June 2015, a second visit to Vienna, and a chance to further explore its new dwelling developments. I read something about Aspern in an item related to the Vienna Biennale, and took the U2 metro line to its end, to discover a new town built from nothing. Well not exactly nothing, the place used to be an airfield, and you can still walk on part of the runways that exist near the U-Bahn station, the first element built in the new town.
Reading about the Aspern Seestadt project is fascinating. A new mixed-uses town, with 10,500 apartments for 20,000 residents and spaces for 20,000 workplaces, around a green area with a lake. Future residents took part in building complexes design, and environmental issues and efficiency in material use are part of the building process.
Walking in the new town is inspiring. From the varied building designs, richness of materials and colors, through landscape details of gardens, green areas and drainage elements, to pedestrian – bicycle oriented planning, where cars are hardly in sight. On June 2015 most of the apartments built as part of the initial phases are still empty, and the innovative spaces wait for life.
(Photos were taken on Jun 23rd, 2015)
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