AKADEMIE DER BILDENDEN KUNSTE WIEN

Their core work

The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is one of Europe's oldest and most respected art and architecture schools, combining studio practice with rigorous academic research in visual arts, architectural design, and design theory. In H2020, they contributed disciplinary depth in architectural knowledge and design epistemology — specifically how architects think, learn, and transfer knowledge tacitly through practice rather than through codified rules. They also joined researcher training networks, offering an intersectorial perspective where fine arts and architecture meet technology-driven domains such as cultural heritage. Their value to research consortia lies in bringing humanistic, practice-based inquiry into programs that might otherwise remain purely technical.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 engagement (T4C, 2018), ABKW appeared in a researcher training network context, where the keywords point to programme design concerns — secondments, transnational fellowships, soft skills, entrepreneurship — rather than substantive disciplinary research. Their second project (TACK, 2019) represented a clear pivot toward knowledge production in their own disciplinary home: architectural theory, design methods, and tacit knowledge. This shift suggests the academy moved from a supporting training role toward generating original, discipline-specific research in collaboration with international architectural schools and institutes.

ABKW appears to be moving toward consolidating its identity as a research institution in architectural theory and design epistemology, which would make it a credible partner for future projects at the intersection of built environment, heritage, and humanities-led design inquiry.

How they like to work

ABKW has never coordinated an H2020 project — they join as partner or third party, which is typical for specialist arts institutions that contribute disciplinary expertise without driving the administrative machinery. Their 45 unique partners across 10 countries from just two projects indicates they entered large, multi-partner MSCA consortia rather than small bilateral arrangements. Working with them means bringing in a practice-based, theoretically grounded art and architecture perspective — they are unlikely to lead but can anchor the humanistic dimension of an otherwise technical consortium.

Despite only two projects, ABKW has touched 45 unique consortium partners across 10 countries — a sign of MSCA networks that are intentionally broad and transnational by design. Their geographic reach is European, with likely concentration in Western and Central European architectural and arts institutions.

What sets them apart

ABKW is the only dedicated fine arts and architecture academy in Austria with H2020 participation, which makes it a rare bridge between studio practice and formal EU research. For consortium builders in built environment, cultural heritage, or design-focused calls, they offer institutional legitimacy from one of Europe's historically significant art academies — founded in 1692 — without duplicating what technical universities bring. Their particular strength in tacit knowledge research fills a gap that engineering-heavy consortia rarely address: how design expertise is actually formed, transmitted, and applied.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TACK
  Their only directly funded project (EUR 264,207), TACK tackled a genuinely unusual research question — how tacit, unspoken knowledge circulates within architectural communities — positioning ABKW as a knowledge producer rather than a training host.
• T4C
  Participation in a cultural heritage PhD training network demonstrates ABKW's capacity to contribute to intersectorial MSCA programmes, connecting arts education with technology-driven sciences.