Biofabrique Vienna – Design from Viennese waste

September 24, 2024|Karin Bellmann

In a world that is increasingly prioritising sustainability and the circular economy, Biofabrique Vienna is showcasing how unused resources can be transformed into new materials. From leftover baked goods to algae from the Danube, excavated material from the underground railway extension or wood shavings – all these materials that would otherwise go to waste are now being given a new lease on life.

The large-scale Biofabrique Vienna pilot project began operations in Vienna for the first time with the Climate Biennale in early summer 2024. Over a period of 100 days, materials were delivered from all over the city that would otherwise have been sent to landfill. Tests and research were carried out on these materials in the first Biofabrique Vienna to produce new materials for making bricks, panels and plaster mouldings.

The Biofabrique canteen – a modular room system designed by Studio dreiSt. – is the first design project to be designed and built with these new materials and can be seen at Vienna Design Week 2024.

Biofabrique Vienna auf der ersten Klimabiennale. Forschung mit Öffi-Aushub und Backwarenresten — Based on the bioregional design approach pioneered by Atelier LUMA, Biofabrique Vienna has developed a method for converting unused local resources into materials for architecture and design.

Biofabrique Vienna auf der Klima Biennale Wien — The first phase of Biofabrique Vienna took place at the 100-day Climate Biennale 2024. Every day, visitors came to the open workshop and teaching setting at the Nordwestbahnhof festival site to follow the progress being made in developing new materials.

Biofabrique Vienna. 100 Tage Forschung auf der Klima Biennale — Sixty students from TU Wien worked with national and international experts from the creative industries, the scientific community, the public sector, and businesses to analyse and collect local resources with the goal of developing new materials.

Opening der Biofabrique Vienna auf der Klima Biennale Wien — Launch of Biofabrique Vienna at the Vienna Climate Biennale.

Biofabrique Vienna: Podiumskdiskussion beim Material Crafting Day — Several events were organised to explore the potential of untapped resources: for example, the Material Crafting Day at Biofabrique Vienna.

Biofabrique Vienna: Material Crafting Day — The potential of unutilised resources was explored at various events. For example, at the Material Crafting Day at Biofabrique Vienna.

Eröffnung Biofabrique Vienna auf der ersten Klima Biennale — Opening of Biofabrique Vienna at the Vienna Climate Biennale.

Biofabrique Vienna auf der Klima Biennale: die Ausstellung — At Biofabrique Vienna, new building materials were developed from local resources such as leftover baked goods, algae from the Danube or waste from sugar beet production and the timber industry - for example in the form of bricks, panels, glazes and ceramics.

Biofabrique Vienna. Ausstellung auf der Klima Biennale. — Biofabrique Vienna's research activities were accompanied by an extensive exhibition at the Vienna Climate Biennale.

Industry stakeholders worked closely with the scientific community and the creative industries in Vienna. The Institute of Architectural Design at TU Wien was enlisted as an executive partner of Biofabrique Vienna for three courses with sixty students.

“Trying out your own ideas directly on the materials is a completely different experience to discussing sustainable building materials in theory. We were right there on site and had the opportunity to try everything out straight away.”

Julia Cäsar

Student at TU Wien

In addition to traditional raw materials such as wood, textiles and food, rarely used resources were also processed. Following initial tests, promising material formulations were developed, which were then produced and tested in small batches. After just one month, the first Biofabrique Vienna brick was unveiled – made from excavated material from the U2/U5 underground line extension, such as the soil removed during tunnelling, and brewer’s grains, a by-product of beer production.

Vienna Design Week – with a hospitality area designed by Studio dreiSt.

After one hundred days of intensive labour, Studio dreiSt. had a total of twenty different material combinations at its disposal, all of which had been developed from unused Viennese resources. The three designers Martin Kohlbauer, Luisa Zwetkow and Sophie Coqui won a joint challenge organised by the Vienna Design Week and the Vienna Business Agency. Their assignment: to design the lounge and café areas of the festival centre with the new materials from Biofabrique Vienna.

The result is the Biofabrique canteen: a flexible, modular system of rooms that functions as a modern café. The seats and tables are designed for versatility – they can be used to create a cosy lounge or classic café setting and are height-adjustable. Here, they have been used to create a typical Viennese café ambience: a place to hang out, chat or simply take a short break – accompanied, of course, by good drinks and light refreshments.