Trans 46: Spolia – Fragments, Reuse, and Architectural Meaning

Immerse yourself in Trans 46: Spolia, a thought-provoking bilingual volume published by gta Verlag in 2025, that bridges German and English explorations of architecture, archaeology, and meaning-making across time and space. With around 140 richly illustrated pages, this edition is part of the trans magazin series.

‘Spolia’ are fragments—architectural or symbolic traces—that absorb external energies and histories, deforming yet persisting. This issue treats them not merely as remnants but as active agents: tools in the archaeology of deconstruction and reconstruction, where powerful political influences, ecological tensions, artistic interventions, and even urban infrastructures like gallery spaces and elevator shafts converge. Input and output, past and future, are entwined in an ongoing dialogue of transformation and representation.

Edited by the trans editorial board, with contributions from a wide array of thinkers—including Maud Haas, Vitus Michel, Simon Nougué, Gabriela Sad, Lorenzo Franceschini, Lina Freudenreich and many others—this issue brings together critical essays, visual essays, and architectural studies that reflect on social, ethical, and historical dimensions of architectural discourse in Europe and beyond.

Whether you're an architect, historian, designer, or reader fascinated by architectural theory and material culture, Trans 46: Spolia offers a powerful lens through which to view how fragments—graphic, built, symbolic—can be reassembled into meaning.