The Hello Wood Summer School and Festival has expanded over the years to build up a lot of recognition internationally within the architecture community, with previous years having more than 1000 participants from across 70 countries and over 50 universities take part in Hello Wood’s educational event. By looking to the future and adopting an attitude of rebirth, a large part of the 10th anniversary of the festival was about criticism of the stereotypical role of the architect – one that is constrained by expectations and deadlines – while searching for the true superpower of those that want to make a change with a free spirit. Twenty workshops led by a truly global group of professionals helped to celebrate the decennial with their unique takes on the transformation of the architect. As a result of a series of rites and ceremonies that included the building of 20 installations, the week aimed at setting participants free to follow their dreams.
“When we choose to become an architect, we choose creativity, dreams of making a change, colors, humor and a little bit of craziness. In spite of these desires, we end up in an uncomfortable black turtleneck, desperately trying to meet deadlines and expectations, full of self-doubt about our talent and abilities,”
says Peter Pozsar, co-founder of Hello Wood who leads the organisation jointly with András Huszar, David Raday and Krisztian Toth.
“This year, we decided to reverse this and liberate the participants through the framing of a carnival for architects to find their way back to their superpower.”
This year’s Summer School and Festival began with an initiation ceremony encouraging participants to abandon outdated architectural stereotypes. By removing and displaying black turtlenecks—symbols of rigid professional norms—attendees marked the creation of a new, open-minded “tribe” of architects focused on presence and creative freedom.
Over the following week, participants explored the essence of their practice through hands-on construction. Some reworked architectural manifestos, while others drew on spiritual and ancestral traditions, producing projects that ranged from ritualistic tribal structures to playful reinterpretations of sacred spaces.
Many of the installations are portable, allowing them to be used as part of a Carnival that took place on the final day. This performative aspect played a large part in the design of the installations, which were often transformative in their nature and in some cases doubled as costumes for the parade.
The festival concluded with a communal performance around Hello Wood’s installation, where participants collectively held arched wooden beams to form a temple-like structure symbolising unity. Each person received a nail-shaped badge and took an oath, marking their commitment to the community formed during the event.
Celebrating its tenth anniversary as a moment of rebirth, Hello Wood introduced the Builder Society—a growing network of like-minded individuals aiming to channel collective energy toward positive social impact, guided by its publicly shared manifesto.
