→Naschmarkt
From a parking lot to a park with lots of space
The Naschmarkt in the 6th district of Vienna, with its two hectares, is one of the biggest inner-city markets of Vienna. Directly attached you can find the Naschmarkt parking lot. The market, as well as the parking lot, are situated between the so-called Linke & Rechte Wienzeile – above the overbuilt Vienna River (“Wienfluss”). Both are accessible via the underground stations “Kettenbrückengasse” and well connected through the Vienna Valley Bike Lane (“Wientalradweg”).
The Naschmarkt is a sight in itself and because of the many gastronomical businesses and the cultural scene, a beloved meeting point for resident, visitors and tourists. However, the parking lot is a one-hectare big asphalted area which is only barely being used. Every Saturday, there is a flea market, but the rest of the week it is simply a big parking space, of which only 50% are being used. Due to the asphalt pavement, the air is being heated up strongly and functions as a baking oven, so to say, for the parking lot and adjacent neighborhoods.
There are several reasons, why the relatively big space is only used as a parking lot and as a flea market on Saturdays and does not further explore its potential. There are only few facilities which could produce a quality of stay for visitors – there is no outdoor furniture, nothing to provide shadow, no provided infrastructure (like energy or water) and only one toilet.
Especially restrictive is the climatic function as a heat island and the strong winds, which especially in summer render a stay unattractive. However, well visited events like the “Cinema at Naschmarkt” and “Pink Christmas” demonstrate the need for a broader use of this big open inner-city space.
The challenges connected to development solutions for a higher quality of stay and multi-uses are clear. The usage of the space for the weekly flea market cannot be restricted, while services and infrastructure offers must increase, without creating a buying compulsion for anybody. A particular challenge occurs due to structural conditions. Since the area is a superstructure for the Vienna River, the floor is very thin, which only allows for floor-bound greening at the sides of the area and little superimposed loads.
The local administration of the 6th district therefore allocates the project “Cool Naschmarkt Parking lot – Quality of stay for Everybody” to the UNIC Conference. The goal is to develop creative and technical solutions as well as cooling the area down, so as to create a higher quality of stay for the biggest unused open inner-city space of Vienna. The potential of this area is enormous, it can evolve into a prestigious open space, functioning as a role-model for other cities.
Dates
- Registration: from August 05th
- Congress: 24.- 25.09.2020
The questions:
- How can a highly frequented open space with a high quality of stay develop out of the one-hectare big Naschmarkt with asphalt pavement? A space, which allows for diverse uses? What potential uses are sensible?
- How can this heat island be remarkably reduced (down to 15° Celsius felt temperature) using greening, shadowing and nebulization techniques?
- Which technical solutions are needed to sustainably fulfill the needs of the structural conditions?
- Which (possibly alternative) financing options are possible in a successive expansion plan?
We are looking for:
For the project “Naschmarkt” we are searching for a maximum of 25 participants with a background in the following areas:
- Architecture
- Creative artists
- Landscape architecture
- Civil engineers
- Spatial Planning
- Municipalities
- Experts for financing options
- Civilian population
