Workshop by architects Oliver Lütjens & Sebastian Multerer.

The workshop Richard Neutra and the Cousins from Abroad takes a light-hearted approach to the theme of adaptive reuse by cross-breeding the architectural languages of the VDL House with their cousins.

The VDL House, designed by Richard and Dion Neutra, will be paired with iconic projects designed by Lina Bo Bardi, Konstantin Melnikov, Itsuko Hasegawa, Lacaton Vassall, and Ettore Sottsass. The students will use the architectural language of the cousins from abroad to design an extension to the main building of the VDL House. As its architectural twin, the extension will be roughly the same size as the VDL cousin.

Using large models, the students may employ a wide range of design strategies, ranging from seamless continuity to a conflict-ridden takeover of the existing structure. While the design process will be fast and intuitive, driven by a serious investigation into architectural form and language, overarching questions of construction, programme and time will be implicitly present in every project.

Over the course of the workshop, students engaged with Oliver and Sebastian in design crits, visited buildings together, by architects like Neutra and Lautner, and had daily dinners and "bedtime stories" talks with architects Mark Lee, Jeff Kaplon, Frank Escher, Ravi Gunewardena, Jimenez Lai, and Noam Saragosti.