Vom Hörsaal Zum Dorfplatz - by Kerstin Schmid & Benjamin Altrichter & Dorothee Huber & Isabel Stumfol (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Research, teaching, learning--in the countryside, for the countryside." That was the motto under which TU Wien founded the "landuni" in Drosendorf in Lower Austria: an anchor point where researchers work together with local residents to discuss livable and sustainable futures for rural regions. Vom Hörsaal zum Dorfplatz illustrates the subjects researched on-site, which include rebuild culture, spatial transformation processes, creative businesses, climate change, visions for the future, and mobility--and, in doing so, assesses the "landuni" (countryside university) itself as a means of regional development. In a world where research and teaching on rural life still frequently takes place in urban centers, this volume offers an impetus to think about life in the countryside on a local level.

• Introduces a pilot project that anchors rural studies within local communities
• Proposes countryside universities as a pioneering method of regional development
• A high-quality volume with tri-color painted edgess

About the Author

Kerstin Schmid is the coordinator of the "landuni" project at the TU Wien future.lab Research Center, where she leads the implementation of education partnerships. Prior to this, she was a Junior Researcher at the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT). Her research concentrates on innovative, sustainable solutions, particularly in the context of digitalization.

Benjamin Altrichter is a project assistant for the "landuni" project at TU Wien, having previously worked as a civil engineer for several years. He is a co-founder of the association Die Ruranauten - Pioniere für eine neue ländliche Baukultur ("Pioneers for a new rural building culture") and has been a board member for the LandLuft organization since 2022. His projects focus primarily on rural transformation processes.

Dorothee Huber is a university assistant at the TU Wien Institute of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, prior to which she worked as an architect. She works at the intersection of architecture, urban studies, and participative processes, and her research and project work focusses on urban and rural phenomena related to mixed-use spaces, social inclusion, and the world of manufacturing.

Isabel Stumfol led the Center Ländlicher Raum rural research center at the Faculty for Architecture and Planning at TU Wien. She is self-employed and her practice and research focuses on vibrant rural communities, digitalization, storytelling, process design, and qualitative research methods. Beyond this, she is a board member for both the LandLuft organization and Rurasmus Research Institute.