Der Januskopf: a two-faced strategy for Rennweg

EUROPAN 15, Architecture Competition, 2nd Prize, Wien

with Of Possible Scenarios

Is it possible to organize a neighborhood in which living and working are interwoven in a natural way? In which there is room for the creation of a living community that is able to move and make?

Januskopf is a design proposal for a system that integrates housing, productive spaces and public areas with an ambition to resolve the missing puzzle piece of Neu Marx Neighborhood, linking and framing different scales from urban to interior.

Like the two-faced Roman god, Januskopf expresses itself through 2 opposite facades, responding to the site idiosyncrasies: a translucent and semi-open winter garden stands out against the busy and polluted Rennweg, while a system of wide and gently-sloped terraces stretches out to Wildganshof and the adjacent residential tissue.

A hub for Makers
To make is to form something by putting parts together or combining substances. In order to do so, makers need to be aware of the ‘things’ that constitute what they intend to make. While e-commerce and efficient logistical distribution gives access to greater range of possibilities, it is harder and harder to physically examine range of materials in a single space. While spaces of making are becoming more specialized with new machines and software, materials are being shipped from farther away than ever. In creating a new community for makers in Rennweg, Januskopf is predicated upon creating a material hub for the users to not only streamline the logistics of materials but also to allow a physical engagement with the catalogue of material components that flows through in and out of the site.

Rennweg is optimally located to be an intermediary logistical center between the intercity and the suburban warehouse and wholesale facilities around Vienna. Traditional market halls which functioned as logistical nodes for cities have moved out due to densification and expansion of flow of goods. Now, most of our logistical nodes are located out in the suburbs. These large shipments from the warehouses use larger vehicles to ship materials in bulk which often causes congestion and inefficiencies in delivering materials into the city center. In order to address the last mile issue, the material hub redistributes larger chunks into smaller shipments using delivery vehicles as, bikes, scooters, and drones.

Incorporating movement of materials as a key component of the proposal, the project expands the scope of the work and live typology. Movement of materials and people in a complex for makers to live and work in, encourage collaborative and creative engagement amongst members of the new community. No longer is makerspace purely a space to use equipment but a space where people, materials, and ideas congregate to make new things.