Design Studio Green Porosity: Vienna vs. Athens

Two European capital cities with distinct histories and contrasting contemporary identities share one fundamental condition: both are already profoundly affected by climate change and are facing serious challenges as a result of global warming.

The studio Green Porosity: Vienna vs. Athens will investigate how alternative green infrastructures can gradually emerge by being superimposed onto existing urban grids. It will explore the types of public–private alliances required to realize, maintain, and sustain this renewed urban form. The research will be conducted in two contrasting urban contexts: the nineteenth-century bourgeois districts of Vienna and the (proto)typical modernist neighbourhoods of Athens developed during the second half of the twentieth century.

The studio is based on the hypothesis that even subtle, carefully calibrated adjustments to the relationship between built and unbuilt space within a typical urban block can significantly improve ground-level urban life, generate much-needed shared spaces, and enhance local microclimates. The resulting new “Nolli map” — composed of inner passages, transformed courtyards, and gardens carved out of the existing built fabric — will complement the established street network, contributing to more resilient and livable cities for the twenty-first century.

The studio is not conceived as a comparative study in itself, but rather as an opportunity to apply the same research-based design methodologies and analytical tools to two morphologically different urban conditions. Participants will contribute to the further development of both the theoretical framework and practical applications of Green Porosity, building upon the Green Porosity Athens studio conducted during the summer semester of 2026.