Corridor+

The planned four-track expansion of the southern railway line between Vienna-Meidling and Mödling is one of the most important infrastructure projects in the southern Vienna metropolitan area. The aim is to create the basis for a denser suburban railway network, link regional and urban transport services and shift commuter traffic from road to rail – a key component of the mobility transition. At the same time, the expansion will radically change the (urban) landscape: the widening of the route, additional technical installations and noise protection measures will reinforce existing barriers, create new spatial divisions and jeopardise the quality of interstitial spaces and public spaces, especially in the vicinity of the stations.
The course therefore focuses not only on the technical dimension of the railway line, but also on its spatial integration and design potential. Based on in-depth analyses, students develop urban planning, landscape planning and architectural concepts that show how infrastructure can be understood as an integral part of urban and landscape spaces – not as a swath, but as a multi-layered, living urban space.
The focus is on how spaces along the route can be reinterpreted and redesigned: from staging movement spaces and improving crossability to the multiple use of areas under, over and along the tracks. Unused residual spaces can become parks, cycle paths or meeting places; bridges to squares; superstructures or buildings along the route can create new usable space while providing noise protection.
The students are recording and designing the Südbahntrasse as a multi-coded space between city and landscape – as a potential eco-corridor, as urban open space or as an impetus for climate-friendly development on the outskirts of the city and in the surrounding area. The aim is to develop medium- to long-term perspectives that combine infrastructure intervention with added value for urban space, landscape and society.
Based on sound analyses, the students develop concrete concepts and projects that address local and regional needs and open up new perspectives for dealing with infrastructure spaces. The focus is on three scales: the route itself as a multi-coded space with usable areas under, above and along the tracks; the functional and design upgrading of the station surroundings as interfaces between the railway and the neighbourhood; and the wider environment in which models for climate-friendly neighbourhood development and resilient urban spaces are designed. The course is intended as a laboratory for integrated planning that links mobility, settlement and landscape issues, enhances the quality of life and demonstrates how a new understanding of infrastructure spaces can contribute to the mobility transition and social acceptance of large infrastructure projects.