15.04.2016 - Ausgabe: 2/2016

The aspern+Seestadt Wien places emphasis on play

By Andrea Cejka, Professor of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Design of the Rapperswil University of Technology

aspern - the Seestadt Wien: this 'lake town' project extending to over 590 acres that is being undertaken in the dynamic Aspern district of Vienna is one of the largest urban development programmes in Europe.

A whole new urban environment is being created in the north-east section of Vienna. Cranes awaiting the next phase of construction are still to be seen rising into the sky around the central lake. The first sections in the south have been finished and residents have already moved in. One thing is already apparent: this will be a densely populated area. The construction concept is based on an astutely designed master plan by Tovatt Architects and Planners, who won the contract in 2005 following a two-stage international tendering process. Although in the early planning phases doubts were expressed in view of the designs presented whether the master plan of this development when complete would really meet the future needs of those living here, the concept has proved in the actual course of implementation to be both practicable and to provide sufficient scope for imaginative adaptation. Future-orientated architecture embedded within a framework of prestigious open spaces is a hallmark of Seestadt. Here the basic idea was provided by Gehl Architects in their report published in October 2009 -'Die Partitur des öffentlichen Raums' (The harmony of public spaces) - that conceives of the spaces between the structures in Seestadt that are to be occupied by roads, plazas and parks in terms of a musical composition. The stress is thus being placed on providing for the ideal work/life balance of the residents in each subproject and these are being reviewed and monitored to ensure they achieve this aim by investors and planners alike. Also involved is Wien 3420 Development AG, which, as its name suggests, is a development corporation that offers services in the fields of temporary usage, innovative project review, through to advising, preproject work and utilisation concepts. The Aspern project committee provides support here by means of on-going consultation and is the overall quality control agency for the aspern+Seestadt Wien programme.

The intention is to ensure that all sections of Seestadt provide suitable living space and employment options for all generations of residents. This approach not only means that a certain density of buildings will be required, but also represents a recipe for the future viability of the concept. This outer suburb of Vienna is already exerting a pull on potential residents, particularly families. The purchase and rental prices are still in the affordable range here, so that the area is specifically attracting younger families with children. In addition, the centre of Vienna is within easy reach of Seestadt and just 30 minutes away by direct subway link. Within Seestadt itself, however, the favourite vehicles used to get about are the bicycle, the scooter and people's own two feet. Traffic calming measures and exercise are thus a part of everyday life here and these are needs that are, of course, possible to fulfil, providing more reasons for young families to move here. Where else can children move so freely in an urban environment without being placed at risk? The circular main road, called the Sonnenallee, has a broad central strip that is designed as a child-friendly space where the younger residents can go their ways unhampered by any constraints imposed by motorised traffic. It is true that the various sunken ball play basins, scooter and skateboard areas, chill-out benches, climbing walls and grassy hills for lolling about on may mean that it will take longer to get home. But it is undoubtedly much more fun to gambol about here than to trot in a well-behaved fashion along the pavement where one might even be tempted to skip dangerously along the curb on the way back from school in order to dissipate excess energies. This exercise and play area for children was designed by the landscape architects 3:0. They decided to throw the standard rules of road planning overboard and to make the Sonnenallee, which provides access to all areas of Seestadt, into a diversified and interesting boulevard. The layout of this broad thoroughfare with its attractions that invite users to stay awhile not only provides the necessary outdoor facilities for the adjacent blocks of flats but is also an extended ribbon along which young and older children can exercise and play in safety.

Open spaces radiate out from the Sonnenallee that link commercial and cultural facilities to the north, south and west.

Here too the roadways are wide in keeping with contemporary taste and offer leisure attractions. On the so-called 'red side' there are immovable red chairs that can be used to take a short break, as obstacles on a slalom course or as anchor points for playing Chinese jump rope.

To the north, continuous green and street spaces in east-west orientation connect the various residential areas and will provide a link to the northern end of Seestadt, where child-friendly exercise areas are also part of the specification requirements for the planners. The areas protected from the weather under the overground sections of the subway line are not only suitable for playing but there is also the idea of using these as walkways while another large park area is envisaged that will be an attractive focus for those looking for an exercise venue.

Another continuous route is also in the process of being created in the form of the plaza and street sequence of the Hermine-Dasovky-Platz and Susanne-Schmida-Gasse. White stripes similar to runway markings that incorporate seating elements here and there weave together the various plazas and streets. Scattered about are refreshing water jets and artificially created giant puddles in which anyone can splash around to their heart's content. The landscape designer DnD has also put in place wooden discs decorated with motifs that evoke the history of the area. The persons whose names adorn local signage are given faces and texts inform about events that happened in the locality, such as the Battle of Aspern-Essling in 1809, Napoleon's first defeat. Thus an educational strategy is being employed to provide identity to a new district and to enable residents to become aware of where they live.

At the core of the development is the new artificially created lake that gives Seestadt its name - 'Lake town' - a blue oasis and favourite leisure venue for the residents, not least because of the neighbouring lakeside park. This not only offers recuperation in the fresh air in an aesthetically designed naturalistic landscape; there is also a sheltered climbing playground called the 'Seespiel' with white-striped slanted poles, wooden cabins and chutes while other imaginative play equipment is within easy walking distance for small children. All equipment is coloured water-blue, thus using the lake as the unifying theme. In both the lakeside park and the Yella-Hertzka park adjacent to it to the south-west the play and exercise facilities have been specially created by LAVALAND working in collaboration with Treibhaus landscapers - something that in these days when there are official guidelines for everything is both audacious and seems destined for success; that is if the enthusiasm with which these facilities are used is anything to go by. Considerable imaginative flair has been invested in designing the equipment and installation has been undertaken with the skilled support of the manufacturers. Good team work when it comes to planning and constructing playgrounds is a factor that guarantees a successful outcome. The whole of the park can be used for playing and exercise, unless users are otherwise seduced into lazing around, relaxing or taking a walk along the water's edge. But the best feature of these playgrounds is that they can create connections with associations, memories and stories in both young and old. In the immediate vicinity of the residential area is the 'Libellenaue' - the 'dragonfly meadow' - where little children can flit like dragonflies from trampoline to trampoline until they reach a row of wooden stakes on top of which sits a row of fat frogs. To the right, wild horses seem to gallop towards the lake while to the left older children can try out their strength and agility on the work-out equipment of the 'Pingpong Welle'. There is a skateboard park ('das Rollfeld') underneath the overhead rails of the subway line.

The Yella-Hertzka park is a continuation of the lakeside park, a strip-like ribbon of green that snakes between the residential blocks and links the centre of aspern+Seestadt with the areas being developed around it. Very simple features, such as blue wooden stakes, have been used to mark out trails through the park that can be used as race tracks, as rendezvous sites or as the basis for adventure games. They also lead to areas called 'lake source', 'water games' and 'lakeland', a hilly landscape with the appearance of blue tartan and dotted white circles.

There is another important park between two schools and residential areas. This is the Hanna-Arendt park, created by YEWO Landscapes and METTLER landscape architects that has a utilisation design based on input gleaned from a participation project. Near the schools there is a play strip with the subject of 'flight' as its theme and here again the play equipment is distinguished by its charm and originality despite all the regulatory curbs. A play area for toddlers represents the muddy 'runway', that for children is the 'airfield' while the older kids get to climb onto the 'landing field'. The park is characterised by its gentle topography; its excellent landscape architecture was resource-sparingly created from surplus materials removed from the surrounding building lots. Away from all the hustle and bustle of the 'airfield' playground there are hammocks for resting or which a whole family can use as swings. Encompassing the park is a tartan-patterned track that can be used by the younger ones just learning to ride a scooter or bike. A particular attraction for the local residents is the tree-shaded plaza with benches and tables where parties can be celebrated and that also provides a venue for small-scale markets. A sunken retaining basin is used to collect the rainwater run-off from the park and surrounding buildings; the vegetation growing here helps control the climate in Seestadt and is a popular meeting place for older children where they can hang out in a group and sit on the benches around and observe what's happening before and after school.

If children want to move from one park to another or go home without using the traffic-calmed streets, the rows of mostly semi-private courtyards of the residential buildings offer an interesting alternative route. Every courtyard has its own playground and these are so diverse that it is difficult to resist trying them out time and again. Among these is the particularly appealing courtyard in the Maria-Tusch-Strasse designed by the landscape architects PlanSinn. Provided here are various types of play equipment to accommodate all user abilities. "In order to ensure the site is attractive for everyone, we have not restricted the potential uses of the courtyard to play only," explains Erik Meinharter, the architect responsible for the project who is now able to conclude with some satisfaction; "We have created a courtyard for all that has become a venue for communication." Wood and metal have been predominantly used. In addition to a sand pit, there are sites for gardening and running around while there is a wooden terrace for those wishing just to relax. There is a long table in the middle of the courtyard at which neighbours can eat together or on which a buffet can be spread for a party for the residents. The paths and the outside staircases that lead to the public spaces also provide venues for improvised games.

The landscape architects Idealice have created the impressive nearby courtyard constructed entirely of wood; all surfaces, walls, ramps, steps, benches and play equipment are made of wood. All this wood also serves as an eye-catching advertisement for the architecture of the bordering residential structures. This 'play canyon' is on a lower level than the private green spaces allotted to the residents of the flats. Allowing as it does for play and escapades with its enticing climbing wall and soft tartan-patterned recess, this is another example of state-of-the-art playground design.

There can be no doubt that Seestadt is a child-orientated environment. But the playgrounds are not merely reserved for children - they are designed to provide stimulation, exercise options and social meeting places for other younger and older residents. They represent dynamic retreats located in the midst of the urban landscape where residents can left off steam and take risks and are one of the special features of this new district of Vienna. But before the project is fully completed, sites will be subject to temporary usages and experimental concepts that will have a major influence on the way that the district develops. Even before the first crane was in place here, the landscape architects ZwoPK began with the planning of an 'urban meadow' at Seestadt's first subway station that would act as a place of welcome and a site for various activities - it was a very early example of how the urban design requirements here could be met. The objective was to use the site to host markets, concerts or spontaneous events on a daily basis or on special occasions. Those interested in using the site for such purposes are welcome to get in touch. It has already become appropriated by youngsters. The carefully formed earthen landscape provides the ideal setting for volleyball matches, BMX bike racing, small and large stages and platforms from which the growth of Seestadt can be monitored. Depending on need, a site currently used as a street soccer pitch may in future be built on. The Seestadt pier - a wooden jetty some 300 m in length - accompanies the earthworks that still currently predominate the northern shore of the lake. Between these are small terraces where residents can linger. The pier is mainly the stamping ground for older children and youngsters and is flanked by areas that can be used for sport or as stages. Such temporary use of these areas not only creates new insights into how the sites could be subsequently developed but also allows young people to make them their own and use them for their leisure purposes. These temporary projects have been constructed by Greenlab Aspern, an organisation dedicated to ensuring that young people find access to the labour market. Its next project is a BMX track that is to be opened in April 2016 and that has been planned in consultation with the BMX bikers of the SEA youth centre. Simple materials are to be used - the earth and wood that are available on the site anyway.

These temporary use projects may not be playgrounds in the strict sense of the word but they are sites that can be used for play activities and have become popular simply because they are not regulated while offering enough leeway for young people to become actively involved in their creation and to employ them for their own purposes. Planners need to be courageous and open to improvisation if they are to include these ideas adequately in their own planning concepts while clients and operators also need to embrace them if they are to be implemented.

It is not standard playground equipment alone that will spark children's imaginations. Designers and manufacturers need to put in place specific venues that can be used for play and for meeting - in our age of digital games and cyberworlds, this is a particularly important social responsibility. It is often the case that an awareness of what needs to be provided combined with the use of low-key design will achieve the outcome required. The magic formula that leads to the creation of good playgrounds is made up of a feeling for topography, the ability to arrange space and use the correct forms and materials.

 

Image: YEWO Landscapes

 

Andrea Cejka: Professor of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Design of the Rapperswil University of Technology; since 2001: A member of the working group hutterreimann+cejka landscape architecture. 2011-2014 Member of the Aspern Committee of Seestadt Wien