What does climate-responsive, resource-conserving architecture that creates quality of life look like? From 6 June 2025, the ‘WE/TRANS/FORM’ exhibition at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn will showcase pioneering projects from across Europe that marry ecological responsibility with creative ingenuity.
What does climate-friendly building mean in practice? This exhibition showcases around 80 projects that demonstrate how the transition to sustainable building practices can be achieved. It presents architectural and urban planning solutions that combine climate resilience, biodiversity, sufficiency and the circular economy. Examples include the Glasner House in the Ahr Valley, which uses intelligent planning to protect against future flooding, and the Rambla Climate House in Spain, which is testing new approaches to water management. The focus is on achieving more with less.
Natural building materials, such as rammed earth (Anna Heringer) and wood (Hermann Kaufmann), are just as important as the creative reuse of existing buildings. Examples of climate-friendly construction without demolition include the conversion of the former World Trade Centre in Brussels by 51N4E and the renovation of an Icelandic barn by Studio Bua.
Research provides experimental approaches: projects such as the NEST UMAR at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Hybrid Flax Pavilion at the University of Stuttgart demonstrate new methods of dealing with circular material cycles and digital construction.
Experiencing Architecture
Two central installations act as striking features: ‘Vert’, a green wooden beam construction by Diez Office/OMC°C/AHEC on Museumsplatz, improves the microclimate and biodiversity of the urban space. In the Bundeskunsthalle foyer is ‘Tree.ONE’ by EcoLogicStudio: a synthetic algae tree that filters CO₂ from the air and converts it into biomaterial.
The exhibition design, created by Rotterdam-based MVRDV, uses almost exclusively existing components of the Bundeskunsthalle. This radical approach demonstrates that curating can also form part of a new architectural practice.
Opening Festival: New European Bauhaus and Beyond
To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, a festival focusing on sustainable architecture and urban development will be held from 5 to 7 June 2025. Organised in collaboration with the European Commission’s New European Bauhaus initiative, the festival will bring experts and interested parties together in Bonn. The programme includes keynote speeches, talks, roundtable discussions and workshops with climate researchers, visionary mayors and creative designers. Topics will range from climate-resilient construction and circular urban planning to how the media can support change.
WE/TRANS/FORM. On the Future of Building
Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn
6. June 2025 – 25. Jan. 2026
Opening Festival: 5. – 7. June 2025
Participation is free of charge. Registration is recommended and can be done by emailing buchung@bundeskunsthalle.de.
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