An "Anger" (German for "village green" is a usually grass-covered, collectively used piece of land or a village square that used to be at the disposal of all inhabitants of a municipality as common property (Allmende). "Angerdörfer" are among the most common types of settlements in lowlands and hilly areas. The central village green come in different forms and shapes depending on the specific situation (e.g. triangular green, lenticular green, broad green and longitudinal green). A village green is usually enclosed by bordering roads ("Angerrandstraßen"). In many villages, a village creek runs through the middle of the green, so the green was hardly suitable for buildings or agriculture due to the risk of flooding. In pre-industrial agriculture, the "Anger" served as a commonly used grazing area. Since the areas were and are owned by the municipality, they were later used as public parks or for the construction of public facilities (milk house, fire station, refrigeration house, fire pond, playground, etc.). However, there are also villages in which the "Anger" green was parceled out early. The resulting lots were assigned to the houses opposite and subsequently used as kitchen gardens (or later as ornamental gardens). In numerous places, the "Anger" was converted into building or agricultural land and developed, leaving little or nothing of the former green space. The courtyard structures around the village greens in Weinviertel and in the neighbouring southern Moravia often consist of hooked yards. These have very narrow inner yards as open spaces directly associated with the house. Associating houses with gardens on "Angers" or using the greens as a public open spaces can compensate for the narrowness of the inner courtyards in villages where the "Anger" has remained as a green space.
The settlement forms of "Angerdörfer" in the Lower Austrian-Czech border region, their long tradition and diverse development, are part of the cultural heritage of the region. The aim of the course is to record the "Angerdörfer" of the region, to examine the subtle differences between the villages and to present their significance in the past, present and future. Among other activities, it is planned to explore their role as public and private open spaces (also as a contribution to ecological self-sufficiency), as a cultural heritage and as intergenerational meeting spaces.
The exercise starts with a transdisciplinary survey of architecture, spatial planning and landscape planning of the Anger villages in the region. As a starting point, we will use the settlement form map by Adalbert Klaar, the franciscan cadastre as well as other historical maps and village plans, current and historic aerial images, photos, planning concepts etc.
The aim is to compile a catalogue and draft a typology for the existing "Angerdörfer". The typology for a regional map will be developed together (e.g. by to village green forms, the degree of development, parcelling, land use, current usage, etc.).
The project is accompanied by professional inputs from the supervisors: Karin Standler (open space analysis, vegetation, usage, open space elements), Judith Leitner (structures: corridor, place, house. Introduction to settlement morphology, significance of the "Angers"), possibly lectures and inputs from other experts.
Research and teaching on and in the rural space - getting to know the border region and participating in the landuni.
The project involves cross-border excursions. Knowledge of the Czech language is an advantage ;)
The participation of architecture students or the co-enrolment of BOKU students (landscape planning and landscape architecture) is particularly welcome.
The course addresses the faculty's semester topic "existing city" and is expanded in this context to include rural areas. We work on "village renewal" with examples of "Angerdörfer" and are interested in open space and development structures, redensification and vacancy, community areas and forms of housing, etc.
The course is held in cooperation with the landuni Drosendorf.
The students will develop a well-founded thematic and spatial analysis of individual "Angerdörfer". As a collaborative project, a map of the region is created in which all villages (differentiated according to their typology) are marked. The typology is developed jointly (e.g. according to village forms, degree of development, current use, etc.).
Participation in the future dialogue.
