11 July 2024

Climate Biennale project for urban sustainability in architecture finds a new haven at the Docks in the Village im Dritten, the headquarters of Vienna Design Week

July 14th is the last day of the Climate Biennale at the former Nordwestbahnhof train station in Vienna. But it wouldn't be a climate event if all the good intentions ended on that day. The Vienna Design Week from September 20th to 29th at the DOCKS (former ship port area) in the Village im Dritten is the next haven for one of the projects, the Biofabrique Vienna, with a focus on urban sustainability. Biofabrique Vienna was organized by the Vienna Business Agency to showcase innovative materials for architecture and design derived from the city's underutilized resources, including bricks made from construction waste and surfaces made from rice husks, with the aim of setting new standards for sustainable design and urban spaces. The project was already presented at the Vienna Design Week press conference at the end of April (article https://www.fashion.at/culture/2024/Vienna_Design_Week_builds_on_designs_for_dreams_and_energy_and_resource_saving_solutions_for_the_future_some_calls_for_participation_are_still_open27-4-2024.htm).

The Vienna Business Agency is also on board for Vienna Design Week and will literally implement the achievements in the collaborative format 'Urban Food & Design' with the design of the lounge and hospitality area for this year's design festival headquarters at the DOCKS in the Village im Dritten, the city's newest quarter in the 3rd district, hence the name 'im Dritten'. For the design of the lounge's space including the pop-up cafe, 'studio dreiSt', a collective consisting of Martin Kohlbauer, Luisa Zwetkow and Sophie Coqui, was selected through an open call (https://www.viennadesignweek.at/en/news/das-team-der-urban-food-desing-practice-steht-fest/). It's announced that dreiSt will use materials developed by Biofabrique Vienna such as the innovative bricks that reuse the city's waste, demonstrating a circular approach to urban sustainability.

Photo: Urban Food & Design | Biofabrique Vienna (Klima Biennale Wien); © Rudolf Strobl-Klima Biennale Wien, Vienna Design Week.