Against the backdrop of climate change, environmental pollution and the scarcity of natural resources, a new building culture of reuse is currently emerging globally. Progressive architecture firms around the world are testing new practices of reusing, repurposing and recycling old building components in order to save energy, reduce greenhouse gases and avoid waste during construction. Innovative approaches such as “circular building”, “urban mining” and “upcycling” entail nothing less than a radical change in today's construction industry and building culture, which will inevitably also lead to new forms of architectural expression.

But reuse is not only ecologically and energetically sustainable. The use of old building components can also preserve cultural heritage, history and identity. A look at the history of architecture shows that the use of spolia (=reused components from other locations) and asservatia (=components recontextualized in the same building) was a natural practice of building culture for a long time and only fell into oblivion in the course of modernism.

This symposium will feature talks by leading international architects, cultural scientists and art historians who will address the topic of reuse in architecture from different perspectives.

Anyone interested is very welcome! Admission to the conference is free. In order to plan ahead, please register using the registration form below.