01
Die Grube
The Pit
Studio Space Popular · Winter Semester 2024/2025 · Individual work
Overview
“Die Grube” (The Pit) is an exploration of how transmedia spaces can host debates. The work began with a group investigation of abandoned or underused sites in Vienna, leading to an individual focus on the informal cultural grounds of Sankt Marx.
The proposal combines the idea of the conversational pit with a DIY ethos: a structure of pipes, fabric and found materials that can be constructed by the community itself. The pit becomes both a stage for debate and a social experiment in participation.
Research Prototype
As a first step, the group developed a physical prototype exploring how debates could unfold within a transmedia environment. Participants could vote in real time through their smartphones, while aggregated results were visualized as shifting fields of colour projected onto a suspended fabric canopy.
The prototype combined material, projection, sound and collective interaction, allowing both local and remote participants to influence the atmosphere around the debate.
From Prototype to Site
The spatial principles developed through the research prototype were translated to the site at Sankt Marx. The temporary experimental setup became the basis for a larger architectural intervention, retaining the ideas of collective participation, adaptable space and a suspended fabric canopy.
The existing landscape and circulation routes informed the placement of the structure, while the central pit creates a shared space for gathering, discussion and public events.
Structure & Materiality
The design combines lightweight scaffolding with semi-transparent profiled polycarbonate, and suspended fabric elements supported by timber frames around the pit. The polycarbonate roof shelters the space, softening daylight during the day and transforming into a subtle glowing surface when illuminated after dark. Beneath it, the fabric membranes — directly inspired by the prototype — are hung on adjustable points, enabling shifts in geometry and atmosphere.
The structure follows a DIY logic: timber frames and modular scaffolding can be quickly assembled and anchored into the ground using screw piles, avoiding heavy foundations and allowing easy reversibility. This makes the pavilion light and adaptable while remaining buildable by the community itself.
Visualisations
