5. Social neighbourhood & neighbourhood development

5.3 “Wiener Räume”: vacancy activation & interim use

Partners: MA 25 – Technical Urban Renewal, MA 18 – Urban Development and Planning, Kreative Räume Wien (KRW)

During its co-operation with local stakeholders during the programme run in Favoriten, WieNeu+ realised that people from the neighbourhood have an enormous demand for affordable spaces for either one-off events or other forms of non-residential use by individuals or small groups.

Since there exists practically no way of activating ground-floor or similar premises owned by private individuals, the focus shifted to vacancies owned by the City of Vienna. This tapped synergies between the local WieNeu+ programme and Kreative Räume Wien (KRW), a service for vacancy activation and interim use specially commissioned by the City Administration.

Group photo Van-der-Nüll-Gasse 20

Group photo of eight artists and Helene Scheller (far right) standing in a semicircle around a shrub

Fig. 31: Interim use of the building Van-der-Nüll-Gasse 20, group photo of new tenants / artists. Copyright: City of Vienna / Bojan Schnabl

There exists a massive demand for affordable premises to accommodate creative, social, innovative projects and forms of use. However, the cost-efficient provision of spaces for temporary use is hampered by various aspects.

Interim use can prove an attractive solution during both refurbishment and new construction projects. However, this option only applies during specific and distinct phases of project development and project implementation.

The “Wiener Räume” (Viennese Spaces) project aimed at the activation of municipally-owned vacancies and, through co-operation with municipal departments and potential clients looking for premises, managed to identify system-related obstacles, developed recommendations for action and helped to arrange the rental of premises to innovative projects.

Vacancy activation Van-der-Nüll-Gasse 20

Gründerzeit-era building with ground-floor zone plus two storeys and with a salmon-coloured façade devoid of historic ornamentation

Fig. 32: Vacancy activation Van-der-Nüll-Gasse 20. Copyright: City of Vienna / Bojan Schnabl

Call for interim use organised by Kreative Räume Wien

During the project run, a call for the interim use of two vacant municipally-owned properties in Innerfavoriten was held with the goal of arranging the rental of these specific properties to interested users for a real-life test of the theoretically formulated process. 35 potential clients visited both properties, ultimately leading to four concrete rental requests. In the end, three art associations concluded rental agreements for an interim period of five years for Van-der-Nüll-Gasse 20, a former administrative building of the City of Vienna.

Vacancy activation Van-der-Nüll-Gasse 20, artist's studio

Studio room with large-format modern paintings done in acrylic paints; one mainly done in red is lying on the floor, while a second large-format painting done in anthracite / white is leaning against the wall; in the background, pots with paint are standing on the floor.

Fig. 33: Vacancy activation Van-der-Nüll-Gasse 20, artist’s studio. Copyright: City of Vienna / Bojan Schnabl

Outcomes

Due to the preliminary work achieved in the first WieNeu+ programme area, follow-up ventures were initiated in the second WieNeu+ programme area, “Grätzl 20+2”:

“Stadtkern_PLUS” is a project to revitalise the ground-floor zones in neighbourhoods mainly characterised by older building stock. Specifically, new operator models to activate ground-floor and plinth zones are developed. The success already achieved in new buildings through ground-floor management is thus to be translated to older urban quarters.

For more information, visit: https://wieneuplus-redaktion.wien.gv.at/stadtkern_plus

“Grätzlinitiative 20+2” is a co-operation between the Vienna Business Agency and WieNeu+ to boost local businesses. “Grätzlinitiative 20+2” aims to support small enterprises in the Grätzl 20+2 programme area, to strengthen the local economy, to activate vacancies and to stimulate life in the neighbourhood.

For more information, visit: https://wirtschaftsagentur.at/graetzelliebe/