Five positions on Graz-Reininghaus
The Graz-Reininghaus development project A new district of Graz is being created on the 500,000 square metre site of the old Reininghaus brewery, just 1.8 kilometres from the historic old town. An unusual feature of the project is that the owner and developer are one and the same privately owned company — Asset One. That’s us. The five positions outlined below encapsulate our views on how to transform the Reininghaus site into a pulsating and urbane new city quarter.
They act as a framework for the steadily growing circle of contributors, development partners and potential users of the district in what has been a dynamic and collaborative development process from the outset. They also give the project the necessary mixture of openness and binding commitments to achieve our goal of sustainable commercial and town planning success.
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An urban centre in western Graz
Graz is about to acquire a new city centre, on the site of the old Reininghaus brewery — a second point around which urban life can crystallise, alongside the vibrant old town.
Dynamism A conscious effort is being made to set the new Reininghaus district apart from the rest of Graz. “More of the same” is what the project sets out to avoid, and the focus is on providing what the city currently lacks, and what people miss. While existing structures and accepted approaches struggle to fulfil their intended purpose, and the possibilities for reshaping developed areas are limited, there are no historical legacies to restrict the freedom offered by the Reininghaus area. Both the overall concept and the details will mean that Graz as a whole gains in diversity, richness and vivacity.
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Enriching the city
A question of magnetism
By building on the existing urban fabric, Reininghaus will provide additional facilities to round off the possibilities that Graz has to offer. Reininghaus will not compete with the existing city — let alone try to improve on the original — but will be a welcome companion piece to the city in its current form. This represents a historic opportunity for western Graz, an area of untapped potential, to create an attractive centre that will give it the distinctive identity which is currently lacking.
Attractive public and green spaces will go to create an attractive urban environment which also draws non-residents to Reininghaus. Outstanding traffic links, particularly for public and non-motorised private transport, will create a lively interaction between the new quarter and the rest of Graz, energising the whole city. Part of the new district’s role will be assuming central urban functions, from education and the arts to public authorities and institutions. A landmark development will raise the district’s international profile, acting as an anchor for its identity as an innovative and creative area known far beyond Styria. As a base for high-tech companies with a strong R&D base, Reininghaus will draw new residents and visitors to Graz.
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Diversity through urbanity
Urbanism has always been fertile ground for innovation and creativity, contestation and vitality, diversity and openness, and individual freedom and pluralism.
An urbane future for Reininghaus The Graz-Reininghaus project aims to capitalise on the unbroken popularity of urban living. Urbanity is the key to a stimulating and colourful district. By opting for urbanity in Reininghaus we are also committing to quality inner city densification and environmentally sound development. Dense, urban living spaces with their clearly defined dimensions and short distances are exciting, eventful and varied, and conducive to well-balanced inner-city mobility.
2 Urban buzz versus suburban monotony Multifunctionality, physical and atmospheric densification, and a balanced mix of uses and users will help to create an attractive urban environment in Reininghaus, with all the amenities expected of a truly liveable city quarter. Anyone who wants to will be able to live out his or her life here — learning, playing, studying, working, researching, strolling, shopping, visiting the theatre, cinema or a concert, eating out, enjoying retirement, dealing with official business, partying, and much else besides. Life in Reininghaus will be characterised by functional diversity and a balanced mix of social, ethnic and age groups among the local population.
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A human scale Addressing the conflicting needs of individuals in an up-to-date and responsible manner means taking care to involve them in all stages of development. Because we are aiming for a “smart city� and a liveable district, we will set out not just to create a dynamic, lively atmosphere, but also to meet the deep-seated human need for tranquillity, contact with nature, open spaces, refuge and security. And we will take account of both environmental and economic factors, in line with our awareness that differences and opposites can be a source of energy and inspiration. In fact, the essence of an attractive urban setting is its ability to use existing contradictions to provide the right mix of novelty, surprise and diversity, and continuity, security and familiarity.
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The Graz-Reininghaus brand
Like every district with its own strong and unique personality, Reininghaus will also have the courage to define the qualities that set it apart.
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A district with a clear identity
The principle of self-similarity
The “next city”
A strong brand must offer a clear promise, and deliver it coherently and credibly — and the GrazReininghaus project will set out to do just that. The development process will involve defining and coordinating clear perspectives for the implementation phase, resulting in precise positioning of the project. We already know that this will be a mixed-use district with high footfall and a maximum of activity in the public realm. Reininghaus will have an unmistakable architectural character, giving it the much sought-after “urban village feel”. By entering into detailed reflection with the relevant stakeholder groups, we will ensure that Reininghaus bears all the hallmarks of a distinctive and self-confident district — one with an intelligent yet sometimes surprising edge.
The Reininghaus district will develop its own selfsimilar design pattern — in terms of architecture, and the built and socio-cultural environment, the overall concept will be reflected in each of its component parts. We view every step in the assessment, planning and implementation processes, and each individual element with an eye to the whole. We believe that form, function and content are inseparable. The well balanced interplay of these elements will help us generate the trust and sense of direction that future users need, as well as the sense of coherence that is the key to a strong identification with the project as a whole.
From the project’s inception, our focus has been on the new district’s future as an urban environment in the context of global social trends. We formulate structural and cultural demands that we expect the next-generation city to fulfil. It must serve a society shaped by information and communication networks, and exposed to extremely rapid change. Global knowledge exchanges will give this society a new dynamism, but will also raise new questions. And they will face the city with ever-changing challenges and strains. For example, it will be necessary to ask what qualities are required of urban areas and spaces when cultural boundaries are fundamentally shifted, and familiar social ties give way to coexistence with unexpected neighbours?
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Excursions to cities of the future
Focus groups
ReininghausGesellschaft Structure of characteristics werkstadt017
the book
Perspectives
Positions
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The process as a mark of quality La Strada
Rodell
We make space for a variety of intellectual and social standpoints, and reflect on the insights gained together with stakeholders from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Mobility Urban scenarios Diversity of uses Green and open spaces
Green belt
Ongoing cooperation with the City of Graz and the State of Styria
The Reininghaus method
New urban planning essentials Smart Cities
Urban development usually begins with a set of plans. Lines are drawn and models built. The advantage is that there are soon visible results that can be displayed and viewed, but there is a drawback, too. Although there is a formal structure, the contents are often lacking. Following a less well trodden urban development path, and thinking ahead instead of jumping the gun is a challenge because the supposed certainties of the conventional approach are missing. The upside is that there is a greater chance of doing things differently and better. By involving experts and ordinary people, and contributors and innovative thinkers in the fields of urban and social development, the arts, ecology and science from Austria and abroad, we are creating the interfaces needed for mutual understanding. From the outset, collaborative engagement with city residents, and local and regional politicians and civil servants has helped lay the groundwork for a progressive and well-balanced approach to project implementation that will be reflected in a high quality of life in the district.
The Graz-Reininghaus project is aimed at sTennisMasters 07 upgrading valuable unused urban space in the interests of sustainable urban development. Our openness in dealing with partners and stakesteirischer herbst holders is reflected in the open-endedness of the development process. Outcomes are not presented as faits accomplis, but arrived at collaboratively. As little as possible and as much as necessary is predetermined. Among the objectives that are not up for discussion is energy conservation thanks to buildings which will remain energy neutral throughout their operational life cycles. We want the Graz-Reininghaus project to play a groundbreaking role in energy efficiency, bringing long-term economic as well as environmental benefits. This is just one example of the capacity of the new district and the whole city to innovate — which will in turn attract innovative thinkers in other fields.
It all starts with green
University cooperations
MIPIM 2007
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Only after discussion, reflection and listening can the planning begin. This is true also of the approach to green spaces in Reininghaus. To Graz-Reininghaus continues to interact attract residents, urban environments need good with artists an creative individuals buildings, a lively atmosphere, and ample open and green spaces. And to ensure that the open space for people is not simply the room left between buildings, we think about the greenery first. This way, carefully designed green and open spaces will already be in place when the first residents settle in the district.
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Asset One - Giving a lead
Decisions can be taken quickly and flexibly where necessary and appropriate, and selective and effective intervention maintains the momentum of the project
Efficient decision-making and good governance Asset One sees itself as the driving force behind the Graz-Reininghaus development. Our business motive is long-term value growth. Although Asset One is a commercial and not a charitable organisation, we have the long-term welfare of the residents of Reininghaus at heart. Asset One is also firmly committed to good governance and the involvement of a wide variety of stakeholders. Combining responsible leadership and management of the development process in a single organisation is a recipe for efficiency and effectiveness. The robustness of the mutually developed proposals for Reininghaus is preserved from the first visions of a district worth dreaming of through to their realisation.
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The Reininghaus Society
The courage to leave things open
Along with a number of other mechanisms for involving key partners, one of the most important steps taken to ensure that the development process leaves enough room for users’ wishes as well as those of the developers has been the foundation of the Reininghaus-Gesellschaft (Reininghaus Society). We are strongly encouraging the Society to make the most of its critical and creative potential. The Society is the project’s most important, albeit still virtual, body of stakeholders, and the forerunner of those who will one day live and work in the new quarter. In other words, it is the first stirring of urban life in the future district, and an acid test that ideas and plans must pass. It is a driving and innovative force — one that is rich in contrasts, sometimes surprising and always open.
The Graz-Reininghaus development is not aimed at a blueprint for an urban utopia. It is a “work in progress” on the constantly changing makeshift solution we call a city. This requires appropriately agile and adaptable development approaches, patterns of consultation and decision-making structures that are capable of mutating in line with evolving conditions. Since not every aspect can be defined and planned in advance, we need the courage to leave things open — and equally courageous companions along the way. This is the only means of leaving sufficient scope for spontaneity and the unexpected, and being sure of creating a sustainable “next city” that is capable of constantly rediscovering itself. Throughout the development process, from the initial perspectives to everyday living in the district, the focus will always be on listening, so as to ensure that all concerned benefit — the city, the community, the individual and the owner.
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The Graz-Reininghaus district development project concerns the redevelopment of an area of Austria’s second city, Graz. A new, centrally located district with an area of 545,000 square metres will be added to the historic old town — a unique opportunity to write an innovative new chapter in the city’s development that will help raise the international profile of the Styrian capital. The site of the old Reininghaus brewery occupies an area the size of Graz old town including the Schlossberg hill. Lying just 1.8 km from the historic heart of the city, the district will be recreated as a new area with highly interspersed mixed uses, and accommodation for around 12,000 people. The goal is to make the new quarter a quality development that will enrich the city’s existing services and facilities. Our aim as owners is sustainable development, carried out in close cooperation with the city and its residents, and in a collaborative partnership with local politicians and civil servants, experts from Austria and abroad, and ordinary citizens. To achieve this, we will use an open-ended, yet clearly defined process founded on the “five positions” that have been arrived at.
Project milestones 2005 Asset One acquires the former Reininghaus brewery site 2006 Establishment of werkstadt017; publication of the book Conceptions of the Desirable 2007 Structure of Qualities finalised; establishment of the Reininghaus-Gesellschaft (Reininghaus Society); project presentations at MIPIM and the international “Future of Cities” conference; formulation of town planning perspectives (green and open spaces, urban scenarios, diversity of uses, mobility, “next city”, education, magnetism, innovation, energy, residential development and urbanity) 2008 Detailed work on initial perspectives 2009 Distillation into potential urban models Ongoing Cooperation with the city council on revision of the urban development, zoning and local land use plans; consultation of future development partners, users and investors 2010 Preparation of an urban master plan And finally environmental impact assessment, detail planning and commencement of works
July 2008 Contact Asset One Immobilienentwicklungs AG Kaiserfeldgasse 2 8010 Graz, Austria Tel.: +43 316 822 688 office@asset-one.at www.asset-one.at www.graz-reininghaus.com
Permissions 3: Harry Schiffer; 4 / 5: Stadt Graz, bigshot.at, Claudio Alessandri, Josep Altarriba, Graz-Tourismus; 6 /7: Festival La Strada, Kleboth Lindinger Partners, Asset One, Erika Thorpe, bigshot.at; 8 / 9: Claudio Alessandri, Harry Schiffer, denkbar& so; 10 /11: Harry Schiffer, Kleboth Lindinger Partners, Fritz Urchitz, Asset One; 12 / 13: Lukas Schwarzkogler, Asset One; 14: Asset One
www.graz-reininghaus.com