Vienna Architecture Summer School (VAS²)
9 days of architectural workshops in Vienna: the Vienna Architecture Summer School (VAS²) is an independent learning space for students, graduates and drop-outs in architecture or any other related discipline. Away from established hierarchies of universitary structures, we aim for exchange and negotiation of knowledges beyond dominating institutions and mainstream discourses.
Viennese Reflections
#reflection #space #light
GUESTS: Amy Estermann (RE-REFLECTION), Claudia Frediani (FREDIANE.space), ...
In architecture, reflection is more than a visual phenomenon, it is a spatial strategy. Reflective surfacesdistort, multiply, conceal and reveal. By bending light and redirecting vision, they unsettle form, openingspace totransformation and new questions. It is not only reflection; redirected light itself can changespatial experience, shaping atmosphere and perception in subtle but powerful ways.
Sometimes these effects are intentional, designed to manipulate vision or amplify space. Other times, they occur by chance. Reflection and light behaviour are inherent qualities in many materials, often unnoticed until a specific moment reveals them. Light streaming through a window can illuminate a smallpart of a façade opposite, unexpectedly highlighting architectural details that may otherwise gounnoticed. These accidental moments are as striking as the planned ones, reminding us thatarchitecture is always shifting, responsive and alive.
Reflection also allows us to reframe space, to see it from a new perspective. In reflection, the boundary between structure and image dissolves. A mirrored surface does not simply replicate space, it questions it, inviting doubt, projection, and possibility. Similarly, redirected light can reveal hidden geometries or create ephemeral thresholds, reshaping space in real-time.
Vienna provides fertile ground for exploration, with itsrich architectural tradition, cafés featuring mirrored interiors and grand compositions that play with light and perception. The city becomes a living laboratory for reflective experimentation.
This workshop invites participants to explore reflection and light as architectural tools. We will investigate the qualities trough collective discussions and hands-on experiments. Participants will work on individual compositions, engaging with reflective materials to create site-specific installations. By merging theory, material exploration, and embodied experience, we will reimagine space, not as fixed, but as layered, shifting, and alive.
Viennese Reflections
#reflection #space #light
GUESTS: Amy Estermann (RE-REFLECTION), Claudia Frediani (FREDIANE.space), ...
In architecture, reflection is more than a visual phenomenon, it is a spatial strategy. Reflective surfacesdistort, multiply, conceal and reveal. By bending light and redirecting vision, they unsettle form, openingspace totransformation and new questions. It is not only reflection; redirected light itself can changespatial experience, shaping atmosphere and perception in subtle but powerful ways.
Sometimes these effects are intentional, designed to manipulate vision or amplify space. Other times, they occur by chance. Reflection and light behaviour are inherent qualities in many materials, often unnoticed until a specific moment reveals them. Light streaming through a window can illuminate a smallpart of a façade opposite, unexpectedly highlighting architectural details that may otherwise gounnoticed. These accidental moments are as striking as the planned ones, reminding us thatarchitecture is always shifting, responsive and alive.
Reflection also allows us to reframe space, to see it from a new perspective. In reflection, the boundary between structure and image dissolves. A mirrored surface does not simply replicate space, it questions it, inviting doubt, projection, and possibility. Similarly, redirected light can reveal hidden geometries or create ephemeral thresholds, reshaping space in real-time.
Vienna provides fertile ground for exploration, with itsrich architectural tradition, cafés featuring mirrored interiors and grand compositions that play with light and perception. The city becomes a living laboratory for reflective experimentation.
This workshop invites participants to explore reflection and light as architectural tools. We will investigate the qualities trough collective discussions and hands-on experiments. Participants will work on individual compositions, engaging with reflective materials to create site-specific installations. By merging theory, material exploration, and embodied experience, we will reimagine space, not as fixed, but as layered, shifting, and alive.
