EULiST Summer School | Prezier 2025
Design + Build:
Architectural Transformation by Bridging Tradition and Innovation
In cooperation between:
Leibniz University Hannover,
TU Vienna,
Brno University of Technology
within the framework of:
EULiST
The summer school explored the adaptive reuse of vacant rural buildings, heritage preservation, local crafts, and experimental interventions. Students gained hands-on experience at a half-timbered farmhouse in Prezier, Lower Saxony, Germany, and exchanged their knowledge with experts, the local community, and fellow students from across Europe.
We began with symposia: The first panel, Transformation of Vacant Farmhouses in Rural Germany, featured Kerstin Duncker (Lüchow-Dannenberg District) on "Vernacular Architecture" and Kay Fischer (studio kaefi) on "Transforming Atelierhaus Prezier 8", moderated by Jonas Käckenmester. The second panel, "Case Studies of Transformation in the Czech and Slovak Context", included contributions from Kilo/Honc (Slovakia) and the NGO Čierne Diery, moderated by Nikola Beim. The third panel, "Pedagogical Approaches to Transformation in Austria", brought together Lorenzo De Chiffre (TU Vienna) and Andreas Lechner (TU Graz), moderated by Katharina Paschburg.
Supra-regional excursions included Komturei Werben with a workshop by AFEA (Jurek Brueggen & Aimé Michelfelder) and “Open Ateliers” with a tour in Künstlerstadt Kalbe. Regional excursions included the Rundlingsmuseum Lübeln and the Sawmill Herbsthausen in Gartow, along with the ArtCamp Tangente opening, dinner, and party. Local excursions took participants by bike to villages in Lemgow with Anna Schneibel on vacant guesthouses, and to the Farmhouse Prezier 8 with insights from researcher Dirk Wübbenhorst.
In practical workshops we worked on the House as a Workpiece, beginning with inputs on restoration and the documentation of monuments. The focus lay on mapping and documenting monuments, materials, and tools, with contributions from Holzwerkstatt Hohenvolkfien (carpentry) and restorer Merete Gierow.
The wood and brick workshops included joint work with carpenters from Holzwerkstatt Hohenvolkfien and bricklayer Ruben Heindrichs, creating a mock-up on the west façade and addressing infill, stable windows, and wooden joints.
The clay workshop featured inputs and hands-on experience with Björn Klug (conluto) and David Feldbrügge (Lehm-Laden), including a mock-up on the interior of the west façade that had previously been repaired with bricks, as well as the infill of an interior wall.
The workshop results and interventions were presented in a curated exhibition to the public. Anika Gründer was invited as guest critic for the finals. In the public exhibition we displayed the house itself as a piece, together with all the mappings and interventions completed during the 14-day summer school.
The summer school ended with a dinner and party together with the villagers. We overpopulated the extremely small village, using guesthouses and the community center as infrastructure for our activities. The provision of groceries, meals, and waste management was entirely self-organized throughout the 14 days. We tried to keep as many resources as possible within the village and to live as sustainably and minimally as possible. It was amazing! A big thank you to everyone who was involved!
Concept and organization by:
Nikola Beim (Brno University of Technology)
Jonas Käckenmester (Leibniz University Hannover)
Katharina Paschburg (TU Vienna)
Photos by:
Ferdinand Helmecke, Leon Hensler
Co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Supported by the German Federal Foreign Office and DAAD.
