UMBAU (conversion) means the ongoing transformation of existing structures. Given today’s climate goals, UMBAU needs to become the rule rather than the exception. The exhibition by the architects von Gerkan, Marg, and Partners (gmp) presents a selection of the more than sixty projects in gmp’s forty years of UMBAU experience as specific examples of current UMBAU practices that deal with the architectural heritage of the 20th century.
What the projects have in common is the conceptual approach to UMBAU which, starting from a comprehensive inventory of the existing, continues and further develops the old as an architectural evolution. In practice, UMBAU must also integrate overlays and new suppositions. UMBAU is not unique, but continues into the future as a nonstop transformation, as a project of social sustainability spanning generations. UMBAU. Nonstop Transformation debuted in Venice in 2023.