Studio HABITAT examined the act of building through the lens of the habitat, defined by the United Nations as a “place where an organism or population (human, animal, plant, microorganism) lives.”

The Studio explored this notion within a network of small villages located adjacent to their Community Forest in the northern Oio Region of Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. It builds upon a desire expressed by these villages and the local NGO to establish a school for children aged 6–12, where they can learn about their environment, culture, and biodiversity through embodied experience aligned with traditional and contemporary knowledge. 

This seminar took place in the summer term 2026 at TU Graz, led by guest professor Dr. Silvia Benedito. The project is based on her long-term community engagement in Guinea-Bissau, and the student’s projects were partially presented in an exhibition at the Architekturgalerie München.