Sab Haas

The Social Design Studio at the University of Applied Arts Vienna invited us to contribute to “Breitenlee Raw”, a workshop on the social and material future of Breitenlee, a sub-urban area of Vienna. 

Together with Michalina Zadykowicz we organised a tour around Deponie Langes Feld, a waste disposal site storing and recycling material from Vienna’s construction sites, even remains from wartime. One half of the site is still receiving new material, with 400 trucks driving in and out daily. The other site has been revitalised, meaning waste materials were layered with soil, followed by the planting of a forrest. Deers, rabbits, pheasants and bees have come to inhabit it. 

The tour and conversations with workers opened questions and thoughts around the unsustainability of current construction materials, the hidden workings of the city and outlooks for the future in regard to waste. All of which was was discussed in a reflection round following the tour. Students were also asked to incorporate the site on their maps which they were producing throughout the “Breitenlee Raw” workshop. These maps were presented to urban planners currently working on a future concept for developing the area of Breitenlee.