“Bringing business closer to people”

The carpentry workshop that apprentices can walk to, the plumbing business next door, the upholstery workshop where you can occasionally watch the work being done. This scenario is a rarity, especially in urban areas. For many of us, business is an abstract entity we read about in the newspaper. We don’t associate it with the carpenter who builds our wardrobe or the plumber who installs our dishwasher. Business is present in our homes, in our neighborhoods—and that should be visible and tangible, according to Rainer Holzer, Head of Real Estate at the Vienna Business Agency: “Business needs to move closer to people again.” Who among us really knows what goes into our food? How a couch is made? This is a thorn in Holzer’s side. The decades-long trend of separating living, production, and work into distinct, purpose-built districts has long been exposed as a mistake in modern urban development. A functioning, harmonious urban district blends these uses and allows them to interact meaningfully.

“Until now, companies—often for lack of alternatives—have moved out to greenfield sites and built for themselves. That takes up space,” says Holzer. What would otherwise spread out horizontally is stacked here—tackling another massive problem: land consumption. Holzer is convinced that Vienna, too, will have to face the discussion in the coming years about how to meet the needs of a modern city without concreting over hectares of landscape. Concepts like the Business Park make this possible, as companies share infrastructure such as logistics areas, sanitary facilities, and more. Climate protection is also addressed in the energy sector, with the PV system on the roof being a matter of course.

A functioning economy needs future prospects—and those depend on the employees of tomorrow. “The vocational school center is very close by, where companies can recruit their apprentices,” explains Holzer. In the adjacent district, the City of Vienna is building a new central vocational school building for six commercial professions and the vocational school for the construction industry. The new building for 7,500 students will then complement the existing educational facilities in the neighborhood. These currently include two education campuses of the City of Vienna, the federal high school at Maria-Trapp-Platz, a private university, and the VHS Seestadt. Business—especially production—needs to be experienced, Holzer is convinced. There is so much to see, especially in the trades. And the Business Park makes it possible: In the ground floor zone, showrooms of a different kind are planned. Here, you don’t admire finished products, nicely arranged and ready for pickup. No, production is the main attraction: “Here we have the chance to show how production works and develops. Things like 3D printing will change our society and our everyday lives—the sooner each of us gets involved, the better.” When you walk past the ground floor zone, you should see that industry is not a closed-off story, but a vibrant, evolving part of our lives.

The primary aim is to attract craftspeople—but not only them. The key is to create a productive, connected community, explains Holzer. “We don’t want to exclude any sector; it should be a healthy, interesting mix.” The spaces are handed over so that companies can adapt them precisely to their needs. The Business Agency supports this process and also checks whether funding is possible.

Once the Business Park is established, it should be positioned as a best-practice example, focusing on the exchange of know-how. After all, the goal of the Business Agency is not to set up business parks everywhere, says Holzer; rather, they want to inspire imitators: “Our aim is to show that such a concept works and is future-proof. So that private businesses become interested in replicating it.” After all, the future can only happen if everyone gets involved.