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Field trip to Trofaiach for the hearing on the Landluft Building Culture Community Award

In early April, students enrolled in Master’s Elective Module 2 attended the jury hearing for the Landluft Building Culture Community Award in Trofaiach, where they gained firsthand insight into the work of Austrian communities in the field of building culture.

A group of people is in the foreground of the photograph, listening to a man explain something; a church steeple can be seen in the background.

© Lena Schartmüller

On April 9 and 10, 2026, 25 architecture and urban planning students attended the jury hearing for the 5th landluft Building Culture Community Award in Trofaiach. The field trip was part of the course series “Understanding Building and Planning Culture through Model Communities” led by Elisabeth Leitner (Urbanism, TU Wien) and Lena Schartmüller (ifoer TU Wien).

On Thursday, Erich Biberich gave a tour of the host town of Trofaiach and shared insights from his years of work to revitalize the town center. The key takeaway: It takes time, a great deal of persistent effort, and open-minded property owners—only then can long-term vacancies be successfully revitalized.

On Friday, things got serious: 14 municipalities from all over Austria presented themselves, their projects, and their building culture journeys to advance to the next round of the selection process. During the breaks, the students networked with representatives from the municipalities, which they will work on in interdisciplinary groups and visit in self-organized excursions over the coming weeks.

Many thanks to LandLuft for allowing us to be part of this inspiring and extremely informative day! We’d also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the presenting municipalities and to Erich Biberich for the wonderful insight into your commitment and experiences!

The topic was also covered from ORF on kulturMONTAG Special “Nutzen,was da ist!” on April 20, 2026. 

 

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Save the Date: On June 24 (3:30–8:00 p.m., ADEG – TUW Main Building), the students will present their results during a joint afternoon/evening event with LandLuft and two other courses that have also been working on the Baukultur Community Award.

A photograph of a group of people in a square with floor paintings.

© Lena Schartmüller

A photograph of a wood-paneled room with a display in the background and people sitting in the foreground.

© Lena Schartmüller

A small group of people is standing on a slight platform in a wood-paneled room, holding a yellow banner in front of them that reads "Architectural culture wins!"

© Lena Schartmüller