© Bernd Hausegger

In our project “Intensified Density”, which is part of the research programme “Stadt der Zukunft” (City of the Future), we would like to investigate whether a small scale densification strategy for the suburbs / intermediary cities, using modular construction, and existing infrastructure on empty plots of land, can offer a competing alternative to not only the sprawl of single family dwellings but also to large projects which apply technology to achieve sustainable architecture and urban planning. “Intensified Density” is a reaction to the growing urban sprawl, which The Austrian Conference on Spatial Planning has recognised since the 1990s as needing to be restrained. In order to counteract this expansion of residential developments, within the framework of “Intensified Density” new developments in the building industry will be used, and modular building techniques will be investigated for densification strategies which are able to demonstrate the necessary flexibility to respond to each respective context, and offer cost efficient alternatives. While prefabricated and standardized building techniques are usually planned independently from their future surroundings, “Intensified Density” intends to research how such structures can be connected to existing technical and social infrastructure, and activate and develop their potential. This comprehensive approach is to be understood as part of a process of rethinking, where the usual roles of architects and urban planners are extended and become part of a shift that allows society's current problems to be identified, researched and changed, sustainably. With “Intensified Density” we are creating added value in terms of urban planning, through which existing problems in the intermediary city can be highlighted, analysed and rendered able to be solved. 

Projectduration: 2017 - 2018

Projectmanagement:
Institute of Construction and Design Principles
Petra Petersson
Petra Kickenweitz
Gresa Kastrati
Bernadette Krejs
Christina Linortner
Luchnica Donika
Daniel Schürr

Institute of Structural Design
Stefan Peters
Andreas Trummer
Christian Pichlkastner
Christoph Holzinger
Bernd Hausegger

Financing: Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)

Projectpartnerships:
University of Applied Science Potsdam, Fachbereich 3 - Bauphysik und Bauklimatik
Lorenz Rüdiger

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