Many rural regions today face similar challenges: vacant properties, out-migration, and the loss of local infrastructure are shaping the development of numerous villages. With the structural changes of the 20th century, jobs were lost, farms disappeared, and the historically established unity of housing, work, and daily life increasingly dissolved. The result is abandoned village centers and a decline in the village’s appeal as a place to live. At the same time, the digital transformation is opening up new possibilities. Location-independent work, flexible work models, and the desire for a better quality of life are leading to a resurgence in the importance of rural areas. The question is no longer whether the village has a future, but how that future can be shaped.

The Bschlabertal valley in the Tyrolean Außerfern region serves as a case study for exploring what a sustainable model of communal life in rural areas might look like. At the heart of the project is the idea of reinterpreting the lost connection between living, working, and community and spatially reuniting them. Instead of building new single-family housing developments on the outskirts of town, the project focuses on revitalizing existing structures in the town center. Vacant buildings are viewed as a resource and repurposed for new uses. Flexible housing options, co-working spaces, communal workshops, and cultural and social gathering places create a network of living, working, and socializing. Short distances, shared spaces, and the revitalization of existing structures foster a vibrant village life and create new opportunities for people of all ages.

The project views the village not as a counter-model to the city, but as an independent space for the future. The goal is to develop a usage concept that revitalizes the town center, strengthens social relationships, and enables new forms of communal living and working. This creates a sustainable model for rural areas that harnesses existing potential and opens up new long-term prospects for the town.

Head of project: June Saul
STUDIO Profesor: Bernardo Barder

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