HCAD Professors and Students Work to Transform Public Space in Krems, Austria
Associate professors at the Hillier College of Architecture and Design, Gernot Riether and Andrzej Zarzycki, led a group of 16 NJIT students in a study abroad trip to Austria where they worked on the redesign of a public space that connects the art venues of the Kunstmeile, art mile, in Krems.
On a stretch of one mile, the Kunstmeile offers a rich variety of contemporary art and culture through museums and galleries in the historical setting of Krems, the cultural capital of Lower Austria and the gateway town to the Wachau region, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Tourism is high there, especially in the summer, but the city wants the 24,000 locals to enjoy the public space of the Kunstmeile year-round.
Prior to arriving in Krems, the group spent one week in Vienna. Students were able to experience Vienna’s architecture history and learn about contemporary urban developments. “Vienna is currently ranked as the most livable city in the world and beside a lot of historically important architecture that was experienced, students had the opportunity to experience great examples of public spaces that we could all learn from.” said Riether.
Tourism is high there, especially in the summer, but the city wants the 24,000 locals to enjoy the public space of the Kunstmeile year-round
Students did an extensive site analysis before setting foot in Krems. Riether’s personal understanding of this area in his home country Austria made it easy for him to connect to local institutions. Students learned about the art venues, such as the Landesgalerie and the Kunsthaus, but also about Austrian culture and lifestyles. Ideas of different strategies and projects emerged from the dialog between the residents, city officials, curators and directors of museums and galleries, with students working out of the local Artists in Residence program.
“The challenge here was to connect major art institutions that are all about contemporary art to the residents of Krems. We need to find out how the residents want to use the space all year round. So we can’t just design a space for tourists that only show up during summer,” Riether said. “We need to find ways to better connect the existing art venues to the public space and find out what the needs of the community are. You can only do that through a dialog with the community and all stakeholders. And sometimes it is more about connecting people and removing barriers to allow things to happen than it is to design new stuff.”
Students speculated with new technologies to design an urban space for a digital culture, a performative space that can be programmed in multiple ways, a gathering space and a public space that becomes a destination in itself. In order to do that the students had to rethink the current traffic and parking situation, entrances to art venues and strategies to unseal the mostly sealed ground conditions, provide shade and places for people to socialize and programs that invite people into the space.
“We also must make cities more sustainable,” says Riether. “In 2022, almost 30 acres of land were sealed per day in Austria through new buildings and streets. This trend must be stopped and be reversed wherever we can. So, we develop strategies to unseal surfaces in cities and replace the asphalt with nature. Why not have a forest in a city?”
Some suggestions, showcased to locals and politicians, were inspired in places such as New York City’s High Line
Fourth-year architecture student Layla Neira was surprised to see similarities between the U.S. and Austrian streets. “The street is so inaccessible to pedestrians, nobody's walking. So we proposed a complete redesign of that street to make it more appealing for pedestrians, so they could explore all the different museums and the public space in between them,” said Neira. “I come in from an American point of view, where a lot of our streets are inaccessible to pedestrians, and a lot prioritize cars.”
Some suggestions, showcased to locals and politicians, were inspired in places such as New York City’s High Line, as an example of how green spaces can be introduced into dense urban environments. “There are certain similarities, but of course we can't just put something that suits New York into Krems, as the culture there is completely different, but some things are similar, such as outdoor movie nights,” said Neira.
The final projects emerged from a transfer of knowledge between the residents of Krems, their art institutions and NJIT. The work produced triggered the discussion of changing the street into a pedestrian space that can connect the art institutions and the residents of Krems in new ways. The Kunstmeile and the city government highly valued NJIT’s students’ fresh perspectives and ideas and of unique opportunities to explore the potential of the Kunstmeile as a future public space.
“Of course, we still have to bring together so many stakeholders but there is a strong interest from the city to make this public space more livable and this makes me optimistic that this space will improve,” said Elisabeth Kreuzhuber, councilwoman of the city of Krems, who joined one of the students’ presentations in representation of the mayor’s office.
“Thank you also for the analysis of the Kunstmeile that shows how visible but also how invisible it is,” said Heidrun Schlögl, CEO of ORTE, the Architecture Center of Lower Austria, “I wish we can find a way to continue this relationship and project.”
“It’s an incredibly important experience for architecture students to be actively involved in international projects such as this one and be part of the discussion,” said Riether. “As they are making an impact in making cities more sustainable.” NJIT’s summer studio in Krems is the start for a partnership that continues this semester and will hopefully result in improving the quality of the space.