Sichtachsen author Maria Auböck reminisces about the exhibition “How will we live tomorrow?”, which presented the interim status of the IBA Vienna.
An ode to the IBA: Sichtachsen author Maria Auböck reminisces about the exhibition “How will we live tomorrow?”, which presented the interim status of the IBA Vienna. Her conclusion? The exhibition paints a picture of Vienna without nostalgia – and appealed to many young planners in particular.
In recent years, the teenage scene in Vienna has discovered curious garden art locations as meeting places. For example, ZWIDEMU – Between the Museums – the park at the Maria Theresa monument. An oversized topiary was set up here in 1888, which is now considered an unconventional, consumer-free zone. A sign of the paradigm shift that we are currently experiencing in the evaluation of open space and building construction.
This development will also affect other areas of the city through and after COVID-19: The public space in Vienna is – beyond the nostalgic marketing as a tourist destination – a space for design and use. This urban landscape must now be understood as a whole.
The exhibition entitled “How will we live tomorrow?”, which was on show in Vienna in fall 2020, was a good start. Without nostalgia, it showed fresh and modern ideas for the contemporary use of open spaces in social and subsidized housing and linked these with project presentations and general questions of urban development in an exemplary manner.
The occasion for the exhibition was the IBA Vienna, which presented its interim status ahead of the 2022 exhibition year. It was located on the site of the former Sophienspital hospital, which itself is due to be developed as a conversion area with residential buildings and will also provide space for start-ups and social facilities.
For six weeks, the exhibition was the meeting point for Vienna’s planning debate – shortly before the second lockdown. Workshops and discussions were held within the framework of the exhibition, including by the Austrian Professional Association of Landscape Architects ÖGLA, which used the stage of the IBA exhibition to address current issues relevant to the profession.
Although the IBA 2022 will not be completed for another two years, this interim status was a good opportunity to exchange ideas. While the selected construction projects were taking shape, interim uses were discussed, visits were organized and interested parties wandered around the city. Urban initiatives were presented, such as the BERTA package from the GrünStattGrau group, who put their advice for façade greening into clever and compact consulting packages.
Architect Walter Stelzhammer argued for urban densification above the city’s eaves zone, and the “Pocket Mannerhattan” project aims to combine the renovation of existing buildings with ambitious participation. Excursions to the large, realized open spaces in Aspern Seestadt, the “In der Wiesen” residential complexes and the PAHO Ost from the 1970s, which is well worth seeing, rounded off the program.
The internationally acclaimed building exhibitions have been a magnet for the public in Germany for many years. They are able to draw the attention of the press and the public to the city’s unwieldy topics.
This is where the representatives of open space planning can start today and introduce integrative topics that are highly topical: Manifestos on the subject of the sponge city, the use of plants in climate change, urban gardening in buildings.
What was astonishing about these excursions was the interest and high level of participation from young colleagues – a new generation of planners and users made their voices heard. A new understanding of landscape design will emerge from these projects.
You can find out more about international building exhibitions, such as the IBA Basel, here.
