We were told that everyone here lives and co-creates in communion. This notion intrigued us, though it also sparked a quiet hesitation. Do we truly want to become part of this seemingly harmonious collective? Seeking a balance between observation and participation, we opted for a quieter space, stepping slightly away from the central residency hub, which was itself an extension of the wider European Capital of Culture program in Salzkammergut, Austria. Yet in Kirchham, with its mere 2,300 inhabitants, anonymity was a fleeting concept. As outsiders, we questioned whether true integration into such a tightly-bound community was achievable or if the boundaries of belonging were drawn along lines of long-standing labor, history, and capital. Could we, visitors and temporary participants, transcend these structural divisions?
KOKO (Kollaborative Konstruktion) embodied this experiment – a project designed not only to build physical structures but to foster human connections. Here, even the care for something as humble as baking sourdough became a metaphor for collective stewardship. Our days unfolded in a reactivated abandoned house near Kirchham’s meadow, an intentional choice to immerse ourselves fully in the village’s rhythms. This setting became both a temporary home and a lens through which to explore the interplay of the social and village dynamics in the area. Daily rituals – bathing in the river Laudach, walking the village’s well-worn paths, and having unpretentious conversations with neighbors – shaped our understanding of the environment.
Fig.1
Ingredients
KOKO was initiated by Felix Ganzer (Hallein, AU), Clemens Bauder (Linz, AU), and Alex Roemer of ConstructLab (Berlin, DE), who spent two years visiting, discussing and planning the motivations of KOKO. Expressed by a shared commitment to repurposing materials and engaging local resources, they initiated KOKO to bring people together through a participatory building process. Their goal was not only to construct functional spaces but also to cultivate connections among diverse collaborators, blending architectural social innovation and cultural exchange. The architectural “ingredients”, 250m2 of wooden platforms with lightweight, standard-sized wooden foundations, enabled easy dismantling and repurposing. Materials came from local sawmills such as Mozerholz, and their labor involved a mix of handmade and power tools. Collaborators included local industries (e.g., Meissl and Heimatmuseum), as well as builders, musicians, farmers, artists, cooks, designers, and students from near and far, some meeting for the first time, others continuing longstanding collaborations.
Preparation
The project unfolded across three ateliers, each guided by its initiators, whose distinct visions acted as recipes, setting the foundation for a collaborative feast. Predictably, the process wasn’t always smooth; like any ambitious meal, there were moments when ingredients didn’t blend as expected. Cultural and linguistic differences, akin to unfamiliar spices, occasionally clashed, creating moments of tension. But these challenges, much like adjusting seasoning in a dish, became opportunities to learn, adapt, and refine. The friction invited participants to question their assumptions, practice patience, and to discover progressive ways to bring contrasting flavors together into a harmonious whole. Rather than halting the process, these challenges highlighted the alchemy of collaboration when it is approached with care and openness. In less than two weeks, KOKO came together, not simply as a structure but as a communal kitchen of ideas and experiences. Its wooden platforms and adaptable design served as a table where diverse activities were “prepared” and shared: workshops that encouraged the crafting of knowledge, communal meals that simmered with intimacy, concerts that seasoned the meadow with sound, yoga sessions that provided balance, and discursive walks that stirred up fresh perspectives.
Fig.2
Kneading Methods
KOKO’s activities engaged individuals and groups in collective action, raising awareness around socio-political issues while challenging Kirchham’s cultural norms. Events ranged from hosting Volxtanzkurs, a traditional folk dance, to providing space for the feminist collective ‘Koralle’ to the debut of their zine. Daily rituals such as cutting meadow grass using traditional methods, which spoke to the slow, deliberate process of connecting with the land, mixed with modern influences, such as DJ sets and popcorn. Local herbs, carefully harvested for communal meals, contrasted sharply with these imported elements, creating a cultural fusion that fostered patience, compromise, and acceptance. Kneading these meadows – sifting through soil and tending to it, much like the hands that knead the dough – represented a deeper metaphor for community-building. Just as the dough rises with care and time, so too did trust and collaboration. By the third atelier, “Gasthaus All All Welcome”, the line between newcomer and local had blurred, fostering genuine kinship.
Cooking Time
Atelier 1: ConstructLab’s “Walking Roofs” symbolized shelter and protection while embodying openness and mobility. Participants, including architects and community members, contributed to the creation of temporary shelters from recycled materials. Shingle-making and crafting tiles from Tetra Paks collected by local schoolchildren were essential to this process, not just as tasks but as opportunities for meaningful exchange. Local school children, with their hands in the creation process, experienced firsthand how material reuse could transform waste into something functional. Support4Youth students played a key role by collecting 675kg of trash from the Laudach, demonstrating their commitment to environmental responsibility. The culmination of this atelier was marked by a procession of “walking roofs,” a communal ritual where each participant carried a symbol of shelter, a tangible reflection of the collaborative effort. Through this act, they symbolized the collective strength that had emerged from their shared labor and vision.
Atelier 2: Clemens Bauder, Anna Paul, and Christian Hoffellner drew inspiration from the river Laudach, centering their work on the themes of care and relaxation. The team’s deep respect for the local environment was mirrored in the participants’ approach to the land, blending artistic practices with the rhythms of the river. The workshop on kombucha-making became a key symbol of multiplication, as participants started their own batches from shared samples, cultivating a culture of care through fermentation – a process that, like community-building, requires patience and nurturing. Each participant carried a sense of connection, taking home not only their own batch of kombucha but also the communal spirit of shared growth. This act of nurturing extended beyond the SCOBY, the symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast that produces kombucha, to the social interactions within the atelier, where participants exchanged stories and practices in a slow yet profound form of care, creating lasting bonds between strangers.
Atelier 3: Led by Matylda Krzykowski and Felix Ganzer, the final atelier transformed KOKO into a vibrant space defined by blue hues, straw bales, and playful installations. Krzykowski and Ganzer encouraged a shift in the physical and social architecture of the space, turning KOKO into a meaningful hub together with local and international practitioners they invited to be co-hosts.(1) The "Gasthaus All All Welcome" became more than just a place to gather, it became a living room for the village, a space for exchange, relaxation, and inclusivity. The transformation was immediate as straw bales were reimagined, not just as seating but as a radical playground for children, inviting them into the heart of the community with an open invitation to play. This whimsical spirit extended other activities: the meadow became alive with theatre, yoga, choir practices, and communal meals, all reinforcing the atelier’s ethos of collaboration and shared experience. Through these installations and activities, Krzykowski and Ganzer fostered a space where people could engage with both their own creativity and that of others, reinforcing the community bonds forged throughout the previous ateliers.
Fig.3
Out of the Oven
KOKO’s physical structure, a wooden platform covered by a large, light-yellow tarp, was as inviting as it was functional. It hosted diverse activities, from 10-meter-long pasta feasts to experimental performances. Positioned near the river Laudach, its design blended naturally with the valley’s landscape, casting gentle shadows and fostering conviviality. Designed to be deconstructed – ephemeral, yet immersive – it embodied a critique of permanence, challenging the capitalist drive for fixed, commodifiable structures. This sort of embodiment is a soft act of resistance to normativity, where stories emerged not as isolated moments but as reflections of conviviality. Artists passed through during the ateliers, each bringing their own ideological baggage, but now we must ask: what is the afterlife of KOKO’s physical structure and the fleeting connections it fostered? What if KOKO were permanent?
In a world governed by capitalistic and increasingly techno-feudal, permanence breeds stagnation, reinforcing dynamics of power and hierarchy that suppress the possibilities of true liberation. To make KOKO permanent would risk embedding the same structures these systems of control sought to dismantle. The closing ceremony reflected on the potential embedded in temporality, however. KOKO was never just about aesthetic choices or practicalities; it became, if only fortuitously, a living organism, constantly reshaped by the very people it nurtured. Its ephemerality served as a reminder that kinship, true solidarity, is not defined by permanence but by the depth and strength of connection.
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- Footnotes
(1) Roya Asadian Chaleshtari (AT/IRN); Band Baldrian (AT); Andries De Lange (BE); Craig, Holly & Ottila Barrow (UK); Elena Cheah (USA); Koralle Magazin (AT); Luïza Luz (BRA); Miriam Umiń (CA/DE); Tanay Vora (IND); Anna Pech (AT); Volkstanzgruppe Grünau (AT); Elisabeth Huemer (AT); Herbert Danzer (AT); David Era (AT); Paul Jaeg (AT); Andrea Kastenhuber (AT); Sophie Köchert (AT); Kirchamer Kellerbühne (AT); Maximilian Neukäufler (AT); Ariane Redl (AT); Hao Wu (AT /CHN); and Dulce Valdez (MEX).
Image Caption
Cover Image: Playing and improvising with Matylda Krzykowski – composing and baking the pizza hands. Copyright: Matylda Krzykowski.
Fig. 1: KOKO structure alive in the meadow. Copyright: Sophie Köchert.
Fig. 2: Co-creating Endless Pasta with artist Anna Pech. Copyright: Matylda Krzykowski.
Fig. 3: Creating the physical “Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction” (inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin), together with the artists Luïza Luz and Andries de Lange. Copyright: Sophie Köchert.
