Eilfried Huth, Eschensiedlung, Deutschlandsberg, Styria, 1972–1992 Concept for the Bauhütte/community center/construct site office |Ink, pencil and felt pen on translucent paper adhesheve foil, Architekturzentrum Wien, Collection

As early as the Middle Ages, a Bauhütte referred to a place of cooperation and interaction between craftspeople.

The Austrian architect Eilfried Huth, a pioneer of participatory housing, used this notion to express his reliance on the embodied knowledge of future inhabitants who gathered as an advocacy group to design a new housing estate called Eschensiedlung in Deutschlandsberg, Styria, in 1972–1990.

At the Eschensiedlung, the Bauhütte would not only be the marketplace for construction materials, but also the centre of communication and strong neighbourly support structures. Huth initiated lectures, discussions, and consultations, while future residents contributed to the planning process with their tacit knowledge, to realise 110 low-cost single-family houses.

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Monika Platzer studied art history at the University of Vienna. She is head of collections and curator at the Architekturzentrum Wien. Monika has engaged in curatorial undertakings at leading international institutions such as the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) and the Getty Research Institute (GRI).

This object is part of the TACK Exhibition “Unausgesprochenes Wissen / Unspoken Knowledge / Le (savoir) non-dit”, in the section “Codes and Communities”.