STATEMENT
WIA won't answer a single question.
WIA is a snapshot of the contemporary architectural panorama.
WIA is a growing archive for architectural positions.
WIA is a reason to carry on.
WIA contains monologues to start dialogues.
WHAT WE DO
We are interviewing the world's leading architectural designers and thinkers to learn their opinion about what architecture is and what it can do. Our goal is to provide clear and concise information about architecture from the viewpoint of the contemporary protagonists and thus form a panoramic view of today's architectural thinking.
WHAT WE ASK
What is architecture?
What can architecture do?
What is your architectural position?
What is your design method?
WHO WE ARE
Julie Marthe Hoffmann was born in 1987 in Luxembourg. She studied architecture in Innsbruck where she finished her masters with honors. From 2012 until 2014 she worked at the Institute of Spatial Design as a student assistant. She was working for 2001 architecture (LUX) as a junior architect, before she opened her own practice. Her main themes circle around the individual and human in architecture, both in design and interpersonal manner. She relies on her intuition to elicit personal aspects from her counterpart and she doesn't shy away from asking a question twice.
Luca De Giorgi was born 1987 in Italy. He studied architecture in Madrid and Innsbruck. From 2011 until 2014 he was working as a student assistant and external teacher under Prof. Peter Trummer at the Institute of Urban Design, which mainly influenced his perspective on architecture as a discipline. Prof. Trummer had a decisive role in the gestation of WIA and encouraged it's early development. Since 2015 he is travelling and working in Europe and Asia and has published a guidebook and a collection of articles about Southeast Asia. Since 2016 he works as a freelance writer and photographer for different media outlets such as Bauwelt (DE). His main topics deal with the different theoretical approaches of the last two decades, questioning the role of the architect in different cultures.
Olaf H Grawert was born 1987 in Austria. After working in fashion industry he studied architecture and urban planning in Innsbruck and Berlin. From 2011 until 2015 he was working as a student assistant and junior researcher under Prof. Bart Lootsma at the Institute of Architectural Theory. Since 2015 he is working as a freelance architect and writer with different offices such as brandlhuber+ or ARCH+. Since 2017 he works as a teaching assistant and research fellow at the ETH Zurich. His projects and themes deal with architecture and communication, both in built and theoretical manner. Influenced by the ideas of pop culture he is questioning the ambivalent relation between identity and architecture / the city.
Erik Czejka was born 1990 in Austria. He studied architecture in Innsbruck and Beijing. He wrote his master thesis by Prof. Bart Lootsma at the Institute of Architectural Theory. Therein he analysed the question if advertisement can be seen as an ornament in architecture. Since 2017 he is working for the architectural magazine 100 Häuser (AT) and as a freelancer writer for other publications. He is also a guide during the Open House event in Vienna. His main focus is on the communication and transmission of the values of architecture and space, even to non-architects.
CONTACT
e-mail
whatisarch[a]gmail.com
INFO
concept
Luca De Giorgi, Julie Marthe Hoffmann
edtiors
Julie Marthe Hoffmann, Luca De Giorgi, Olaf H Grawert, Erik Czejka
team - south east asia
Ariefina Marta Rahmavani, Nashrisaf Muhammad Resal, Muhammad Ridhwan Yusfianda
partner & friends
bauwelt, architects, not architecture
supported by
Veronika Acher, Alexa Baumgartner, Gabor Kocsis, Johanna Lehmann, Gregor Loewit, Josef Mallaun, Martin Neugebauer, Markus Rampl
website
Erik Czejka, Olaf H Grawert
The views and opinions expressed in the interviews are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion and position of WIA. The interviews are licences under the Creative Commons Licence and can be found on vimeo.com/whatisarchitecture