Starting point / motivation

The project „NEB Resources" aims to apply the New European Bauhaus criteria for social inclusion and environmental sustainability to an existing Viennese neighborhood – Matzleinsdorf in the 5th district – and to translate them into a feasible and politically supported transformation concept for a socially inclusive, circular, and climate-friendly neighborhood in a low-threshold participation process. Matzleinsdorf is a densely built-up, socially and culturally diverse urban neighborhood with high pressure on the few open spaces available.

The climatic stress caused by heat, sealed surfaces, and a lack of quality public space particularly affects vulnerable groups. At the same time, however, there is potential in and between the existing built fabric, for example in the form of vacant buildings, underused spaces, and existing social infrastructure.

In a long-term transformation process, the Caritas organization is establishing the „Auferstehung Christi" church as a new social anchor point in the neighborhood called „Kirchenschiff" and opening it up to the community, its residents, and a variety of uses. The entire neighborhood can benefit from the socially innovative conversion and opening of the church building, which activates the social fabric and pools social skills and knowledge.

Based on this transformation process, NEB Resources is working with residents and in close cooperation with the district and its decision-makers to develop a democratically legitimized planning basis for the development of the neighborhood and its public spaces toward greater social inclusion and climate-ecological resilience.

Contents and goals

NEB Resources collaborates with residents to develop a feasible and politically supported transformation concept for a socially inclusive, circular, and climate-friendly Matzleinsdorf neighborhood in Vienna's Margareten district. Workshops, temporary interventions, and prototypes make concrete approaches visible and tranformation in public spaces to be experienced firsthand.

The aim of the transdisciplinary project is to develop both a site-specific strategy for the quarter of Matzleinsdorf and a transferable model for socially innovative and resource-efficient neighborhood development.

The project is guided by the principles of the New European Bauhaus: sustainability, inclusion, and aesthetics are not treated as separate goals, but are integrated into a locally anchored, transdisciplinary model of action. What distinguishes NEB Resources from existing approaches is its consistent focus on what already exists—both tangible and intangible—and its simultaneous commitment to transformation through creative, social, and ecological innovation.

Methods

The project does not view existing structures as obstacles, but rather as resources with hidden potential. Buildings, infrastructure, materials, stories, everyday knowledge, and neighborhood networks are activated as starting points for a transformative process that changes both physical spaces and social relationships.

Methods such as material mapping, stakeholder mapping, co-research and artistic research methods, co-design and prototyping, inclusive placemaking, and spatial interventions are applied. An interdisciplinary team from the fields of urbanism, (social) design, and social work from the two consortium partners works in close coordination with the Margareten district council, local initiatives, and residents.

Local anchoring is achieved through close links to the newly created offerings for different target groups in Kirchenschiff. Collective walks during the survey phase, workshops, temporary interventions, and a prototypical open space laboratory involve residents in all project phases and make initial results and improvements to the open space visible and tangible in a timely manner.

Expected results

By making processes visible, encouraging continuous reflection, and promoting open knowledge exchange, a new space of opportunity is created for our cities: inclusive, sustainable, and livable for all. NEB Resources contributes to a new urban culture in which urban development is no longer based solely on expert knowledge, but is instead a collective learning and design process. The vision: a city that redesigns its own future from what already exists, together with those who have too often been at the sidelines.

• Development of a participatory process that involves decision-makers, local actors, and residents in all phases of the project
• Participatory development of a transformation concept (vision, goals, strategies, concrete measures, financing, and schedule) for the neighborhood, taking into account local requirements and needs in line with the NEBKrit study
• Concrete measures and interventions implemented with the participation of residents, which achieve initial improvements in open space design and, as a pilot intervention, send a visible and effective signal for more climate-friendly public space
• Digital handbook "NEB Resources" as an implementation template for similar neighborhoods in Vienna and beyond

Project management

Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien, Department Social Design – Arts as Urban Innovation

Project or cooperation partners

Caritas der Erzdiözese Wien – Hilfe in Not

Elina Kränzle
Vordere Zollamtstraße 7
A-1030 Vienna
Tel.: +43 (1) 711 33-3561
E-mail: Elina.kraenzle@uni-ak.ac.at
Web: socialdesign.ac.at