Wien – SieMenSäcker (at

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IntErvIEW

of the Site’S repreSentative susAnnE fAbIAn, MD 21, urban DiStrict planning anD lanD uSe, Section north 1, 21St DiStrict, vienna city aDMiniStration bAlázs Atzél, SieMenS real eState Strategy cee

presentation of the site within the context of the city development and in terms of strategy

the Siemens site is located in a classic early 20th-century industrial zone. at that time, the focus of the developing industrial areas was largely on heavy production industry. over the past 10-15 years many of these have taken a different direction, evolving as research/service industry sites or closing down altogether. Siemens continues to be a powerful “trademark” for the site and influences the character of the area through its presence. the opportunity has now arisen to partly do away with the separation between working and living that arose from the nature of industrial production companies and to establish a mixed-use urban area.

How can the site be integrated in the issue of the adaptable city and how do you consider this issue?

Siemens has been at the site in vienna’s 21st District since the early 20th century. the operational requirements at this location have changed many times since then. current framework conditions have now created the opportunity to link this site better with the surrounding urban structure and to make mixed usage possible in the marginal areas.

At the time of sustainable development coupled to an economic crisis, have you already defined a specific strategy for the urban development of the site?

What we now foresee is a complete overall development of the area in 3 differently timed phases. the important point here is for each development phase to be able to take place independently of the others. this will be possible with the winning (and also the runner-up) project. the three areas communicate with each other and link the surroundings to the Siemens site. Since the company is itself dedicated to sustainability at global level, the entire area can provide a response to the adaptable city question with the help of europan.

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cluster / streetscape

team point of view the proposed urban fabric is defined through the combination of compatible uses. balance is sought within mixture and diversity, from the perspective of both urban form and activity. a strong plan for public space is inserted into the fragmented urban structure – central parks and open public spaces are a starting point for the creation of a dense surrounding structure. the software and hardware are defined: Cluster as a system for organising activities and Streetscape for the physical environment of parks, greenery, trees, squares, plazas, streets, curbs and walkways. urban and social continuity and cohesion will be achieved more by complementary then by uniform elements. the proposed scheme is open to future needs, while maintaining stable quality.

jury point of view the overall landscape strategy of the project is to introduce strips of landscape at several locations in the surroundings. this landscape approach facilitates a strategy of creating structure and identity without too many restrictions on built development along the landscaped strips. the project is highly adaptable, and offers stable qualities through a certain robustness. Since it is more a promising scheme than a fully detailed design, the open future of Siemens can be easily embedded.

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arenaS baSabe palacioS, plaza Del corDón 2, 5º izq 28005 MaDriD, Spain t. +34 911427075 eStuDio@arenaSbaSabepalacioS. coM WWW.arenaSbaSabepalacioS. coM

alMuDena cano piñeiro (eS) architect ana iSabel prieto (eS) paula fernánDez (eS) kerStin pluch (at) StuDentS in architecture

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urban software

team point of view the project seeks a solution to the complex “Siemensäcker” area through a matrix that crosses 3 very different existing urban situations by means of 3 instruments. each situation requires an unconventional approach: an urban void awaiting occupation; a tertiary fabric awaiting completion; and an old factory seeking a new use. We propose 3 tools to solve the different situations: the design of flexible SupportS; a Syntax that describes the production of the urban fabric without defining the outcome; SoftWare that manages the supports. employing the 3 tools in the 3 identified situations generates a strategic approach to the project that will be the start of a negotiation between the different actors involved in deciding the production of the city.

jury point of view the project is based on a comprehensive development matrix that works with parameters of participation, object-development, typological configuration, living models, and dynamics of growth. What it delivers is not an architectural design but a manual suggesting possible development scenarios. the mixing of different living-models provokes and enriches the rhythms of the living programme, making possible a new syntax for community life.

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Eco-rhythms

the contemporary city aims to anticipate the future and adapt to its unpredictable changes. various strategies are currently being developed to achieve a creative resilience, in other words adapt to a changing environment. Working on eco-rhythms means basing urban development on a strong synergy between urban and natural environments, in order to break with a principle of opposition that has separated city dwellers from natural realities and gradually undermined those realities. this separation between the city-dweller and nature is not only spatial, but also temporal. indeed, a landscape is not a pretty image, but a living environment governed by cycles (seasons, day and night, tides, climate variations, flora and fauna) forces of growth, fast and slow movement, migration and transhumance, etc. in contrast with modernist town planning, which reinforced a division between urban rhythms and nature, the remit – through the strong presence of landscape on the sites – is to encourage the introduction of operational processes based on the maintenance or regeneration of these eco-rhythms.

bÆruM (no) fossEs (fr) HÖgAnÄs (Se)

224 230 236 KAufbEurEn (De) 242 KonstAnz (De) / KrEuzlIngEn (ch) 248 MIlAno (it) 254 pArIs - sAclAy (fr) 264 vIcHy vAl d’AllIEr (fr) 272