We build too much. Too big. Too new. Too perfect. At the same time, we hide behind CO₂ balances, labels, and lifecycle analyses—as if sustainability were just a math problem. But change in construction is not determined by technology alone, but by attitude.
As planners, we bear responsibility not only for what we design, but also for what we fail to do: for the spaces we enable and the resources we consume. The principle of sufficiency asks for the right measure – in the use of materials, space allocation, energy, land, and data. And actually, we have enough: enough space, everyday comfort, experience, and renewable resources. Nevertheless, we continue to design and plan beyond our needs, overburdening the planet. Sufficiency means rethinking quality in construction: not in terms of efficiency and technical optimization, but in terms of simplicity, repair, durability, and collectivity. In the winter semester 25/26, we will therefore examine spaces that endure and structures that can be further developed; programs that are allowed to grow or shrink; strategies that make do with less—and unfold their power in doing so.
Between house and city, construction and use, form and politics, the lecture series explores practices and narratives of building that consume less and create more. The leitmotif is not renunciation, but the designer's and researcher's desire for reduction.