An Old Wayfinding System Takes a New Direction
The temporary use of the “AM KEMPELENPARK” neighborhood has come to an end—but the curtains, signs, wooden floorboards, and furniture are moving on.
The striking red wayfinding system on the Karo-Grund, for example, is being repurposed by Kollektiv Kaorle at the Otto Wagner Areal, as are lamps, wooden floorboards, curtains, and furniture. “As part of the temporary use initiative by Kollektiv Kaorle, we aim to establish a practice that minimizes resource consumption in interim uses. Our approach is to consistently reuse materials, recover components from project sites, and integrate them into new contexts. Through regular meet-ups, workshops, and hands-on deconstruction projects, we recover materials, share knowledge, and build a network that explores sustainable building practices and circular processes—while continuously developing new strategies. Step by step, this creates a material cycle between projects: what is installed in one place is meant to live on in another,” says Timo Bogataj, describing the work of the nonprofit, interdisciplinary cultural association.
At LaaerBergBauerInnen, the former larch planks from the footbridge surrounding the grounds are given a new lease on life as part of the pergola and as raised garden beds. The association has a special and long history with the site in the 10th district: “Strictly speaking, it’s the story of our founding,” says Irmgard Hubauer. “The LaaerBergBauerInnen emerged in 2016–17 from an early temporary-use initiative. That’s why, right from the start, there was a steady flow of materials between Kempelen Park and our plot in the Löwygrube: from garden fences, tools, and benches to birdhouses and rose bushes—many items, instead of ending up in the dumpster, were given a second life here—and sometimes, for example, as a trellis or a stepping board between the beds, even a third life. Using the larch planks from the former terrace in front of the neighborhood office, we’ve made our pergola safe to walk on again, and the wood from the park’s bleachers is now being used to build “field hamster-proof” raised beds, which are intended to make it easier for us to garden alongside these protected animals.”
For us, the sharing and reuse of resources is a central component of responsible project development. The circular economy means not only keeping existing items in use for as long as possible, but also integrating materials into new contexts. And sometimes, reuse brings people, institutions, and places together.
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