The Art of Joining: TEAMWORK is an exhibition organized by LEAP Collective (Lisi Zeininger, Eva-Maria Offermann, Adam Przywara, Phillip Denny) and presented by the Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre – KÉK and the participants of the international TEAMWORK workshop (10–11 December 2019). The exhibition is on view until January 3, 2020.

The exhibition builds on research conducted by fellows of Bauhaus Lab 2018 into the work of architect Konrad Wachsmann. Born in Frankfurt/Oder in 1901, Wachsmann was a visionary proponent of technological progress in architecture, a cause he promoted widely until his death in Los Angeles in 1980. After World War II, Wachsmann’s scientific and collaborative approach to architecture became the predominant element in his pedagogical and design methods. Between summer schools in Austria, seminars in Japan, and lectures in the US, Wachsmann developed innovative models for team-based learning, simultaneously designing new forms of collaboration and architecture.

“The Art of Joining” draws on Wachsmann’s personal history of teamwork to propose a shift in current thinking about architecture and design practice. In place of individual narratives, authors, and objects, the curators recognize design as a process which organises people and labour amidst particular historical conditions. Encompassing archival materials, modular architecture, and written polemics, this exhibition is a platform for new inquiry into familiar topics.

The international workshop (10–11 December 2019), TEAMWORK accompanied the exhibition and aimed to create a platform for the exchange of knowledge on historical and contemporary collaborative practices in architecture and design. Participants working between history and contemporary practices explored the state of contemporary collaboration by following three questions derived from Wachsmann’s oeuvre: How do we work cooperatively? How do we organize? How do we learn together? The outcomes of the workshops in forms accepted by contributors were then incorporated into the exhibition with an acknowledgment of the shared authorship. In the process, the exhibition will itself become a collaborative practice of production, networking, and learning.

The exhibition is the winning entry of the 33,3 m2 curatorial competition launched by the Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre. Sponsors: National Cultural Fund, Municipality of Újbuda, Goethe Institute Budapest.

The Art of Joining: TEAMWORK international architecture exhibition

On view: December 09, 2019 – January 03, 2020 Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre – KÉK (1111 Budapest, Bartók Béla út 10-12.)

Facebook event exhibition: http://bit.ly/teamwork_exhibition

Facebook event workshop: http://bit.ly/teamwork_workshops

Contact:

E-mail: info@kek.org.hu

Phone: +36 30 522 5994

Photos, visuals for the press can be downloaded here.  

Further information

L.E.A.P. Collective

L.E.A.P. Collective  met at the Bauhaus Dessau in 2018. Their first exhibition, The Art of Joining: Designing the Universal Connector, was developed alongside Bauhaus fellows and scholars, and examined the experimental architecture of German émigré Konrad Wachsmann in relation to questions of pedagogy, technology, and politics. L.E.A.P.’s collaborative work synthesizes the varied expertise of its members, who are active in architecture, design, history, journalism, teaching and curating. Aided by the unique methodologies of their respective fields, the team produces critical investigations that transport concepts to new contexts. L.E.A.P. works together across distances and time zones, with members living and working in Berlin (Eva-Maria Offermann), New York & Cambridge (Phillip Denny), Vienna (Lisi Zeininger), and Warsaw & Manchester (Adam Przywara).

The Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre - KÉK

The Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre - KÉK is an independent professional organisation founded in 2006 with the aim of opening new perspectives in architectural and urban thinking in Hungary. The objective of the institution is to initiate dialogue about architecture, the city and its culture both within the profession and beyond, and to operate an independent and open centre that promotes architectural education, awareness and innovation among multidisciplinary professionals and the general public. Through its fresh, provoking and focused programs, relevant also in international context, KÉK is currently the only internationally acknowledged professional platform representing contemporary architecture in Hungary, and has built an extensive international network of like-minded partner organisations.