#24 Open space design with and within existing buildings

How can open spaces be designed to be ecologically, socially, and climatically sustainable – and what does this mean for design and planning in the existing built environment? In this episode, Lisa-Marie Kramer and Madlyn Miessgang speak with Susann Ahn and Katrin Hagen from the Research Area for Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning at TU Wien about new perspectives on open space as a living, collaboratively shaped part of our environment. With an expanded understanding of the existing context, they discuss how planning can be understood as a process that “reads” the depth of a place and develops what already exists. Whether through temporary interventions or 1:1 projects, the focus is always on designing together with people on site – experimentally, interdisciplinarily, and realistically. They explore why public space must constantly be renegotiated, why students should learn in real-world processes, and why courage is needed to develop new visions.

Susann Ahn is a professor of Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning at TU Wien. Previously, she worked in research and teaching at TU Munich and ETH Zurich, where she also completed her PhD. As a landscape architect, mediator, and urban planner, she leads the firm Ahn Landscape Mediation and is a partner in the firm adribo GbR – Modern Conflict Management. Her focus in research, practice, and teaching lies at the intersection of landscape architecture and communication – particularly on co-creative and conflict-resolving methods in planning and design. In 2021, she was appointed to TU Wien together with Prof. Thomas E. Hauck.

Katrin Hagen is a Senior Scientist at the Research Area for Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning at TU Wien. After completing her diploma at TU Hannover, she worked as a planner in Vienna and Andalusia. Since 2006 she has been at TU Wien, where she earned her PhD in 2011 on climate change adaptation and open space quality. Additional focuses in teaching and research include innovative and co-creative implementation processes, such as within the research project LiLa4Green (Smart Cities Demo) and various 1:1 design projects with students of architecture and spatial planning. She currently leads the research project CoCoNet – Co-creative Cohabitation Network (DUT).

This episode connects to Episode #18 “Transformation of Design Teaching” and is part of the mini-series on “Transformation in Teaching,” curated by Lisa-Marie Kramer and Madlyn Miessgang.

Credits

Episode #24
Concept and Moderation: Lisa-Marie Kramer and Madlyn Miessgang
Recording, Audio, and Editing: Lisa-Marie Kramer and Madlyn Miessgang
Photo credits: Susann Ahn and Katrin Hagen

ZUKUNFT STADT Podcast
Production: Lukas Bast, Larissa Benk, Lisa-Marie Kramer, Lena Hohenkamp, and Madlyn Miessgang
Intro Music: Jakob Kotal

The ZUKUNFT STADT Podcast is a project of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning at TU Wien. It is produced in cooperation between the future.lab and the Research Area for Local Spatial Planning at TU Wien.