Frequently, the surroundings of big cities and their places are not noticed. While large cities such as Vienna are growing and urban development is receiving much attention in general, many more remote rural areas are struggling with structural problems. The inhabitants of Kirchberg have recognized this and decided to invite students to come up with proposals for the structural and creative renewal of the center.
The goal is the development of strategies for the revitalization of the place, the ensemble, although protected, but the center is also condensed and functionally reorganized. Currently unused buildings should be given new functions, local amenities and health facilities should become more attractive, meeting places and community facilities should be made available.
All structural and off-site measures should meet the requirements of sustainable and resilient construction, be affordable, and be tailored to the site and its local characteristics. The aim is to show ways in which architectural solutions can be developed that are understandable, adaptable, accessible and easy to maintain. All aspects should be combined with aesthetic and ecological requirements, as well as cost-efficient to a smart and convincing overall concept (integral design approach).
Citizens and mayors agree on the objectives: It is about the future of the place and its quality of life!
With the help of the climate: active criteria catalog, each project is (self) evaluated and (building) profiles are created that describe the achieved quality of life. The three best projects are awarded by the community.

For the society, its representatives, for planners and architects new tasks are emerging: The revival of places and in particular their centers by common rooms, the search for local values with the goal of establishing identity-building interventions, as well as the utilization of the available free space set a careful analysis of the place as a habitat and a careful planning ahead. The scope for action of future generations should not be limited.

We understand settlement space as a lively natural space, which should enjoy the ecosphere of the greatest plurality. Interactions between humans and nature are potential for further development of built space. Co-design can take place within the framework of group processes, as well as in the realization and maintenance of the built. Technology and architecture are thus visible, understandable and can always be tailored to emerging needs.

Using the example of this real, practice-oriented project in the parish of Kirchberg am Wechsel in Lower Austria, a completely sustainable and integral design for the town center and its parts is to be developed based on the four pillars of sustainability. The documents required for this are taught in the course of the design. As a checklist for the quality of the buildings, the criteria of Klima: aktiv are used and applied.

The development of the design projects takes place in cooperation with the parish of Kirchberg. In order to get to know the situation on site, the municipality invites you to visit the site. It offers the opportunity for discussions with the local population and the administration, so that all participants can get a good idea and develop objectives and strategies.

Concrete topics of designing are:

Urban planning analysis, functional reorganization, development of the town center, design of open space

The processing of the individual uses is carried out in groups: food and medical care facilities, tourist (hotels, guesthouses) and community facilities (cafe, event hall) and is finally brought together to form an overall concept.

Ecology and economy:

v Permakulturelle approaches, integrated renewable energy concepts, food production methods (Bauerngartl, Urban Gardening), as well as energy-efficient building envelopes are explicitly encouraged

- Thermal Simulation and Assessment (ÖGNB) are shown and applied

- Life cycle analysis LCA is optional

The designs will be presented at an event at the end of June in Kirchberg on posters and as a ppt presentation. For model and poster expenses, there is a grant from the community.