RESEARCH: Gatherings

(Winter Term 24/25) 

The work on Transmedia Debate Chambers started with the study of existing physical and virtual gatherings, their needs and management, and the spaces and infrastructure necessary to facilitate them.

“Modern democracies involve such large numbers of people that it is physically impossible for them to sit together and take a collective decision therefore people elect representatives that take part in policy votes and initiatives. The split between physical and digital spaces is obsolete, as they are now intricately intertwined, influencing and impacting each other seamlessly. As we gather through multiple layers of media we merge environments and create possibilities for meaningful exchange between people globally as well as further opportunities for manipulation, inequality, and concentration of power.”

The studio also conducted field trips, visiting the Austrian Parliament as well as the United Nations Headquarters in Vienna, to experience and study the characteristics of spaces of formal gathering and representation.

In parallel, a comprehensive survey of potential intervention sites in Vienna and surroundings started. These sites may be specific buildings or broader building typologies that are currently underutilized, abandoned, or whose use could arguably be reconsidered.