Leopoldau Gasworks Site

Impressions from Vienna's periphery. Gasworks Leopoldau and their use as stage within the 'Wiener Festwochen' 2010.

 

 

As a temporary use, cultural happenings bring the place to life. An interimistic strategy for urbanism which should avoid to become mere gentrification but to create sustaining opporuntities for cultural life in a future urban development.

Artwork on the ground for the open-space play 'Hass' within the 'Wiener Festwochen' 2010. The play was an adaptation of the french film 'La Haine', elaborating on precarious living conditions and perspectivelessness of young people with migrant backgrounds. 
The play's content appears now more important than ever before. Especially for Austria the question is: Why do people not appreciate cultural diversity and see people coming as migrants with a welcoming eye? New friends, neighbours and citizens as a chance to connect to places, cultures and opportunities outside Austria's small box. CELEBRATE DIVERSITY!

Returning to the play 'Hass'. I very much enjoyed the performance. Thanks to the new space company! Find below some impressions about how the new space company transformed the ambience of the gasworks into a more banlieue-like (?!) environment as a backdrop for the play. 

 

 

the event

'McCollum conducted his fulgurite experiments in cooperation with the University of Florida’s International Center for Lightning Research and Testing and their base of operations was at the Camp Blanding national guard base near Starke, Florida. During what was referred to as The Event, lightning was attracted by way of small rockets launched two to three thousand feet into overhead storm clouds – with each rocket spooling out an ultra-thin copper wire that kept it grounded and directed any provoked lightning. Ben Franklin would be proud!'

sidewalk fulgurite

when a powerline hits prefab concrete on the ground, the material can melt and form some kind of fulgurite, or lechatelierite.

from: http://www.celestialmonochord.org/2006/05/sidewalk_fulgar.html

and see the exact site on google maps, even to identify on streetview.