W/Trans/Form

In 2025, the Bundeskunsthalle will be dedicated to ecological transformation. A key focus of this year's program is an international exhibition project on sustainable architecture and urban development in Europe: WEtransFORM. "The Future of Building" invites visitors to a lively exploration of the future of our built environment. The focus is on fundamental design principles for a climate-friendly renewal of our building culture. These include, in particular: strengthening climate resilience / promoting biodiversity / practicing frugality / revitalizing existing buildings / optimizing cycles / daring to experiment / taking action.

AN EXEMPLARY ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CHALLENGES OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
Around 80 projects are on display that address the challenges of climate change in exemplary fashion. For example, Haus Glasner in the Ahr Valley is attempting to protect against future flooding, and the Rambla Climate House is attempting to protect against drought in Spain. The use of natural materials such as rammed earth in Anna Heringer's work or wood in Hermann Kaufmann's work can certainly be understood as a response to the philosophical question of what is essential. Studio Bua's renovation of an old barn in Iceland and 51N4E's conversion of the former World Trade Center in Brussels reduce resource consumption, CO2 emissions, and construction waste. Innovative research projects such as NEST UMAR at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Hybrid Flax Pavilion at the University of Stuttgart explore new possibilities in dealing with circular material cycles or computer-aided construction methods.

A highlight on the Museum Square will be Vert – a greened wooden beam structure by AHEC / Diez Office / OMC°C that contributes to cooling squares and strengthening biodiversity in urban environments. The foyer of the Bundeskunsthalle is dominated by the ceiling-high installation Tree.ONE by EcoLogicStudio (Claudia Pasquero/Marco Poletto) – a synthetic tree grown from microalgae that absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and converts it into biomaterial.

For the exhibition design, the architectural firm MVRDV (Rotterdam) relied almost exclusively on materials already available at the Bundeskunsthalle.

Opening Festival: June 5–7, 2025
The festival will feature outstanding climate researchers such as Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, visionary mayors from exemplary European cities, and, last but not least, creative designers from renowned studios from Italy to Iceland and from Porto to Tallinn.