Vienna's New District Makes Room for Female Architects
A visionary project in Vienna aims to turn that notion on its head, with a suburb in the Austrian capital designed by and for women. It exemplifies how the city is trying to make urban space more inclusive, from brighter lights to broader pavements that make room for pushchairs, and how female architects and designers are driving the change. The new Seestadt district has been in the throes of development since 2012, a sprawling building site on the city's eastern edge that is projected to expand from its 8,300 population now to 20,000 by 2030. Giant letters on hoardings around some of the construction sites proclaim "Women build the city". By turning the focus on the role of women in urban design, Vienna is helping to highlight the still dominant role men play in shaping the built environment. The developers and bankers who often make the crucial decisions when it comes to urban development are still overwhelmingly male, says Sabina Riss, an architect and university researcher who studies the relationship between gender and urban planning. As well as being heavily involved in the design of the new buildings in Seestadt, women also take centre stage when it comes to naming the new streets. The philosopher Hannah Arendt, singer Janis Joplin and children's book heroine Pippi Longstocking are just a few of the names to grace the new addresses. The district is also hosting a new exhibition showcasing female architects that runs until 15 October. According to architect Carla Lo — who herself has contributed designs for one of Seestadt's interior courtyards — Vienna's planning policies have been refreshed since Kathrin Gaal in 2018 became the first woman to head the city's powerful housing department, overseeing an annual budget of more than a billion euros. "Since she has been there, suddenly the particular needs of single mothers are considered when tenders go out for projects," Lo says. Having given her input to the development of Seestadt, Gaal says she wants the exhibition there to encourage other women "to make their visions reality". The desire to cater to women's needs can be seen in many facets of Vienna's modern city planning, from the brighter street lights and more exits at sports venues to help women feel safer, to provision of better toilet facilities. In residential design too there are such innovations as common rooms shared between several flats to keep prices low and encourage families to collaborate for childcare.
Tags : design INTERNATIONAL Built Environment Vienna Female Architects Seestadt District Women Build the City Gender