05.11.2026 – 05.04.2027
Scaffolding, covers, etc. – so-called temporary layers – form a largely overlooked part of urban infrastructure. This temporary layer keeps countless processes in the city running: from construction and demolition, through maintenance and wayfinding, to protection and safety. Labelled as ‘temporary’, such structures blend into their surroundings and often remain below the threshold of perception. The exhibition brings this essential backdrop to light and asks what we can learn from temporary structures.
The fascination with temporary functional buildings has been a constant for the members of KOSMOS Architects ever since their student days. Over many years, they have collected examples of this ephemeral architecture – built for a limited time and yet full of lightness, precision and strength. This passion has given rise to a body of research that takes the temporary seriously as a distinct architectural category. They refer to these anonymous technical infrastructures as ‘tektures’, as the ‘built environment itself’ beyond ‘author-driven’ architecture. What can we learn from temporary structures? Conventional construction methods are often too slow and too inflexible to respond appropriately to changing challenges – whether social, economic, political, ecological, technological or climatic. Temporary structures arise from specific needs. They are functional, readily available and designed to be easily assembled, adapted and dismantled. This is precisely where their quality lies: they respond immediately to change and reveal what is truly needed in a given situation. As snapshots of reality, they are a direct reflection of societal demands – and a laboratory for an architecture that is learning to engage with resources, time and conditions in new ways.
Temporary. Structures of Necessity
05.11.2026 – 05.04.2027
Architekturzentrum Wien
Museumsplatz 1
1070 Vienna
https://www.azw.at
