Circular Landscapes sets up an urban laboratory. It continues in the tradition of wonderLab as a space for open research and discussion. This edition invites designers, filmmakers and social innovators to explore cycles of making and unmaking.
Cities are constructed, destroyed and rebuilt every day. But how much of this process is ethical or sustainable? Where do materials end up when their life cycle ends? And how can we imagine alternative forms of care, reuse and creation? These questions guide the lab, which combines lectures, films, and discussions on material memory, craftsmanship, and social responsibility.
The Lab acts as a final conference for the two-year long Erasmus + project YEFECE (Youth Entrepreneurship in Furniture Up-Cycling for Employment within Circular Economy). Shortly before the official end, we look forward to presenting projects and people who have inspired us to think differently and seek agency.
Our program includes:
Urban Clay Spotters – A practical introduction to discovering, recognising and processing wild ceramic in your neighbourhood. The talk, led by Michalina Zadykowicz, presents her research and the challenges involved.
“Material Memory: Urban Wood as Resource and Record” introduces the work of Stadtholz — a design initiative that reuses wood from felled city trees in Vienna. The talk explores how urban wood can be understood simultaneously as a material resource and as a record that holds traces of its own history and the urban context around it, showing how design and documentation can reconnect ecological and social systems.
Artist talk with Felix Lenz: through the lens of their latest exhibition Soft Image, Brittle Grounds, Felix Lenz critically examines the geopolitical, ecological, and technological dimensions of image- and knowledge-making practices. Drawing on voices from queer-feminist philosophy, Indigenous science, and geology, they trace the entanglements, ethics and responsibilities inherent in these practices. The talk features excerpts from their latest film Brute Force (2025), followed by an open conversation with co-director Ganaël Dumreicher.
The Lab concludes with 2 screenings that explore how art and architecture can act as catalysts for change. Starting with “Sensing Spaces. Architecture Reimagined” directed by Candida Richardson. Then followed by KUNST vs. KRISE, a film directed by Arian Lehner, who will share afterwards his insights on the production.
We end with an open discussion involving all speakers and filmakers.
Programm:
14:00 Urban Clay Spotters with Michalina Zadykowicz
16:00 – 16:20 Break and Buffet
16:20-16:40 YEFECE Introduction: Cycles of making
16:40-17:10 Talk by Statholz, Material Memory: Urban Wood as Resource and Record
17.10-18:10 Talk by Felix Lenz, followed by open conversation with co-director Ganaël Dumreicher.
18.10-18:30 Drinks and snacks
18:30-18:45 Film – Sensing Spaces. Architecture Reimagined. UK 2014, 16 min., OmeU, D: Candida Richardson
18.45-19:40 Film – KUNST vs. KRISE, AT 2025, 52 min., OmeU, D: Arian Lehner
19:40-20:10(open end) Discussion round
— The laboratory is free of charge and it is possible to participate in only part of the programme —
Films:
Brute Force, AT 2025, 30min., OmeU, D: Felix Lenz
Sensing Spaces. Architecture Reimagined. UK 2014, 16 min., OmeU, D: Candida Richardson
KUNST vs. KRISE, AT 2025, 52 min., OmeU, D: Arian Lehner
Speaker:
Arian Lehner
Felix Lenz
Ganaël Dumreicher
Marlene Rutzendorfer
Michalina Zadykowicz
Orest Yaremchuk
Organised by:
Danny Nedkova
Marlene Rutzendorfer
Robert Körner
In cooperation with Social Design
