Research Introduction

The research was conducted over a period of 6 months beginning in January 2023 and running until the end of June 2023. Two LINA Fellows were included in this research along with key members of the Atelier Luma team. Both LINA Fellows were assigned with the task of researching the topic A Methodology to Bioregional Approaches to Architecture and Design.

Jakob Travnik (LINA Fellow) concentrated his research on mapping and documenting the work of Atelier Luma since 2016. The objective of this was to uncover how Atelier Luma has been working with this specific methodolgy and defining a set of ingredients that could be extracted to understand this specific approach. Jakob then used two regional case studies located in Austria to test whether this specific methodology could be applied to other regions.

Inscape (LINA Fellow) using the research of Jakob and working in tandem with members of the Atelier Luma team devloped a physical board game called The Bioregional Game: An Instrument for a Bioregional Design Approach. The purpose was to take the research and simplifiy it in a way that could be played as an interactive and collaborative game. It teaches people the principles of this appraoch and reinforces the connectivness of material flows and people in a given region. The region we choose to base the first game on was Arles, France. The concept is to make the game as a template that can then be adjusted to other regions such as the two mentioned in Austria. It is a game that can be played by a wide range of individuals ith no prior knowledge of this approach - like any good borad game.

Research Timeline

The research was developed over a period of 6 months and conducted through both on site working in Arles, France and off site working in the fellows home countries. A total of 6 residencies took place. The residencies ranged from one to two weeks long. Jakob Tranik took part in 6 and Inscape took part in 2.

The goal of these resdiecies was to work emmersively at Atelier Luma headquarter and also to gain a deeper knowlege of our bioregion and approach.

The fifth resdiency was used to disseminate the research and demonstrate the game. It was used as a key feedback session for the game in particular. The feedback came from an array of individuals including designers, architects, public people, members of research institutions, members of LINA, member of the Atelier Luma team and journalists. These feedbacks will be incorporated to a final version of the game and research.

The sixth and final residency will be used to produce a final report and game (end of June/beginning of July 2023).

LINA Fellows: Studio Inscape

About the Research Residency

During a period of 5 months we learned about the work of Atelier LUMA and their bioregional design approach. This approach is an interdisciplinary approach that follows the local territory and seeks responses to environmental, social and economic challenges of the region. With the guidance of both Jakob Travnik and Daniel Bell we learned about the region and had several interviews with the people who work at Atelier LUMA. This would form the base for an instrument to make the bioregional design approach more accessible to a wider public and navigate new projects of the Atelier. The instrument is a game as we see play as an important factor of teaching and learning new methods. At the opening of the new building of Atelier LUMA we showed and played a prototype of the instrument. Players were invited to follow the steps of the bioregional design approach in the Camargue by stepping into the shoes of a specific character role. Slowly but surely the players would work together to turn all waste of the bioregion (by-products of industries or undervalued materials) into useful products for the region. The goal is to use the steps of the game to make a more abstracted version which can be used for new terrain.

Studio Inscape

Studio Inscape was founded by Eileen Stornebrink and Willie Vogel. Trained as architects and urbanists, Studio Inscape aims to translate eco-philosophical theory into practice. Studio Inscape sees architecture as a continuation of and attunement with its environment, with the aim of creating interior landscapes or ‚inscapes.‘ The team works at the crossroad of research and fabrication, exploring spatial strategies, experiences, installations, and architectural projects.

Eileen Stornebrink holds both her BSc (2016) and MSc (2020) from the track of Architecture at the TU Delft. During her studies she obtained practical experience at OUALALOU + CHOI. Her final project was investigating social and ecological hurricane proof buildings at the island of St. Maarten. During her studies she has always been interested in the social aspects of our built environment. This interest brought her to her side job as program maker at Sport and Culture, X Delft. She is continuing this practice at the Architecture Institute of Rotterdam, AIR.

Willie Vogel holds her MSc from the track of Architecture, at the TU Delft (2020) where she also obtained her BSc (2017). In addition she holds a BA in philosophy (2020) at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam. In her final thesis she traces the concept of ecology and investigates how it can be used in contemporary practices such as architecture. She has been involved in academic research and works as a tutor at the TU Delft. She obtained working experience at the Berlin based architecture firm Barkow-Leibinger and the Rotterdam based architecture firm Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten.

LINA Fellows: Jakob Travnik

About the Research Residency

The research project is an ongoing comparative analysis of case studies that help define components of a bioregional model - a template for bioregional approaches which can be a applied in different bioregions around the world. The following case studies have been analysed:

-Atelier Luma, Arles: La Camargue, Les Alpilles, La Crau, France

-Unisono Campus, Sekirn: Wörthersee / Alpe-AdriaWörthersee / Alpe-Adria , Austria, Slovenia, Italy

-Kulturgarten, Gmunden: Salzkammergut, Austria

The research comprises of the analysis of three main components:

-Bioregion:a region defined by characteristics of the natural environment rather than by man-made divisionst.

-Operational context:the social, political, economic, environmental context into which the bioregional hub is embedded.

-Bioregional hub: a centralised base from which bioregional assemblies can be accumulated, processed and shared

Jakob Travnik

Jakob Travnik is an architect, researcher, and educator based in Vienna, Austria. He holds a degree in architecture from the University of Applied Arts Vienna (2016). Throughout his work, he is continuously active in various constallations and engages in collaborative processes within inter-disciplinary networks.

2014 - 2022 he was Programme Assistant and Mentor at AA nanotourism Visiting School, London, UK and an active contributor to the nanotourism platform. 2017 - 2022 he worked as an Assistant Professor at the Research Unit for Architectural Typology and Design at TU Vienna with a specific focus on research, theory and design within the framework of nanotourism.

Previously he was a participant at BIO 25 Ljubljana, Slovenia and a Designer in Residence at Atelier Luma, Luma Arles, France. Projects he has been a part of have been exhibited internationally, including Vienna Design Week, Austria 2018, 2020; Oslo Architecture Triennale, Norway 2019, BIO Biennial of Design Ljubljana, Slovenia 2014, 2017; Luma Days 2019, Forum Future Tourism, Vienna 2021, among others.

Currently he works with numerous collaborators on projects dealing with bioregional research, practice and development throughout Europe. His current affiliations include co-running the UNISONO Campus initiative in Sekirn, Wörthersee, LINA fellowship with Atelier Luma in Arles, and being active as an university lecturer at TU Vienna.