As part of the Brick Awards 2024, Wienerberger invited Jennifer Beningfield to present at the Architecture Symposium at MAK – Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna. The theme for the talk was ‘Sustainable horizons: Advancing architecture through scalable innovations’, and included international speakers, Gabriela Carrillo, Jens Linnet and Boonserm Premthada, hosted and moderated by Veronica Hejdelind.

Jennifer spoke on Openstudio’s design principles, which includes the belief of a relationship between how people experience fulfilment and joy in places and their sense of responsibility for a sustainable future for that place and the environment as a whole. Openstudio creates buildings and spaces that are unique, that create a sense of belonging and identity, and because of this are nurtured, outlast us and support environmental, social and economic sustainability. Not only does the studio connect people with their environments, but believe this is critical in order to create places in which individuals can live joyful lives as part of communities which prioritise sustainable choices, from environmental impact, to social engagement, while being economically robust.

Jennifer mentions, “Alongside the complexities of delivering housing at scale today we need to hold steady, be brave, to look long into the future, and to create places which will nurture the environment and will offer joy in everyday life. Only in this way can we know that the buildings we create today will be sustainable into the future.”

Photos by The Brick Awards