Design Studio WS 13/14

Re*mix Purbach

TASK

On the western shore of Lake Neusiedl is the town area of “Purbach”, which was developed within the framework of the current design program. Design program was processed. Winegrowing, as well as a certain amount of tourism and the provision of various culinary products have already been successfully implemented. If one looks at the traditional building structures, the elongated shape of the parcel stands out. A conversion as well as the possible consolidation of individual stretch yards could also be adapted for today’s housing needs. Within the framework of this design exercise, it was necessary to implement identification measures and to develop architectural interventions that would contribute to a positive development of the site. The main goal, however, was not to implement detached sculptures and the like, but rather to develop concretely usable and overarching solutions. The discussion therefore focused on the concrete questions surrounding the use of the (semi) public space and those very Streckhöfe.

RESUME

Looking at the projects at hand, one cannot help but notice that the traditional Streckhof parcel, despite its narrowness, has a high potential in terms of its use and buildability. The different design approaches prove that it is by no means exclusively an agricultural or residential use that can take the place of the traditional form of use. Rather, it becomes clear that the structure of these individual parcels must itself be understood as the starting point of a series of questions and answers to the particular characteristics and conditions surrounding possible buildability. Thus, it must be clarified on a case-by-case basis whether, for example, the elongated character is to be emphasized, reinforced, or counteracted, whether a through-route character is to continue to exist in total, or whether rather a structuring is in the foreground of the interest of the individual planner. However, it is also necessary to find answers to the orientation and to make decisions on the retention of old building substance or to decide on its demolition. The specific moment, which gives each individual design its character, develops in the coincidence of these questions and the respective chosen topic with regard to the use. Thus, in the context of the present design exercise, the specific moment develops from case to case. In this way, a children’s hotel, a burnout treatment center, a vacation farm, or a wine experience and consumption world develops along the individual boundary walls of different expanded farm plots. In particular, it is noticeable that with regard to the selected parcel, the aspect of introversion can often be used in a positive sense for the project, and is even emphasized in some cases, but not infrequently the overarching spatial reference is also specifically sought. Thus, parcels are sometimes merged, connected to each other by structural links, or even towered over by individual components in such a way that in some places a distant reference becomes possible, the view is celebrated for the individual, or even attains urban significance. The plot thus loses the stigma of subordination in the larger structural framework and is suddenly transformed into a structural network that seems to be open in the future for diverse forms of development and uses.