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Another trip of the Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation as part of the mobility project took place in Vienna, where the organisation was warmly hosted by women who are involved in the field of feminist city planning and co-create the SOAKED association, responsible for amazing initiatives in this area, including – Elke Krasny, who is passionate not only about architecture and urban planning but is also a curator, author, and researcher of cultural and urban theories, accompanied them and Claudia Lomoschitz, a visual artist and performer who explores the impact of architecture on women's reproductive practices in her work, also joined the group. 

photo: author's archive

photo: author's archive

The visit to Vienna was full of new discoveries, workshops, and nighttime walks through the city streets to observe architectural "blind spots" that evoke a sense of danger. Additionally, this time was spent studying the urban design of two neighbourhoods - Sonnwendviertel and Seestadt Aspern, both examples of the repurposing of architecture and design in a contemporary, interesting, and socially thoughtful way.

 From communal spaces such as rooftop libraries, open kitchens, saunas, or relaxation rooms to the implementation of a gender perspective in architecture. Analysing these neighbourhoods was a highlight of the trip, from which the organisation proceeded towards art - one of these elements being Claudia's fantastic work shown at Kunsthalle Wien. 

The foundation also visited the Az W Architekturzentrum Wien and MAK - Museum of Applied Arts, where architectural inspirations could be further explored. Finally, the foundation also explored the Verbund AG art collections at the Albertina Museum of Contemporary Art, full of works by women and queer artists.

photo: author's archive

During their stay, the participants had the chance to listen to lectures regarding inclusive urbanism in Poland, Austria, Sweden and the Dominican Republic. They learnt about the research methodologies of other urbanists, but also of academics and researchers who combine urbanism with critical feminist literature in order to extend knowledge and gender discourse to the analysis of architecture. Instead, the case studies provided an opportunity to explore exploratory ways of analysing space in order to expand knowledge in an imersive and participatory way.

This trip provided the foundation with new perspectives and motivation to further research on urban planning with the consideration of gender perspectives.

Further reading:

Cities of the future, land art and inclusive urbanism - Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation's stay in Cergy!



Equal spaces in the city – Architektoniczki explore Stockholm

Architektoniczki in Berlin – gender issues in urban studies

Architektoniczki exploring feminist urban planning in Spain!