“Creatives for Vienna – Making Spaces” – A competition by the Vienna Business Agency supports the design and activation of urban open spaces in Vienna

As part of a tour during VIENNA ART WEEK 2025, visitors were able to explore projects from the first two competition rounds, showcasing the many ways concrete spaces in Vienna can be activated and used. The final winners have now been announced.

Grätzl (“Neighborhoods”) are central spaces of Viennese urban life. They shape daily interactions, strengthen local communities, and make a significant contribution to the quality of life in a growing city. However, social, climatic, and urban developments are posing new challenges for Vienna, and open spaces in particular are becoming increasingly important. Creative professionals play a key role in this: they activate unused areas, provide new impulses for the city, and enliven the Grätzl through communal and creative uses.

The competition “Creatives for Vienna – Making Spaces 2025” by the Vienna Business Agency builds precisely on this and places the creative design and activation of Vienna’s outdoor spaces at the centre. A total of ten concepts will each receive funding of 15,000 euros and support during implementation.

Rethinking urban spaces – the funded projects

The award-winning concepts demonstrate the many different ways open spaces in Vienna can be activated:

“(W)Hole in One” by Tracing Spaces transforms a vacant lot at Nordwestbahnhof into a mini-golf course that serves as an urban learning trail, playfully conveying ecological potentials.

“Licht für Vielfalt” (“Light for Diversity”) by Dust Institute uses red-light filters on street lamps in Vienna’s parks to strengthen nocturnal biodiversity and demonstrate how insect-friendly lighting can work.

The project “Regenerative Net” by Konstantin Kim also shows how cities can adapt to climate change while making their public spaces more attractive: with a shading concept that provides protection while also fostering interaction.

Places for Encounter and Community

“Bruno” by studiod*luxe creates a movement and cycling circuit for children and families at Bruno-Pittermann-Platz, activating previously underused asphalt and green areas.

“Kühle Sache” (“Cool Thing”) by Julia Fraolini & Felix Steinbacher demonstrates how an existing fountain can become a communal, cooling meeting point on hot summer days.

“[Wiener-Klima] ANHALTESTELLE” (“[Vienna-Climate] STOP”) by Anna Krumpholz, Elisabeth Ableidinger, Marlene Lübke-Ahrens and Klara Jörg transforms Vienna’s public transport stops into places where people not only get on and off, but also engage in conversation with one another.

Culture and everyday life from new perspectives

“VIA TANKE” by Lukas Lex transforms a former petrol station into a neighbourhood meeting point. Starting from the question “What happens here if no more fuel flows?”, the station has already been repurposed as a table tennis court, exhibition space, and open-air cinema.

The project “Wiener Würstelstand” (“Viennese sausage stand”) by friendship.is examines the social role of this Viennese icon and turns it into a meeting place and space for social mixing in the public realm.

The project “Die Stadt führt sich auf” (“The City Performs Itself”) by Burgtheater Wien and the Social Design Studio (University of Applied Arts Vienna) transforms the area around the Burgtheater into a stage for the city’s inhabitants.

With the “Schwimminsel Donaukanal” (“Swimming Island Donaukanal”), Placemaking Austria ultimately creates an attractive and barrier-free swimming and recreation area for all generations.

At VIENNA ART WEEK 2025 projects from the first two competition rounds were showcased, demonstrating the many ways concrete spaces in Vienna can be activated and used. These included the former Semmelweis Clinic, now a vibrant arts and culture centre, and the former Hydraulic Laboratory in the 9th district, which has been transformed into a work and cultural space. These sites exemplify how creatives are rethinking the city – as an open, adaptable living environment.

About the competition by the Vienna Business Agency

This year’s competition, “Creatives for Vienna – Making Spaces,” sought concepts that revitalize Vienna’s outdoor spaces – through shading, greenery, installations, furnishings, or creative programming. Ten projects were selected by a jury and each received 15,000 euros in funding, as well as the opportunity to be presented as part of the Climate Biennale Vienna 2026.

All information about the 2025 winners can be found at https://wirtschaftsagentur.at/creatives-for-vienna-making-spaces-die-gewinnerinnen-2025

Die Vienna Business Agency supports players in the creative industries with funding, opportunities for collaboration and international networking, as well as events, competitions, and projects, and is a proud partner of VIENNA ART WEEK.