Taking Floridsdorf as a pilot area for center development, the project ‘Unlayering Centers’ emphasizes the idea of ‘human’ elements and social strengths as crucial qualities towards the development of urban centers. Unfolding the distinctive Floridsdorfer particularities, the project action ‘Platz für Originale’ seeks and engages with existing vivid (sub)centers as well as local actors, who are functioning as centers.  

Shifting perspective from the aspect of hardware (design of a space) to software (users of a space), the project ‘Unlayering Centers’, on the one hand, acts as a social gesture to reframe a traditional planning perspective on centers as commercial and transportation hubs. Adding to Floridsdorf’s predefined centers, the project targets the distinctive particularities of the district and thus potential subcenters, such as green and leisure areas, educational institutions as well as public housing. 

On the other hand, the project action ‘Platz für Originale’ engages with inhabitants and local actors, who are reaching out to other people and act as facilitators. The term ‘Originale’ in this context refers to certain characteristics that make a space or person particular, therefore, attracting other people and fostering identification as well as generating a sense of belonging. By declaring places and above all people as ‘Floridsdorfer Originale’, we emphasize the idea of the ‘human’ elements and embed the potential of local knowledge and social strengths as qualities towards vivid (sub)centers. Eventually, the project has the potential to open up new perspectives on bottom-up measurements towards a center development in Floridsdorf.

Team: Aki Lee, Susanne Mariacher and Katharina Spanlang//Social Design Project// Location: Floridsdorf, Wien //Duration: Feb- Jun. 2018