Fraktales Wien

The Handbook of the Fractal Water City Vienna initially provides a historical overview of the long-forgotten water veins and their significance for urban development. The concept of the fractal, with its iterations and scales, serves as an analytical methodology. Water is a precious resource that is not only systemically important for the city‘s supply but also crucial for all flora and fauna, as well as the (survival) of humanity. The question arises of how we can responsibly manage our water: Where does it come from, where does it flow to, and what are the impacts of our handling of it?

After various analytical mappings concerning climate change, water, and the city, as well as their mutual developments and influences on each other, the focus is placed on existing streams in Vienna and their characteristics. The Vienna Woods streams are contextualized within future urban development, the impact of climate change, and its consequences. The result is process spaces with diverse properties.

Accompanying this, the socalled lifelines of the city are analyzed, compared, and placed in the context of water. The city is divided into focal areas. Special attention is given to the northwest between the Wien River, canal, and Danube. By defining different stream typologies based on specific criteria and linking them with street crosssections, various design strategies are developed depending on the city zone and stream sequence. Using the „Als“ stream as an example, a detailed area is addressed in the form of a planning design. Each requirement follows a condition, leading criteria to measures.

To create a humanitarian approach and establish a common identity, participatory processes are considered to maintain the human scale.