In the middle of the Peruvian jungle, an Italian architect is building…
Building Visions - Vienna Seestadt
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Vienna – does that make you immediately think of the magnificent buildings of the imperial era? But since 2011, people have been busy building here for the future. New living space is needed for one of the fastest growing metropolises in Europe! A city within the city is now being built on the site of the former Aspern airfield, built around an artificial lake. The sea town.
"Building Visions" portrays this major project and the Swedish architect Johannes Tovatt. He developed the master plan. A life's work. "Let spaces be ambiguous!" That is his motto, his plan remains changeable and adapts to the needs of the people moving in. Spaces deliberately left free inspire the residents to design and garden.
The numerous co-housing projects and assemblies in Seestadt are also about design: tenants get together and get actively involved in the planning of their houses. You want a vibrant neighborhood. Social housing was also taken into account in the project. After all, Vienna largely owes its high quality of life to the concept of municipal housing.
In the beginning there was a stop! Because people should come first, followed by vehicles. Seestadt is connected to the Vienna underground network, schools, leisure facilities and shops are easy to reach on foot or by bike. The traffic concept also follows a master plan and is intended to make Seestadt just as livable and lovable as “old Vienna”.
Filmed in Austria, India, Peru and the Netherlands, "Building Visions" presents architects who seek answers to the big questions facing our civilization today: climate change, rapidly growing cities, the involvement of local communities, education and migration. They are pioneers in decent housing and sustainable building, turning creativity and humanitarian ideas into plans and implementing them together with residents. We accompany architects who go where money is lacking, social grievances prevail and climate change threatens the environment.
Citation
Main credits
Lira, Diego Breit (film director)
Lira, Diego Breit (screenwriter)
Glaser, Markus (film producer)
Tovatt, Johannes (on-screen participant)
Glatzner, Veronika (narrator)
Other credits
Director of photography, Sebastian Arlamovsky; editors, Gernot Grassl; music, Manfred Plessl.
Distributor subjects
Architecture, Art and Architecture, Climate Change, Development, Environmental Design, Housing and Construction Sector, AustriaKeywords
WEBVTT
00:01:45.880 --> 00:01:50.280
Vienna brings to mind \"Gemütlichkeit\",
magnificent imperial buildings,
00:01:50.440 --> 00:01:52.880
not Europe\'s largest construction site.
00:01:54.520 --> 00:01:56.840
Digging started here in 2011
00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:01.560
to make space for housing
for the rapidly growing metropolis.
00:02:05.520 --> 00:02:08.120
A space like the unused airfield of Aspern,
00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:11.480
far away from St Stephen\'s Cathedral
and the Hofburg.
00:02:12.200 --> 00:02:16.720
Its transformation was decided by
an international architecture competition.
00:02:16.880 --> 00:02:19.920
In May 2007,
Vienna\'s municipal council
00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:23.480
declared the winner:
Swedish architect, Johannes Tovatt.
00:02:23.640 --> 00:02:26.880
His vision: A city within the city.
00:02:27.040 --> 00:02:30.280
A city around a lake: Seestadt
which translates as \"lake city\".
00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:37.520
Johannes Tovatt has been part
of many urban development projects,
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:41.800
so he knows that a city\'s evolution
cannot be based on a single person\'s ego.
00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:45.960
It involves a process with
a range of people sharing their visions.
00:04:34.520 --> 00:04:37.480
When it comes to transforming
and developing the city,
00:04:37.640 --> 00:04:39.960
Vienna has always been revolutionary.
00:04:40.120 --> 00:04:44.080
It\'s no surprise to find it among the cities
with the highest quality of life.
00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:48.040
The city administration
invests a lot in public space,
00:04:48.200 --> 00:04:50.600
and controls speculation on housing.
00:04:54.440 --> 00:04:57.720
Aspern used to be Austria\'s largest airfield.
00:04:57.880 --> 00:05:00.600
Later, car and motorcycle races
were held here.
00:05:00.760 --> 00:05:04.760
Building a new city on the old airfield
was a crazy idea.
00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:07.960
But crazy ideas
have a long tradition in Vienna.
00:05:10.320 --> 00:05:14.680
Creative ideas were also used
to attract people to the new grounds.
00:05:14.840 --> 00:05:18.800
For example, with a gigantic show
called \"Crane Lake\".
00:05:18.960 --> 00:05:22.480
Aspern. Farming field.
00:05:23.280 --> 00:05:25.200
Battlefield.
00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.400
Airfield.
Construction site.
00:05:30.080 --> 00:05:33.120
The plan is set.
00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:36.880
The mission is clear.
00:05:37.640 --> 00:05:40.760
A city will be built here.
00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:44.480
The vision has a name.
00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:50.200
These machines represent a new beginning.
00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:53.920
And they never stand still.
00:05:54.080 --> 00:05:58.680
The new city is emerging on an area
as big as the historical city centre.
00:05:58.840 --> 00:06:03.160
Public space, such as streets,
squares, parks and the lake,
00:06:03.320 --> 00:06:05.920
will take up more than half of the area.
00:06:06.080 --> 00:06:10.640
The rest will be housing, offices, shops,
services and research facilities.
00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:20.520
Seestadt is scheduled to be finished in 2028.
00:06:20.760 --> 00:06:26.080
Planners and architects continually monitor
the realisation of Tovatt\'s master plan.
00:06:26.400 --> 00:06:28.840
What works and what doesn\'t?
00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:35.080
When I first started here, I had no idea
about the scale of the project
00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:37.000
and how long it would last.
00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:40.960
Everything you see out there now
wasn\'t there yet.
00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:46.360
You could see all the way
from the north to the south,
00:06:46.520 --> 00:06:49.720
without any buildings to block your view.
00:06:49.880 --> 00:06:54.920
I\'d just like to add here: my canteen
was the highest building in Seestadt.
00:06:55.080 --> 00:06:57.520
It\'s about four metres high.
00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:00.600
Yes, that\'s what it looked like here
back then.
00:07:00.760 --> 00:07:06.360
But month by month,
the project progressed.
00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.840
And at some point, the canteen
was no longer the highest building.
00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:19.240
During the planning process, a lot of thought
went into how to build this city.
00:07:19.400 --> 00:07:23.520
There are other examples from antiquity,
built by the Romans or Greeks.
00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:27.640
Or more modern examples,
such as cities like Brasilia or Astana,
00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:31.360
famous capitals
that were designed from scratch,
00:07:31.520 --> 00:07:34.640
built and then populated.
00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:40.600
But a different strategy was chosen here.
00:07:40.840 --> 00:07:45.520
There\'s a master plan, of course,
to establish what it will look like.
00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:47.520
But the process itself...
00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:52.560
The strategy here is rather clever:
they decided to build quarter by quarter.
00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:57.280
That means, you start with
a small, closed quarter, and build it.
00:07:57.440 --> 00:08:01.120
And then you populate it.
And then you see if it works.
00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:03.760
And then you start with the next one.
00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:19.040
The rough estimate at some point was:
it\'ll take about 20 years.
00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:23.760
But whether it\'s 15 or 25 or even 30 years
isn\'t relevant at all.
00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.440
It doesn\'t matter because in this project
the journey is the reward.
00:08:56.640 --> 00:08:59.800
A walk through Seestadt is fascinating.
00:08:59.960 --> 00:09:01.840
But it also raises questions.
00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:04.280
The atmosphere is light and spacious.
00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:08.240
But so far, only one third of the city
has been built and populated.
00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:13.280
Sometimes, it feels like being
on a film set or in a video game.
00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:16.160
But Seestadt is continually transforming.
00:09:16.680 --> 00:09:20.760
And an important aspect of the master plan
is not to make plans.
00:10:27.560 --> 00:10:32.240
Basically, life in a city always goes
hand in hand with a big challenge,
00:10:32.400 --> 00:10:34.960
which is its social complexity.
00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:38.760
A large number of people live together
in a very limited space.
00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:42.880
And that\'s something our brains
weren\'t designed for:
00:10:43.040 --> 00:10:45.840
to cope with so many people.
00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:51.760
So it\'s very important that cities
provide the necessary structures
00:10:51.920 --> 00:10:57.640
to enable us
to break up this huge social complexity
00:10:57.800 --> 00:11:00.400
into smaller, manageable units.
00:11:00.560 --> 00:11:04.200
The constructed space
plays an essential role in this.
00:11:06.040 --> 00:11:09.360
Of course, opinions differ
on such a monumental project.
00:11:09.520 --> 00:11:12.320
Some Vienna residents
have reasonable objections.
00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:14.560
Others just repeat prejudices:
00:11:15.040 --> 00:11:17.640
Don\'t know it, don\'t care about it.
00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:23.040
I hear nothing positive about it.
It\'s a ghetto.
00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:24.920
Okay.
- That\'s how I see it.
00:11:25.160 --> 00:11:28.560
The houses are too close.
You can almost jump between balconies.
00:11:28.800 --> 00:11:33.440
And there are \"squares\" that are covered
with asphalt, like the one by the school.
00:11:33.680 --> 00:11:37.000
I think it looks sterile,
but I haven\'t been there in ages.
00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:41.960
People have been herded together there.
00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:46.560
Lacking in all culture, in my view.
00:11:48.680 --> 00:11:52.480
Is Seestadt really a cultureless,
concrete ghetto?
00:11:52.640 --> 00:11:56.200
We want to hear
what the people who live there have to say.
00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:02.200
It\'s nice to know that
you just have to leave the house
00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:05.480
and you have a garden with trees
on your doorstep.
00:12:05.640 --> 00:12:10.960
Or you just walk 20 metres
and you\'re in a park.
00:12:11.560 --> 00:12:14.840
So it\'s definitely much better than...
- In the city.
00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:16.640
Exactly.
00:12:16.880 --> 00:12:21.120
It\'s different to my previous apartment
in Vienna, which was also very nice,
00:12:21.280 --> 00:12:23.680
but the building wasn\'t that nice.
00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:30.200
There were loads of people you didn\'t know.
You just knew the names from the doorbells.
00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:36.320
You knew a few people personally,
but otherwise it was totally anonymous.
00:12:36.560 --> 00:12:40.680
At the beginning,
when someone got on the bus,
00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:44.800
you\'d ask, \"And which building
do you live in here in Seestadt?
00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:48.040
And how is it? Do you like the building?\"
00:12:48.280 --> 00:12:52.480
And some of that spirit from the early days
is still there.
00:12:52.640 --> 00:12:56.960
I still know the people I talked to
on the bus back then.
00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:00.560
We say hi and make small talk
every now and then.
00:13:00.800 --> 00:13:02.800
For me, being here feels like
00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:06.920
being in an Italian
holiday apartment complex,
00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:09.520
because everything is so colourful.
00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:14.360
For me,
it was never something negative,
00:13:14.520 --> 00:13:16.880
being so far from the city centre.
00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:21.200
People say, \"It\'s so far away,
it\'s not even part of Vienna.\"
00:13:21.800 --> 00:13:26.520
Or that there\'s not much round here,
but it\'s developing all the time.
00:13:26.680 --> 00:13:29.880
The past two years
have seen loads of new things.
00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.680
Can I say something else?
- Sure.
00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:36.840
There are way fewer cars
here in Seestadt than in Serbia.
00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.200
In Serbia?
- Yes.
00:13:41.040 --> 00:13:44.360
And this is
one of the core ideas behind Seestadt.
00:13:44.520 --> 00:13:48.560
It\'s a totally new perspective
on how we move about a city.
00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:50.840
For instance, there are already plans
00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:55.720
to repurpose the car parks
in the car-free future.
00:14:04.040 --> 00:14:07.560
Seestadt wants to be a city
designed for its citizens.
00:14:07.800 --> 00:14:12.640
All citizens can go about
their daily tasks on foot or by bicycle.
00:14:14.680 --> 00:14:19.960
The \"Aspern mobile lab\" conducts experiments
to analyse traffic behaviour here.
00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:22.040
It develops new technologies
00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:25.360
for a smart and sustainable city.
00:14:28.520 --> 00:14:31.640
Once cars are no longer
the focal point of our lives,
00:14:31.880 --> 00:14:34.280
cities won\'t be designed for cars anymore.
00:14:37.280 --> 00:14:42.680
Seestadt\'s mobility concept is firstly about
being well-connected to public transport.
00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:46.880
And secondly, it\'s about
slowing down traffic within the city.
00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:50.760
It\'s about providing
shopping facilities right where people live,
00:14:50.920 --> 00:14:54.640
as well as educational services
and recreational activities.
00:14:54.800 --> 00:14:57.240
And the routes to these amenities
00:14:57.400 --> 00:15:01.600
should be particularly attractive
for pedestrians and cyclists.
00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:04.240
They are prioritised,
00:15:04.400 --> 00:15:10.160
whereas cars have been designated
less space on the roads.
00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:14.880
So this is an example of how
the mobility pyramid has changed in general
00:15:15.040 --> 00:15:17.000
over the past few years.
00:15:17.160 --> 00:15:22.400
Now people are on the top,
and motor vehicles at the bottom.
00:15:22.560 --> 00:15:24.680
It used to be the other way round.
00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:34.600
In Seestadt,
a lot of people ride bicycles.
00:15:37.920 --> 00:15:42.440
So we have a lot of new customers.
00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.080
There are more and more people living here,
00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:49.840
so there\'s more and more work for us.
00:15:54.040 --> 00:15:56.880
I\'m doing basic maintenance on this bike.
00:15:57.400 --> 00:16:00.800
Adjusting the gears
and readjusting the brakes,
00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:03.680
and checking all the screws.
00:16:10.560 --> 00:16:13.360
I came to Austria...
00:16:14.040 --> 00:16:17.400
I fled from Afghanistan.
00:16:17.560 --> 00:16:20.640
And I ended up here.
00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:25.160
And what makes Seestadt so special
00:16:25.400 --> 00:16:28.120
is that it\'s like a small village.
00:16:28.280 --> 00:16:32.000
I have lots of friends here.
00:16:32.160 --> 00:16:34.360
It\'s almost like family.
00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:39.640
And so it\'s the right town or village for me.
00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:40.800
And so everything started with the lake.
00:18:26.600 --> 00:18:30.800
Vienna\'s social architecture
has always been trail-blazing.
00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:34.480
After World War I
the municipal housing complexes were built,
00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:37.280
revolutionising subsidised housing.
00:18:37.800 --> 00:18:40.240
These houses,
not the palaces and theatres,
00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:44.000
made Vienna\'s quality of life
among the best in the world.
00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:50.000
The question of who builds
and what is built in Seestadt
00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:53.360
is regulated by
Vienna\'s expert advisory council.
00:18:53.520 --> 00:18:56.520
It ensures diversity and the right balance
00:18:56.680 --> 00:19:02.120
between services, shared spaces
and private and subsidised housing.
00:19:03.600 --> 00:19:07.360
This includes co-housing projects
like \"Baugruppen\",
00:19:07.520 --> 00:19:11.560
innovating concepts of communal living
that go back many years.
00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:14.320
These people want to live differently.
00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:17.600
Living together is the goal again.
00:19:18.320 --> 00:19:21.680
On the one hand,
we are part of a cooperative,
00:19:21.840 --> 00:19:23.760
or an association,
00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:26.920
which plans and develops these houses.
00:19:28.360 --> 00:19:31.720
But on the other hand, we are occupiers
00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:36.040
who rent an apartment
from this cooperative or association.
00:19:37.560 --> 00:19:42.640
When it comes to social innovation,
architecture plays an important role.
00:19:42.800 --> 00:19:47.920
Because, in a way, it provides the space
for social interaction to happen.
00:19:48.080 --> 00:19:52.200
For example, by planning communal rooms,
00:19:52.360 --> 00:19:55.440
the individual apartments can be smaller.
00:19:57.160 --> 00:19:59.200
Passing through here,
00:19:59.360 --> 00:20:03.960
we enter this space
which can be accessed from both buildings.
00:20:04.120 --> 00:20:07.440
It\'s the central meeting place.
00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:10.800
We call it
the \"atrium of the neighbourhoods\".
00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:14.520
Here, we residents want to meet one another.
00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:19.520
There will be a \"laundry bar\"
or a laundry room,
00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:24.120
where we do our laundry, meet others,
while the children play outside.
00:20:24.280 --> 00:20:29.920
Where we can read a book and have a coffee,
while we\'re waiting for the laundry.
00:20:30.080 --> 00:20:33.560
Or where we just bump into a neighbour
when we get home.
00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:37.680
One more flight of stairs to go.
00:20:37.840 --> 00:20:40.320
You can already see the apartments.
00:20:41.560 --> 00:20:43.800
We\'re climbing to the fifth floor.
00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:49.200
This is going to be our main meeting space.
00:20:49.360 --> 00:20:51.720
Our shared kitchen.
00:20:52.280 --> 00:20:56.760
We will cook here and meet one another.
00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:58.880
I can\'t describe the feeling.
00:20:59.040 --> 00:21:01.000
It\'s a tingling sensation.
00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:03.800
It\'s like: Yes, it all was worth it.
00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:07.080
All the effort
and all the time we put into this.
00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:10.640
The endless community meetings,
the voting...
00:21:10.800 --> 00:21:13.440
It was all online,
which was pretty tedious.
00:21:13.600 --> 00:21:17.480
Covid meant everything was online.
We\'ve never met in person.
00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:21.080
This is actually the first time
we\'re meeting in person.
00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:24.520
And now, it\'s such a great feeling.
00:21:24.680 --> 00:21:28.760
It\'s not just moving into a new apartment,
it\'s like coming home.
00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:31.040
Like you found your home.
00:21:36.360 --> 00:21:40.480
I hear nothing.
Well, at the moment some construction noise,
00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:42.720
but no noise from traffic.
00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.240
And no noise from the metro.
Fantastic.
00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:07.600
I believe that a lot of people
00:22:07.840 --> 00:22:12.280
no longer want to be trapped
in their roles as consumers.
00:22:13.080 --> 00:22:16.520
They want to break free of this role,
00:22:16.680 --> 00:22:19.280
and play a productive part in society.
00:22:19.520 --> 00:22:26.560
Housing is one of the core spheres of life
and many people want to shape it themselves.
00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:30.560
And the concept of \"Baugruppen\"
enables them to take charge.
00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:35.120
And to plan housing as a community.
00:22:36.280 --> 00:22:40.480
We\'re not isolated anymore,
living next door to each other,
00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:43.880
we shape our living space together,
00:22:44.040 --> 00:22:47.600
support one another
and inspire one another.
00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:50.280
That makes it so appealing.
00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:03.440
In Seestadt, even the simplest transactions
can turn into a social event.
00:23:03.600 --> 00:23:07.040
The community is palpably growing
with each new resident,
00:23:07.280 --> 00:23:09.720
so even handing over a key is a festive act.
00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:12.440
Good luck in your new apartment.
Thank you.
00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:19.240
We hope you enjoy living here.
All the best.
00:23:43.520 --> 00:23:48.760
Maybe Seestadt offers not only
affordable housing and quality of life,
00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:52.560
but also greater stability
for crises in the future.
00:25:16.840 --> 00:25:22.200
Events like the silent disco are also drawing
Vienna\'s long-time residents to Seestadt.
00:25:22.360 --> 00:25:24.400
It is a vibrant, dynamic place.
Distributor: Autlook
Length: 26 minutes
Date: 2022
Genre: Expository
Language: English; German / English subtitles
Grade: 10-12, College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
Existing customers, please log in to view this film.
New to Docuseek? Register to request a quote.
Related Films

The Netherlands is always up to its neck in water. In Rotterdam, urban…