In partnership with the South Tyrol Architecture Foundation and the South Tyrol Artists' Association, Kunst Meran presents the fourth edition of "New Architecture in South Tyrol 2018–2024," an exhibition and publication project. Building on the success of three previous editions (2006, 2012, 2018), this latest iteration offers a comprehensive survey of South Tyrol's architectural development. It chronicles the region's contemporary architectural history and captures the ongoing evolution of its built landscape. The selection was made by an international jury: curator Filippo Bricolo (Italy), architect at Bricolo Falsarella Architetti and lecturer at the Milan Polytechnic; Annette Spiro (Switzerland), architect at Spiro + Gantenbein Architekten ETH/SIA AG and former professor of architecture and civil engineering at ETH Zurich; and Elisa Valero Ramos (Spain), architect and professor of architecture at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura, University of Granada. Together, this exhibition project traces 24 years of South Tyrolean architectural history, spanning from 2000 to today.

For this fourth edition, covering 2018–2024, the expert jury initially reviewed over 240 submissions before selecting 28 main projects for comprehensive presentation in the exhibition and illustrated catalog. An additional 28 special mentions complement the selection. As curator Filippo Bricolo explains in his introduction, the project pursues two fundamental questions: Does a distinctly South Tyrolean architecture exist? And if so, what defines it? Conceived as a study rather than a competition, this framework allows the international jury to examine regional architecture from an external vantage point, revealing patterns that emerge across different contexts—from regional exchange and architectural competitions to the needs of building clients. These recurring themes characterize the region's broader development trajectory.

Previous editions employed a geographic framework, organizing selected projects by valley to reveal regional differences and distinctive characteristics. This edition marks a departure: the jury adopted thematic selection criteria centered on thoughtful stewardship of building materials and resources, the origin and environmental impact of materials, and the social value of the structures. Through this lens, distinct "families" of architecture emerged—projects united by shared approaches and design philosophies, transcending individual stylistic signatures and varying functions.
The organizational categories structuring both the exhibition and accompanying publication serve as interpretive lenses on South Tyrolean architecture. They function as both a practical and critical framework for understanding and engaging with the region's architectural voice.

"Reflexive Reuse" unites projects engaging with the architectural conversion of older buildings—structures spanning vastly different eras and original functions. Lukas Wielander and Martin Trebo, for instance, transformed a medieval structure in Glurns' historic core into residential and commercial space. Their work exemplifies sensitive renovation: using contemporary means to adapt the existing fabric to modern living while honoring its history. Markus Scherer has similarly set benchmarks for merging old and new through his interventions at a monastery complex and school in Merano. The restoration of 20th-century buildings offers equally compelling examples, such as ModusArchitects' work at the Cusanus Academy in Brixen—a masterwork by architect Othmar Barth (1927–2010). The Brixen office succeeded in weaving contemporary design with the principles that originally inspired Barth, creating a meaningful dialogue across time.

Brixen serves as a case study in "Urban Evocations," examining how architecture engages with historical context. Carlana Mezzalira Pentimalli's city library exemplifies this balance—conversing with the city's past without sacrificing experimental rigor. This dialogue extends beyond the urban realm to embrace nature, essential in a region like South Tyrol. "Natural Architecture" ("Architettura naturans") gathers works emerging from an intimate relationship with landscape—among them bergmeisterwolf's cellar for Pacherhof winery near Brixen. The structure translates its surrounding mountain terrain into architectural form, becoming one of the region's most celebrated works of wine architecture, honored with numerous international awards.

"Engaged Topography" encompasses buildings whose dialogue with the terrain—often rugged and complex—becomes fundamental to their design. Roland Baldi Architects' Ritten Civil Defence Centre, housing fire, mountain rescue, and emergency services, employs a sculptural form that integrates seamlessly into the natural slope. Its concrete façade, inspired by local "earth pyramids"—distinctive geological formations—reinforces the sense that the building emerges organically from the landscape. "Plausible Vernacular Architecture" explores the relationship to traditional building practices—neither romanticized nor diminished. The Zierhof mit Stube in the Pflersch Valley by NAEMAS Architekturkonzepte, rebuilt after a devastating fire, demonstrates this approach: its language recalls the original structure while pursuing contemporary principles, exploring memory's restorative power. Pedevilla Architects achieves similar sensitivity across multiple projects—the Kreuzberg Pass service building (with Willeit Architektur) and ciAsa Aqua Bad Cortina in St. Vigil—deftly interweaving tradition and innovation with emphasis on sustainability and craft heritage.

"Fruitful Excavations" features architectural interventions employing abstraction to reveal presence through absence. Höller and Klotzner Architects' musealization of Merano's city walls exemplifies this approach: simple steel profiles echoing the walls' original dimensions—unearthed during excavations near the Landesfürstliche Burg—resurrect what is no longer there, preserving its memory. Interior design takes center stage in "Poetic Interior Life," showcasing projects that defy international conventions or local clichés, charting less familiar territory. Martin Feiersinger's Art Library at Gandegg Castle near Eppan exemplifies this through bold contrasts: colorful installations and furnishings engage in playful conversation with the existing structure.

The "Art and Architecture" section explores a dialogue central to the exhibition's founding institutions. Notable examples include Hall 3 by Julian Tratter and Markus Hinteregger—an expansion of the barth Innenausbau headquarters in Brixen that creates communal spaces for employees alongside a gallery for contemporary art, integrating works by multiple artists. Similarly, Walter Angonese and architects Flaim Prünster's St. Michael winery in Eppan engages art differently: artist Manfred Alois Mayr designed the grape-receiving area's ceiling with over 600 large inverted purple vats that appear to float weightlessly in space. The selection and organizational principles manifest distinctly across the two presentation formats: the book employs critical, analytical texts and hypertext to describe the categories, while the exhibition space employs a vocabulary of modular wooden and honeycomb cardboard structures arranged in varied configurations. Intentionally bare walls and the central, symbolically placed question—what defines South Tyrolean architecture?—anchor the spatial experience.