Wie weiter?

In May 2025, students from the Faculty of Architecture presented their works at the City of Graz’s “BürgerInnendialog” (Citizens’ Dialogue), with a focus on the development of the District of Leonhardstraße–Reiterweg. Created during a master’s studio at the Institute of Design in Existing Structures and Architectural Heritage Protection, these works lent visibility to the enormous development potential of the heterogeneous urban area. Moreover, they offered a common basis for discussion. This exhibition curated by Annika Höller and Svenja-Rebecca Hollstein was given a simple yet sweeping title: “Wie weiter?” (How to Move Forward?).

This question is particularly relevant where attempts are being made to newly densify existing downtown structures: aside from Graz’s old town, St. Leonhard offers no clear points of reference. Leaps in scale arise again and again, with small Biedermeier houses situated next to large historicist buildings. Different urban characters collide. High-rises stand alongside single-family homes, larger urban complexes (such as the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz) border on what was once suburban development, and dense perimeter block structures contrast the loosely dispersed tower blocks. The works approached this point of departure by asking the following questions: Which historical developments led to this heterogeneous cityscape? Which architectural strategies facilitate a harmonious integration into the existing urban structure? Can minimally invasive approaches further strengthen the different characters found in a building ensemble, instead of concealing the current dissonance at great expense? And finally: How can such concepts be implemented under real-life property ownership conditions in building practice?

With contributions by: Michael Dengg, Huriye Dere, Fabio Egger, Fabian Fabry, Marius Frink, Maximilian Hackl, Lisa Held, Michael Leitgeb, Maria Lesjak, Matthias Manfred Lindtner, Lukas Monsberger, Oliver Oberngruber, Manuel Rammerstorfer, Susanne Redl, Sebastian Schmidt, Lukas Schneider, Theresa Schürrer, and Martha Schwaiger.

Svenja-Rebecca Hollstein