Launch of VISIONALE 2025 in Weimar takes place
In a groundbreaking event, the New Bauhaus forum will commence on November 15, 2026, in Weimar. This innovative gathering at the intersection of architecture, construction industry, politics, science, and culture, aims to explore solutions for major challenges posed by climate change, digitalization, and societal change.
The Federal Art Gallery (Bundeskunsthalle), in partnership with the New European Bauhaus initiative and transform.NRW, is the institution driving this project. The event will take place as a trade fair, congress, and festival in Messe Erfurt on November 16 and 17, 2026.
Key figures from various fields will be present at the event. Sabine Reuß, formerly homeless and part of the Housing First project in Frankfurt, will report on the importance of housing for participation and social integration. Peter Hübner, President of the Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie, stands for the claim to drive climate-neutral construction and digitalization in the construction industry. Andrea Gebhard, President of the Bundeskammer der Architekten und Ingenieurkonsulenten, and Prof. Werner Sobek, architect and expert for sustainable construction, will also be present.
Matthias Hollwich, architect and founder of HWKN Architecture in New York, will address the topic of "Twilight of Architecture," while Laura Lewandowski, media maker and journalist, will speak about the role of artificial intelligence in creativity and construction culture. Philipp Rumsch, Leipzig-based composer and performer, will present an exclusive concert titled "Sound as a Model" as part of VISIONALE.
The second day of VISIONALE will feature a breakfast discussion with Paul Josef Baumann, founder of the Urban Utopia Festival, and the timber construction dialogue of the Thuringian Ministry for Digitales and Infrastructure. Interactive formats such as the performance ArtesMobiles or the DJ sets of DJane Maria die Ruhe will offer new approaches to the Bauhaus idea during VISIONALE.
The central element of the New Bauhaus forum is the NEW bauhaus MANIFEST, which condenses the impulses into a programmatic guide. The LAB, the content foundation for the event VISIONALE 2025, will present their results for the first time in Weimar and serve as the foundation for the content development of NEW bauhaus 2026.
The LAB consists of six thematic laboratories: LAB Baukultur, LAB Bauen, LAB Gebäude, LAB Transformation, LAB Stadt-Land-Region, and LAB Material. The event VISIONALE 2025 will take place at the congress centrum weimarhalle on September 3, 2025.
Michael Kynast, CEO of Messe Erfurt, explains that the event brings together national and international expertise in Weimar. The New Bauhaus forum is made possible through the partnership with Sparkasse Mittelthüringen, GWH Immobilien Holding GmbH, Ed. Züblin AG, and Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen. The forum's results will be bundled, discussed in the presidium at the end of October, and further developed in terms of content.
This collaborative approach to addressing the challenges of our time promises to be a significant step towards a more sustainable, inclusive, and innovative future for the construction industry and beyond.
