...everything must GO...

 

We are increasingly confronted with climate data and forecasts that describe or predict a drastic change in our environment and therefore in our living conditions. Initially, we are only talking about a few degrees of average temperature change, but these will have a serious impact and represent a noticeable change for everyone, even in the present. Although the problem is present, it is not yet reflected in a collective change in behavior.

 

At the planning level in architecture, urbanism and spatial planning, there is already an intensive theoretical debate on this acute problem, but due to the systemic capitalist logic (costs and timely returns), this is only becoming reality in individual examples. This makes it all the more important for future designers and decision-makers to address this issue from the ground up, in order to have an absolutely necessary influence on our future. This semester we would like to have such an intensive discussion. The goal is to analyze and design a situation in the 2nd district of Vienna. Radical and utopian approaches will be examined in order to develop and present answers to significant changes.

 

The existing architecture is generally accepted because of its cultural value and the resources already used. We start from the in-between space, which led us to the title of the project "...everything must GO...". Until a few years ago, the ideal in the design of open spaces was the European city, with aesthetic models such as Italian squares with well-designed surfaces but extensive sealing, but heavy rainfall and heating require a clear and fundamental rethink. In order to break away from the above-mentioned ideas and imprints, we first assume that there are no more artificial surfaces and installations in the space between the buildings. Traditional functional settings and orders (functionally assigned areas for walking, driving, staying, greenery, etc.) are also ignored.

 

The science of climate change, based on measurements and models, is now clear from a global perspective. However, due to the complexity of the parameters that influence climate, it is not yet clear how global changes will be reflected regionally and locally, so concepts need to be developed that deal with different extremes. This may relate to elements such as extreme cold, humidity or drought, but also to social and societal conditions such as overpopulation due to migration or aging. A significantly less anthropocentric environmental design through the comprehensive integration of other species of fauna and flora can also be a focus scenario and should be considered.

 

The in-between space should be reactivated, designed and presented under these conditions. Aspects such as resilience (e.g. shading, cooling, infiltration), mobility, social quality (meeting, helping, creating culture), but also productivity (generating energy, purifying water and producing food) should be taken into account. At the same time, a more resonant concept of society (see Hartmut Rosa) needs to be formulated in a post-growth situation where more sustainability, more meaning, and more community are possible.

 

Christian Frieß

Christian Kern

Renate Stuefer