Biotope City
client: Austria Research Promotion Agency (FFG)
task: circular construction planning guidance
processing period: 2017 - 2019
Following the recycling oriented demolition of the former Coca-Cola facility, Biotope CIty, the ecological flagship of Vienna's urban development, is being built on the site. A total of 600 apartments with intensive facade and roof greening will be built on the 5 hectare, formerly completely sealed factory site. Office space, a school and a kindergarten, shops and community areas are planned in the mixed settlement.
With the research project "Biotope City - Building instruction for the green city of the future" there is the unique opportunity to scientific monitoring of the development of a green district from the first idea to completion and to make the experiences transferable for other urban development projects.
Our contribution in the research project is the elaboration of a performance profile for implementing circular economy from master planning to construction supervision. Mass balances could play a central role even in zoning planning and urban development. Sustainable mass flows are to be conceived and implemented through the service profile. Planning processes and the handling of regulations such as waste legislation and geotechnical usability are to be standardised. Contractual bases for a service profile for recycling management should make the tender offer transparent and easier to compare for the project applicant.
Circular Soil
As part of the research project, the „Circular Soil“ concept was developed with the aim of no longer transporting excavated material from the construction site and dumping it, but instead promoting cost-effective recycling methods on-site or in the city center that correspond to the high quality of the soil. Humic topsoil can be used to create open spaces and gardens, to improve eroded sites or agricultural land close to town. This may require the improvement and optimization of the excavation, for which a methodical approach was developed as part of the research work. The effectiveness of the plant substrates produced with excavated material was tested under test conditions. In terms of plant growth, the mock-ups that were developed showed no difference to industrially produced substrates (Minixhofer et al. 2022).
In addition to the Biotope City, the "Circular Soil" concept developed by forschen planen bauen ZT together with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna - Institute of Soil Bioengineering and Landscape Construction has already been used in individual construction projects in Vienna, such as the Wildgarten or Village im Dritten, with a positive cost balance . Each of these project areas has an area of more than 10 ha