Description

Sustainability has become a buzzword in public life. Whether we like it or not, sustainability is the only door open to humanity in the long term. Vienna’s water supply is a very clear example of a sustainable economy. In the fall of 1998, it prompted prominent figures from science, business and administration to discuss the topic of “Sustainable Paths for the Future” as part of a series of events. The aim of the contributions to the “Sustainable Paths to the Future” series of events was to encourage a rethink and to make this a permanent task. The interweaving of methodical and abstract issues such as spatial compatibility and sustainable land use with contributions on the 1st Vienna Elevated Spring Pipeline was intended to offer the opportunity to link theory with practice. The series of events was also intended to document and highlight the good relations and cooperation between the Vienna City Administration and the Vienna University of Technology.

What & when?

The series of events on the subject of “Sustainable use of space” in connection with the anniversary “125 years of Vienna’s 1st High Spring Pipeline” in the Alte Schieberkammer on the Schmelz comprised the following sub-events:

• 15.10., 17h: Opening event (Rector Dr. Skalicky and City Councillor Svihalek)
• 16.10., 19h “Preach water, drink wine?” Keynote speeches and discussions on sustainable lifestyles (Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schulz, sociologist and Prof. Dr. Heinrich Wohlmeyer, agricultural expert)
• 19.10., 10h “Spatial impact assessment as a contribution to sustainable land use”, working discussion with Prof. Dr. Bossel, environmental systems researcher (scientific and methodological focus)
• 20.10., 19h “Sustainable land use – the example of drinking water supply in the City of Vienna”, keynote speech by Dipl.-Ing. Robert Köck, ÖVGW and Dipl.-Ing. Sailer, Wiener Wasserwerke
• 21.10., 19h: Environmental Forum of the Vienna Lectures, panel discussion on the topic of water supply, water balance, water supply – status quo and perspectives, Prof. Dr. Heinz Löffler, biologist, Prof. Dr. Alexander Tollmann, geologist, Dipl.-Ing. Peter Suchomel, Vienna Waterworks
• 22.10., 10h “Sustainable land use – the example of the City of Vienna’s species and habitat protection program”, information and discussion forum, Dipl.-Ing. Harald Kutzenberger, Dr. Joseph Mikocki

Frame

The visual, acoustic and haptic supporting program included video-acoustic installations on the subject of water, a water bar with “water furniture”, display boards on the subject of sustainability and karst research as well as an analog and digital model of the Schneealpe.

Client

Municipality of the City of Vienna (Environmental Protection Department)

Team

The project was carried out by IRIS-ISIS (Institute for Spatial Interaction and Simulation) in cooperation with

• the City of Vienna (Environmental Protection Department, Waterworks and Science Group of the Department of Urban Development and Planning) and
• Vienna University of Technology (Institute of Spatial Planning; Institute of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Water Management; Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing)

Overall coordination: Kurt Ricica

Project team: Ulrike Haslinger, Philipp Krebs, Gerhard Kastler, Michael Kubik, Friedrich Moser, Kurt Ricica, Susi Schreiner, Mario Schwarz, Astrid Rompolt, Andreas Voigt, Hans Peter Walchhofer

Duration

15.-22. 10. 1998

Contakt

iris@isis.tuwien.ac.at

A 60-page collection of texts on the topic of “Water traces – sustainable future paths” is available in published form with texts on the 1st High Spring Pipeline and the spring protection areas as well as the scientific topics addressed (spatial compatibility, karst research, flora and fauna, remote sensing, etc.).

Furthermore, the research work “Raumverträglichkeit – Beitrag zur nachhaltigen Raumnutzung” (Ricica, Kurt and Voigt, Andreas, eds., Vienna 1998), commissioned by the City of Vienna, MA22 (Environmental Protection), was presented to the public as part of the series of events.

Comments

Scientific approach to implementing sustainability

The research paper “Spatial compatibility as a contribution to sustainable land use – A guideline” is to be understood as a contribution to the operationalization of the concept of sustainability. It develops a framework for contemporary decision-making that takes account of the need for a comprehensive approach.

Methodologically, the work is based on the systemic approach of Hartmut Bossel (1997). Bossel specifies the concept of sustainability via guiding values of the (survival) viability of systems. System environments are characterized by six fundamental environmental characteristics: Specific environmental state in which the system can exist at all, resource supply, diversity, variability, change and interaction with other environments. In response to this, natural systems (living beings) have co-evolved the following properties, which systems in general (natural or artificial) must be oriented towards in terms of sustainable development in order to survive in their environments in the long term, and which are defined as guiding values: Existence, effectiveness, freedom of action, security, adaptability and coexistence. In practice, these guiding values should primarily serve as test criteria for the selection of indicators that can signal sustainable development. This concept of guiding values was discussed at the event using Vienna’s water supply system as an example.

The guide integrates this systemic approach into a holistic system representation of space, which links the static approach (structure, components), the dynamic approach (system, interactions, energy and material flows) and the visual-sensual approach (perception, experience, consciousness) of space as a prerequisite for integrative problem solving.

Supporting program “Water trails – sustainable paths to the future”

Scientific methods and their discussion alone do not enable a lively approach to water, landscape and space. Access to the topic therefore requires sensory impressions.

The staging of the event space – the Alte Schieberkammer on the Schmelz – was intended to make water “in the air” and create a stimulating and communicative ambience that offered specific starting points for discussions.supporting program “Water traces – sustainable future paths”

Sketch of the room staging

You reached the exhibition building through a textile “waterfall” in front of the main entrance, entered the darkened upper floor via the bridge and stood in front of a parapet that merged into a footbridge. Stepping onto the walkway opened up a view into the world of water: on both sides of the floor and screens, visitors were surrounded by video-acoustic installations from the Kaiserbrunnen and other fountains. On the way down to the basement, a text (“Back to the springs”) invited visitors to intensify the meditative atmosphere. The crystallization point in the basement, where the talks took place, was a water bar, which also served as a lectern, with a seating area consisting of “water furniture”. If several people sat on a water cushion, communication – at least sensual – was guaranteed via the water. Central statements on the topic were displayed on panels.

Video-acoustic installation – detailed description

The unique experience of the landscape of the source area of the 1st Vienna High Spring Pipeline, in particular its springs and structures, visually and acoustically conveyed to the city of Vienna was the starting point for the media exhibition concept. The venue, the Alte Schieberkammer building on the Wiener Schmelz, offered the opportunity to realize this concept due to its former function on the one hand and its architectural relationship to other buildings in the spring area on the other.

The idea of entering the exhibition space via a footbridge originates from the architecture of the “water world” of the Kaiserbrunnen (one of the main sources of the 1st Vienna High Spring Pipeline). There it is possible to walk over a water collection basin at a lofty height. In the background you can hear the mighty sound of water gushing from mountain crevices. The size of the room creates acoustics similar to a large cathedral. This visual and acoustic experience was now “recreated” around the footbridge: entering the building through a curtain (comparable to the often surprising spatial experience of entering a large church through a small door) was intended to introduce the visitor to the “water world”. Two video projectors beamed video recordings of the water, which can be seen from above (i.e. from the footbridge) in the original “water world” on site, onto sand-covered projection surfaces on the floor. Behind it, in the largely dark room, video monitors were positioned to the left and right, showing spring water flowing out of the mountain (Pfannbauern spring) and spring water flowing down the tunnel inside the mountain (spring no. 20, Höllental). These points of light, created by the luminosity of the monitors, were supplemented by architectural wall elements (rock structures, arches etc.) projected onto semi-transparent screens, thus creating a spatial setting for the installation. The acoustic space was simulated by sound recordings of running water reproduced in stereo technology.