LIVING

Dear Readers,

So much for a silly season! When journalist colleagues lament the quiet summer period, we respond with a weary smile. The event carousel continues to revolve around interior design and architecture-related topics, and it feels like it’s spinning faster than ever. Understandably so, as rapid rethinking and action are needed everywhere. Barely back from Euroluce in Milan, it was already time to pack our bags for the 18th Architecture Biennale in Venice. The spring edition of imm cologne took place in Cologne, and we headed to Chemnitz for the BDA Day and to Aarhus, Denmark, for the 15th INsider Award. Find out who made it to the top three interior designers as voted by their peers. Over 6,000 participants gathered in Copenhagen for the UIA World Congress, the largest global event for sustainable architecture, while architects and interior designers in Berlin discussed circular construction. How fortunate that we always produce a more extensive double issue in the summer! Of course, we also took care of the key topic of this AIT edition: living! When selecting the projects, we focused on renovations of existing buildings, flat extensions, intelligent floor plan solutions, conscious material choices and the circular use of construction materials. What is more sustainable than preserving good architecture and sensitively transitioning it to the present? A prime example: the careful restoration of Egon Eiermann’s residence in Baden-Baden. Building with straw sounds sensible, but is it also feasible? The straw bale house in Pfaffenhofen proves that it can work. Is your summer holiday still to come? We recommend a “Weekend in Nuremberg”, a visit to a winery, or a trip to Venice for the aforementioned Architecture Biennale, open until November 26. In the upcoming issues of AIT, we will fuel the interest in this event by featuring favourite pavilions of our freelance editors. Benjamin Reding describes a very special type of living in his essay: Above the clouds – almost limitless!

Best wishes
Petra Stephan, Dipl.-Ing.
Chief Editor
Architect