Vienna – city of culture, emperors and ballrooms – is the location of the third Schindler Award for Architecture 2007 / 2008 «Access for All». With the motto «To Reclaim the Public Ground», the competition is now open and you can register online to participate.
Online Application

To Reclaim the Public Ground
Amid its impressive city planning, Vienna has its share of derelict areas. At the intersection of the western belt (Westgürtel) and the Vienna River Valley (Wiental), two major city thoroughfares, two metro lines and the channeled Vienna River enclose a large, neglected area, divorced from the hustle and bustle of city life. An impressive steel-trussed metro bridge by Otto Wagner towers above this waste land and mesh of urban infrastructure. With imaginative repositioning and some adjustments to the traffic infrastructure participants should be able to bring the existing potential of the site to life. The competition aims at improvements that will transform this neglected site into an attractive place of public activity and give a positive impulse to the revival of the adjoining residential and business areas.

Participants are required to incorporate four elements into their projects: a public common, residential buildings, a community center and a riverside park with outdoor sport facilities. The aim is to create space that meets three criteria: Quality of life, Sustainability, and Economic viability / Environmental Economics.