Already the 1st Book of Moses, 11th chapter, records the call to use brick as stone, earth and resin as mortar and from it to build a city and a tower, whose top would reach to heaven: A project which -as is well known- failed.  However some of the eight kilograms mud bricks, made of sandy-gray stone, grass or straw and a type of bitumen, are still preserved and refer to the long history of building with modular units. The size and shape of such man-made units allowed it, that 300 years later, after numerous destructions and reconstructions, Alexander the Great ordered to use the existing elements to rebuild the tower. The reuse and rearrangement of rubble of such modular  elements is so evident and deeply inscribed in the “block” itself that after `45 it even branded the term of the partly glorified “femmes des ruines”/“Trümmerfrauen”.

EAST Laboratory invited international experts to contribute and discuss on the topic of man-made units as part of a longer ongoing research under the title critical mass. Unlike the historic example the focus of this conference doesn’t lie on the building height but on the sustainable use of this material, tackling its potential of innovation. By approaching this topic from  diverse cultural, economical and technological standpoints the diverse panel of guests will cast light on their experience and philosophy of such man-made units, going beyond the simple reuse of existing material.

In the end, the aim of the conference is the intellectual exchange with experts of different fields and nationalities, attempting solutions and thoughts through a vivid discussion. After all,and more important in this challenging time, the greatest obstacle that prevented the construction of the Tower of Babel was the lack of communication and significant exchange.