Lecture BKK-3 in RSTS

Centre for Central European Architecture in collaboration with Raiffeisen Building Society invites you to a public lecture BKK-3 from the cycle Architects in RSTS. Dialogue of Contemporary Housing

lecture: Franz Sumnitsch, studio BKK-3, Vienna - Austria

on Monday, 30.10.2006 at 18:00, RSTS headquarters, Koněvova 99, Prague 3

project concept: Centre for Central European Architecture
project production: Zuzana Bodnárová, Igor Kovačević (Centre for Central European Architecture)
main project partner: Raiffeisen Building Society
graphic design: Petr Štěpán
media partners: ERA 21, Radio1, www.archiweb.cz
more information: www.ccea-info.org, www.rsts.cz, www.bkk-3.com
Due to limited capacity of the hall, those interested in the lecture must register via email (info@ccea-info.org) or by phone (CCEA 222 248 118). Thank you for your understanding.

The Architects in RSTS project allows meetings with significant Austrian architects and addresses fundamental questions of architectural creation /what is the difference between the working methods of architectural studios in the Czech Republic and Austria?, does the process of obtaining contracts differ?, what are young architects focusing on most in their work?, do Austrian architects have more opportunities in the field of public investment than Czech ones?, into which architectural sectors is most invested in both countries? what support is there for housing construction?/.
The intent of the lectures is to provoke dialogue about contemporary housing between Austrian and Czech architects. A comparison of the Czech and Austrian architectural scene is a significant contribution not only for professionals but also for the general public.

Centre for Central European Architecture (CCEA) continues in autumn 2006 to organize lectures by young progressive studios from the Austrian environment. After the studio Querkraft, Delugan Meissl and AllesWirdGut , the studio BKK-3 comes to Prague to present its architectural work.

Raiffeisen Building Society (RSTS) has decided to support the lecture project in the premises of its headquarters in Prague's Žižkov and to bring the work of significant Austrian architects, who are rightly regarded as the top in their field in Central Europe, closer to the general public.

BKK-3 (Baukünstlerkollektiv)

Johny Winter, Franz Sumnitsch

BKK-3 is already the third generation of the BKK studio (Baukünstlerkollektiv), founded in the 1980s in Vienna by architects Franz Sumnitsch (*1961) and Johny Winter (*1949). Through its realizations, BKK-3 ranks among the young progressive architectural studios, open to innovative spatial and formal solutions.
The architectural viewpoint of the BKK project was shaped against the background of the Vienna alternative architectural movement of the 1980s, responding to the stereotypical solutions of apartment buildings and understanding architecture as a derivative of specific user requirements (the so-called Participatory planning). BKK's architecture thus emerges in close collaboration with the builder.
A manifestation of BKK's work is the residential block building on Matznergasse in Vienna, the so-called Sargfabrik built between 1994 and 1996. The building, with its 75 spatially varied apartments, can be a recipe for the possible regeneration of Vienna’s historic buildings, similar to examples of popular lofts.
Sargfabrik revived the idea of collective housing in an interesting way and thus indirectly continued the existence of Viennese "Hof". The building provides not only private residential space but also space for collective services (the possibility of using a shared kitchen, playground, garden).
To some extent, Sargfabrik can be compared to Unité d´habitation. Unlike Le Corbusier, however, BKK-3 does not isolate the organism of the building from the city and does not close it off from the public. In this way, the "coffin factory" pushes the boundaries of apartment typology and connects the idea of social housing with the commercial atmosphere of the city.
In addition to Sargfabrik and its more sophisticated version Miss Sargfabrik, which secured BKK great popularity in Austria and abroad, the studio also designs commercial and administrative buildings (IP.ONE, IP.TWO, ICUB), in which an interest in the coexistence and refinement of private and public space can be traced.