International Conference: “Architecture and the Power of Bureaucracy”

Vienna, 6–7 Nov 2025
Postal Savings Bank Building
Georg-Coch-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna

November 2025

The term “bureaucracy” refers to the organisation of people, processes, and to paperwork. Bureaucracy is often used as a synonym for inefficiency and disinterest, as the so-called “fifth form of rule by irresponsible officials who are not at risk” (Männle 2023). However, bureaucracy can also indicate high efficiency, control, and power (Blau, Meyer 1971). With the advent of the modern state, civil servants commissioned (public) architecture and urban plans by making decisions and setting rules such as regulations, laws, and standards. Although bureaucrats and bureaucracies may aim and perceive their agenda as neutral, the actual impact and influence can be both constructive and destructive.
The conference is convened by the Institute of Habsburg and Balkan Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Art History, Czech Academy of Sciences.

Postal Savings Bank Building, Georg-Coch-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna

to the program with book of abstracts (pdf)

download the program with book of abstracts (pdf)

Apartment or Office? Vienna’s Fürstenhof Building and the Imperial-Royal Ministry for Public Works

Zagreb, 9–10 Oct 2025
Faculty of Architechture
University of Zagreb

October 2025

Richard Kurdiovsky gave an insight onto the official seat of the Ministry for Public Works as the shelter for a bureaucratic institution, using a then fashionable building type: the Straßenhof.

Open the General information on the conference

download paper on the conference (pdf)

Central European History Convention (CEH-C), 17–19 July 2025, Vienna

Diversity in unity? The public administration’s personnel in matters of public architecture

July 2025

Richard Kurdiovsky & Vendula Hnídková will hold a lecture under the title “Diversity in unity? The public administration’s personnel in matters of public architecture” on July 19th at the panel “The Arts in the Service of Politics” at the Central European History Convention 2025.

open the program pdf

open the abstract as pdf

Fieldtrip “Sudetenland”

The Czech group led to the north-west of Czech Republic

May 2025

The excursion to Czech Republic brought us to a couple of towns: Ústí nad Labem, Duchcov, Litvínov, Teplice, Jáchymov and last but not least Karlovy Vary.
Vsited were different types of schools, housing types, industrie buildings, spa buildings and a lot of other types.

Visit our interactive map from our fieldtrip to Sudetenland

Tintenburgen und stahlharte Gehäuse. Räume und Bauten der Verwaltung

Vendula Hnídková (Prag) & Richard Kurdiovsky (Wien): Das Schloss und Franz K.s Suche nach Erkenntnis. Zum klandestinen Wissen über das Verhältnis von Architektur und Verwaltung
Conference at the Verwaltungsakademie des Bundes (T-Center), Vienna, 23–24 May 2025

May 2025

Vendula Hnídková and Richard Kurdiovsky provided insight into the agenda of ministries for public works and their tasks, responsibilities and construction projects in the field of public architecture during the Habsburg monarchy and the Republics between the world wars.

Visit the program of the conference

CfP: Architecture and the Power of Bureaucracy

Vienna, 6–7 Nov 25

November 2025

The term “bureaucracy” refers to the organisation of people, processes, and to paperwork. Bureaucracy is often used as a synonym for inefficiency and disinterest, as the so-called “fifth form of rule by irresponsible officials who are not at risk” (Männle 2023). However, bureaucracy can also indicate high efficiency, control, and power (Blau, Meyer 1971). With the advent of the modern state, civil servants commissioned (public) architecture and urban plans by making decisions and setting rules such as regulations, laws, and standards. Although bureaucrats and bureaucracies may aim and perceive their agenda as neutral, the actual impact and influence can be both constructive and destructive. The conference is convened by the Institute of Habsburg and Balkan Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Art History, Czech Academy of Sciences. It takes place on 6 and 7 November 2025 in the Postal Savings Bank Building, Vienna.

to the cfp

Workshop on Buildings for Education, Prague

Workshop “Architecture of Buildings for Education” in Prague

March 2025

Raphaela Hemetsberger and Barbora Řepková organized a workshhop on Buildings for Education in Prague. It was held at the Academic Conference Center. The workshop seeks to explore the architecture of various types of school buildings as both a cornerstone and a reflection of social, political, and national identities. Barbora Řepková, Raphaela Hemetsberger and Jan Galeta were speaking on “Construction of schools for Czechoslovak minority in Czechoslovakia”, “State schools in Austria and their surprising innovations (1900–1938)”, “State schools in the Lands of Bohemian Crown under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works (1908–1918)”.

to the programme pdf

ASEEES 2024 Conference

Richard Kurdiovsky, Vendula Hnídková and Raphaela Hemetsberger took part at the 56^th ASEEES-Conference in Boston, USA

November 2024

Our three project-members formed the panel “Liberated architecture for Liberated Society”. Richard Kurdiovsky with his talk on “Reforms as a Means of Liberation”, Vendula Hnídková with “Modern Architecture as a Signifier of Political Liberation” and Raphaela Hemetsberger with “School Buildings in Austria: Education as an Arena of Stylistic and Normative Reformation”.

to the programme

Lectures on National Banks

Anna Stuhlpfarrer and Vendula Hnídková gave presentations at the workshop „Architektur der europäischen Nationalbanken” in Innsbruck

November 2024

„Ein ‚edelgeformter Zweckbau‘ – Die Filiale der Oesterreichischen Nationalbank in Eisenstadt.” is Anna Stuhlpfarrer’s talk on the branche in Burgenland, the youngest Austrian state. Vendula Hnídková lecture on the Prague building is titled “Clusters of the Capital in the Inter-war Prague”.

to the programme pdf

Excursion Upper Austria

Excursion to Wels, Steyr and Linz

September 2024

Excursion to three different industrial towns in Upper-Austria. Wels, Steyr and Linz. Visiting and discussing schoolbuildings, settlements, churches, museums, factories, a gym-hall, townhalls, etc.

see the interactive map

Excursion Opava / Ostrava

Excursion to Opava and Ostrava

May 2024

The Czech team led the Austrian team through the two former industrial cities in the est of Czech Republic.

Excursion to Graz

Meeting and Excursion in Graz

December 2023

After a meeting at University of Technology Graz, an excursion to Graz took place. Our external team member Antje Senarclens de Grancy led the group to hidden gems in the Styrian capital.

Meeting / Excursion in Vienna

Meeting and Excursion Vienna

June 2023

After a meeting at the ÖAW, we went on an excursion to various school buildings and to the “Heuberg housing estate” and the “Sandleitenhof”, Vienna’s largest social housing estate from the 1920s.

Workshop „Versorgung für die Stadt”

Elektrizität und Kommunikation. Architektur – Technologie – Konstruktion.

May 2023

A workshop on the Favoriten substation. The Vienna Telegraph Centre and two substations in Vienna and Prague will be examined in detail. Although the two electricity buildings have the same construction task and are built on almost identical ground plans, they differ significantly in their architectural appearance.

to the programme pdf

Conference / Excursion

Conference in Vienna and Excursions in Vienna and Brno

November 2022

In November 2022 a conference took place at the ÖAW. On the last day an excursion to the 10th district of Vienna took place. There was presented a mixture of architecture built for the working class like domestic architecture: the carriage house of the tram, a loan-house, the headquarter of the socialist party, a swimming-hall, experimental 19th century-settlements, Red-Vienna welfare-housing, etc. All this could be seen on a quiet small area.

Presentation in Berlin

Anna Stuhlpfarrer and Richard Kurdiovsky presented the project in Berlin.

September 2022

The conference “Staatsaffäre Architekur. Von der Preußischen Hochbauverwaltung zur Reichsbauverwaltung 1770–1933” took place in Berlin. Anna Stuhlpfarrer and Richard Kurdiovsky held a lecture there and presented the project.

to the programme pdf