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A large urban building project was initiated on the premises
of the former cable and wire factory KDAG (Kabel- und Drahtwerke
AG) in Vienna Meidling after the factory had been closed
down in December 1997.
Starting with 2004, after a period during which the premises
were used extensively in a cultural context – Goethe’s
Faust in a production by Peter Stein was one of the most
significant events –, residential buildings and infrastructure
have been put up on the lots which had been cleared by demolition.
Based on an urbanistic concept by Rainer Pirker and Florian
Haydn, a whole new neighborhood in Vienna has been developed
on a surface area of 68,000 square meters. Several teams
of architects (Mascha & Seethaler, Schwalm-Theiss & Gressenbauer,
Hermann & Valentiny, pool Architektur ZT GmbH, Werkstatt
Wien Spiegelfeld & Holnsteiner) designed a number of
different dwelling possibilities ranging from garden and
terrace apartments, maisonettes and home offices to atrium
houses which are arranged in the form of a “wrap-around
architecture” encompassing a plethora of promenades,
piazzas and recreational areas for sports and playing.
A part of the former factory will have been renovated by
the end of 2007 and will then offer room for cultural projects.
On this location, an art project conceived by the Dutch artist
and architect Joep Van Lieshout is going to be realized.
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With his permanent
sculpture for the public space, Lieshout wants to establish
a connection to the site’s industrial past: either
by following the production process of the past or by the
formal associations in the objects he produces.
The Atelier Van Lieshout (AVL) is an internationally renowned
company that operates in the field of contemporary art, design
and architecture. Joep Van Lieshout founded AVL in 1995 in
order to emphasize the fact that the various products do
not stem solely from the creative brain of Joep van Lieshout
but are produced by a creative team. AVL’s output ranges
from caravans, fitted bathrooms and kitchen units to sculptures,
large installations and other works of art – for the
most part manufactured in the material that has become AVL’s
trademark: polyester in striking bright colors. Here, the
artist takes a special interest in organic forms and extensions
of architecture as well as in the integration of economies
of production and pleasure into the accommodation units.
The social criticism of his statements and messages is expressed
in precise forms, yet it is often combined with humor.
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