CoCreation Hacking Wien & Wien West Design

With the words "Ich habe die Notbremse gezogen" (I pulled the emergency brake), Ulli Sima stopped the construction of the Vienna West Exit in 2021, thereby creating the opportunity to explore alternative visions for the western entrance of Vienna. The heavily burdened infrastructure axis, the Vienna West Entrance/West Exit, runs between the Lainzer Tiergarten and the Ferdinand-Wolf-Park. Although the new construction was halted in favor of renovation, this is only a temporary solution. The urgent question remains: how will this crucial space, where ecological, climatic, social, and infrastructural requirements collide, be handled in the future? Spatial visions are sought on the one hand (260,709 teaching units Designing Vienna West Design), and visions for a sustainable process actively involving human and non-human inhabitants on the other hand (260,807 teaching units Co-creation: Hacking Vienna). Between Nikolaiberg and Wolfersberg, various non-human and human actors intersect, negotiating the space.

Actors could include:
- The cold air stream flowing down from Nikolaiberg and the Vienna Woods
- The densely populated residential area of Hacking, experiencing pressure for densification
- The partially renatured Wien River winding through the heavily built riverbed
- Citizen initiatives formed by concerned residents
- District politicians from different parties
- Various municipal departments of the City of Vienna
- Transportation institutions operating the mobility axis

The aim of the design is to formulate a co-creative process between human and non-human actors, mobilized through a final event planned by the students.

The course reflects on the following questions:
- Can co-creative, participatory processes strengthen spatial transformation?
- How can co-creation be shaped between different actors, especially between human and non-human entities?
- What new, unusual, experimental formats can initiate a co-creation process?

Guests in the two design studios include:
- Martina Frühwirt | City of Vienna Representative for the 3rd, 7th, 11th, and 14th districts
- Univ.Ass. Dipl.-Ing. Gunnar Grandel | future.lab
- Prof. Wolfram Höfer | Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, USA
- Elisabeth Irschik | City of Vienna MA19
- em. Prof.in Dipl.-Ing. Cordula Loidl-Reisch | TU Berlin

Brochure for download:

• CoCreation Hacking 2023