Design 4 - Dryport: A port without a city?

Aglaée DegrosBarbara Russo
Hans Hortig
Wolfgang Timmer
Julia Fröhlich

In Werndorf, south of Graz, a large-scale, sustainable logistics center with rail connections has been built in recent years. Large quantities of goods—mainly food—are transshipped via the Adriatic Sea (Rijeka) for onward transport to Germany. This massive infrastructure lies between private and public interests: on the one hand, there is a public concern to organize logistics in a sustainable and efficient manner; on the other hand, the question arises as to who benefits from these expansive structures and how they shape regional development. In comparison, the port city of Rijeka, where similar logistics structures are directly connected to the city, is visited and analyzed.

In Design 4, we want to examine the interfaces between logistics, landscape, and city in order to work out how dry port structures can be linked to their surroundings. What spatial, social, and ecological qualities can emerge, and how can a possible expansion be integrated into existing settlement and open space structures without jeopardizing their resilience or, better yet, strengthening it?

Cooperation with: Institute of Railway Engineering and Transport Economics

Visit to Rijeka and Werndorf: March 11-12, 2026

Cost: approx. €160

Presentation: February 26, 2026, 10:30 a.m., HS G, Kopernikusgasse 24/3rd floor