Last chance: FIX IT!” – Appeal for building transition at the TU Vienna!

Last chance: FIX IT!” – Appeal for building transition at the TU Vienna!

The traveling exhibition “FIX IT!” at the Vienna University of Technology closes its doors today and leaves behind an important appeal for change in the construction industry. Initiated by “Architects for Future” and supported by the European citizens’ initiative “House Europe!”, the exhibition calls for a radical turn away from new construction towards the creative use and renovation of existing buildings. Particular attention is paid to the high consumption of gray energy that is lost when buildings are demolished. This topic is at the center of the discussion about the future direction of building culture in Austria, a country that is largely considered to be “finished built”, as the diploma thesis “Building the future?” by Alina Bärnthaler shows.

Gray energy, i.e. the cumulative energy consumption from the production to the disposal of building materials, has a significant influence on the sustainability of buildings. According to an analysis, these energy expenditures account for around 25% of the total emissions of conventionally manufactured buildings. A new building can consist of up to 60% of the total life cycle energy consumption from gray energy. This makes it all the more important to sensibly renovate existing buildings instead of demolishing them, as Werkstadt München also emphasizes.

The demands of the initiative

The citizens' initiative “House Europe!” aims to collect one million signatures by the end of January 2026 in order to make the conversion of buildings easier and more socially responsible. The demands include:

• Renovierungen und Umbauten sollen einfacher werden.
• Die Kosten für solche Maßnahmen müssen gesenkt werden.
• Die Maßnahmen müssen sozial verträglich gestaltet werden.

Partners in the initiative include IG Architektur and the Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W). The construction industry contributes significantly to CO₂ emissions and waste generation; A holistic life cycle view is therefore urgently needed to make change the new norm.

The way into the future

The discussions presented during the exhibition show that there is a growing awareness among architecture students of the problem of demolition culture. Furthermore, international certifications such as LEED and DGNB are important to promote sustainable building practices. The building sector accounts for around nine percent of global CO₂ emissions, and a rethink is necessary to sustainably reduce this value. While greenhouse emissions in construction are declining every year, the increasing need for resource-efficient materials shows that there is still much work to be done to fundamentally transform the construction industry.

After the end of the exhibition at the TU Wien, which will move to the Amerlinghaus in Vienna from January 22nd to 25th, 2026, the goal remains clear: one million signatures for the “House Europe!” initiative. collect and initiate the necessary change in the construction industry. The existing buildings must be seen as a valuable resource and creatively developed in order to be able to operate sustainably.