In the academic year 2025/26, the Vertical Studio will focus on how architecture and heritage restoration can serve as a tool of regeneration – of places, zones, buildings, and communities. We are not seeking nostalgic catalogues of values, but rather introducing new layers that generate atmospheres and qualities within fresh contexts.
Regeneration becomes our point of departure: heritage restoration is not only about conserving the past, but about creating spaces for new relations to emerge, for healing what has been damaged, and for producing innovative, complex environments where the cultural industry, community building, and artistic interventions can respond to the realities and economic necessities of medium-sized cities.
Our projects are grounded in an interdisciplinary approach – connecting architects, urbanists, conservationists, artists, and local actors to explore how to breathe life into historic structures while offering solutions to present-day needs. For us, the New European Bauhaus is not an empty slogan – it is a challenge. We roll up our sleeves and test how its principles can be applied in the everyday practice of architects, conservationists, and urban planners.
Our main partner is EHMK Trenčín 2026.
That is why we are focusing on the Trenčín region of the Middle Váh valley – a landscape with unique natural qualities, yet marked by industry and infrastructure. Special attention is given to the legacy of the Machnáč Sanatorium in Trenčianske Teplice, one of the icons of European modernism.
We will work across three scales:
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Architecture and its restoration – searching for new functions and identities of modernist housing and recreational buildings.
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Urbanism and spatial planning – understanding the scale of regional development while transforming housing estates, spa quarters, and public spaces into resilient and inclusive structures.
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Landscape – adapting historically regulated and fragmented territories to climate challenges, restoring ecosystems, and creating sustainable environments for health and wellbeing.
