The Institute of Architecture (I oA) at the University of Applied Arts Vienna/die Angewandte offers a three-year accredited master’s program (MArch) devoted to experimental and innovative design in architecture and urban practices. The Institute is embedded in an internationally renowned applied arts university that fosters exchange between disciplines, provides state-of-the-art education in the f
ields of arts and research, and promotes global exchange. With its international orientation and its profound artistic, technical and discursive educational program, the Institute of Architecture produces critical work and searches for visionary strategies that address the most urgent questions of our time and the near future: What is the role of architecture in regards to contemporary cultures and societies, urbanization processes, identity policies, migration, climate change, environmental challenges, and disruptive technologies? What will our future look like and how will that be manifested spatially, physically and virtually? What role do digital developments and technology play in this? What is the role of architecture in tackling questions on aesthetics and radical beauty? To create new schemes and visions in education, research and practice that address these challenges, architecture at the Institute of Architecture is taught as an integrative discipline by promoting transdisciplinary project processes and working methods from the very local to the planetary. Just as there are many areas and niches within architecture and the professional field of architects, the I oA proclaims diversity on all levels, including that of teaching. Consequently, the autonomy of all the Institute’s design studios and departments is crucial and considered to be productive, provoking more critical discourse, projects and dynamics. Baerbel Mueller, I oA Dean
