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17 July 2024
Not all of the wasteful projects selected for Greenpeace's voting '9 Concrete Treasures in Austria' look ugly; in some cases, a small change in the use of valuable land could turn them into beauties
It's not easy to decide which of the five ugly places in each of Austria's nine federal states should get a vote for Greenpeace's 'Austria's 9 Concrete Treasures'; voting is currently open until July 22 at https://greenpeace.at/betonschaetze. Especially since not all projects are ugly.
Some projects are definitely ugly. There is, for example, the Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna, which can heat up to almost 50 degrees Celsius due to the concrete covering of a relatively large area that used to be less extensive with more open green and flower fields, or the PVA (Pension Insurance Institute) parking garage on a former green space. According to Greenpeace research, the PVA already has 800 parking spaces and is well connected to public transportation. The short introduction gives additional information about the construction, such as the fact that trees have already been cut down desite protests from the population.
But there are also projects that don't look ugly and where a small change can make all the difference. The Porsche Charging Lounge in Koblach, Vorarlberg, Austria, for example, doesn't just look good from an architectural standpoint. Greenpeace also notes positively in the description that the expansion of the charging infrastructure for e-mobility is to be welcomed. The negative point is that the station can only be used by cars of the brand, which is not conducive to the mobility transition. It's a "fair is foul, and foul is fair" situation par excellence (quote from Macbeth by Shakespeare).
In the press release published yesterday, Greenpeace soil protection expert Melanie Ebner mentioned that the submissions for 'Austria's 9 Concrete Treasures' are extremely diverse, including oversized logistics centers on greenfield sites, dozens of specialty retail centers on the outskirts of cities, huge transportation projects, and questionable luxury accommodations in natural areas that are particularly worthy of protection. Melanie Ebner said (translated from German by Fashion.at): "What they have in common is that the wasteful use of valuable agricultural and natural areas is clearly a thorn in the side of Austrians."
Austrians submitted more than 400 controversial construction projects, from which Greenpeace experts selected the 45 projects presented for voting, including urban roads, bypasses, industrial developments and luxury chalets. The public vote, open until July 22, will determine the top projects, while an expert jury, including researchers from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, and the Vienna University of Technology, will also evaluate the projects. The aim is to highlight the wasteful use of valuable land. The nine winning projects will be presented at a press conference on July 30.
Image: The picture shows a person holding a poster reading 'BETONLAWINE STOPPEN!' ('Stop the Concrete Avalanche!' on Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna. The square is one of five projects located in Vienna in the voting at https://greenpeace.at/betonschaetze, where users can vote for 'Austria's 9 Concrete Treasures' and choose their winners, one project in each of the nine federal states, until July 22, 2024. Photo: © Matjaz Krivic.
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