GAD Awards 2025

Hanna Maria Gletthofer, Pia Pollak, Fabian Steinberger, Marius Birnbreier, and Christian Keuschnig are the recipients of the GAD Awards 2025. Their awarded projects address themes ranging from carefully calibrated interventions in existing buildings to innovative and sustainable construction strategies.

In keeping with the academic principle that one can only evaluate what one has once been evaluated in, this year’s jury consisted of former laureates of the GAD Awards. In addition to the jury’s decisions, the ceremony was enriched by short inspirational lectures from Johannes Paar (Mair‑Paar, Vienna), Evelyn Temmel (BELT, Vienna), and Thomas Untersweg (BUERO41A, St. Margarethen an der Raab), who shared their individual paths to independent practice and illustrated focal points of related professional work. Their reflections offered all nominated students valuable perspectives on possible futures following the completion of their architectural studies. The concept for the exhibition of the nominated works and the award ceremony was developed by the Institute of Design in Existing Structures and Architectural Heritage Protection. The organizational work was overseen by Christina Aschauer and Michael Hafner, and the evening was moderated by Matthias Castorph, the institute’s head, together with Svenja-Rebecca Hollstein.

The Main Prize of the GAD Awards, endowed by the Provincial Government of Styria, Department 16 for Transport and Building Construction, was awarded to Hanna Maria Gletthofer for her project “Intervening at the Small Scale: The Preservation and Transformation of a Former Rectory.” Supervised by Eva Sollgruber at the Institute of Design and Building Typology, the project impressed the jury with its sensitivity toward the existing building, its precisely calibrated interventions, and a transferable methodology that understands the transformation of a single building as a contribution to the development of rural areas.

Pia Pollak received the Travel Award endowed by Werner Hollomey for her diploma thesis “Leonce and Lena, and a House: A Transdisciplinary Attempt.” The jury praised her narrative approach and her courage to introduce experimental strategies drawn from Georg Büchner’s eponymous play into the architectural design process.

Fabian Steinberger was awarded the Housing Award endowed by Hansjörg Tschom for his project “An Average House.” Combining subtle humor with analytical precision, the project examines the notion of the “average” in housing, using it as a point of departure for architectural design and demonstrating how architecture can become poetic even when emerging from statistical data. Both Pollak’s and Steinberger’s projects were supervised by Alex Lehnerer at the Institute of Spatial Design.

The Sustainability Award, granted by the Chamber of Chartered Engineers for Styria and Carinthia, was given to Marius Birnbreier for his thesis “Between Guarantee and Autarky: Spaces of Self‑Responsibility as a Contribution to Territorial Justice in Peripheralized Municipalities.” Supervised by Eva Schwab at the Institute of Urbanism, Birnbreier’s work stands out for its considered architectural impulses, which give rise to sustainable structures that preempt vacancy and render both demolition and redevelopment unnecessary.

The Design and Craftsmanship Award—a Berber rug donated by Gebhart Blazek (berber.carpets)—was granted to Christian Keuschnig, supervised by Tom Kaden from the Institute of Architecture Technology—Architecture and Timber Construction, for his project “Circular Timber Skeleton Modules: Convertible, Repairable, and Reusable Modular System for High-Rise Buildings.” It combines artisanal intelligence with industrial innovation and offers a forward‑looking contribution to a resource‑conscious building culture.

Following the award ceremony, which took place on October 16, 2025, at the Campus Alte Technik, the nominated graduates celebrated their successful completion of architectural studies at Graz University of Technology together with fellow students, professional partners, and representatives from architectural firms. On November 13, 2025, the prize recipients presented their awarded projects in a series of lectures to a broader public at the Haus der Architektur in Graz.

Svenja-Rebecca Hollstein