture, but also to a structural analogy: architecture becomes a temporal, dynamic practice, with its meaning unfolding through experience.

Among the distinguished guests were Rector Horst Bischof, Dean Petra Petersson, Graz University of Technology University Council Chair Christa Neuper, and representatives of the regional, national, and international higher-education and research communities: Corinna Engelhardt-Nowitzki (Rector, FH Joanneum), Andrea Kurz (Rector, Medical University of Graz), Peter Moser (Rector, Technical University of Leoben), and Christof Wolfmaier (Rector, Esslingen University of Applied Sciences).

Petra Eckhard