Cities are our natural world, created by us and yet, in their constantly shifting complexity, almost beyond our grasp. Urbanization processes do not end at the city boundaries. Almost infinite networks, alienated communication, hasty consumption and conflicts of social marginalization or economic injustice determine our urban survival. Cities form contested spaces, whose present refers back to the past, whose power structures can be identified and also changed. It is important to predict the need for change well in advance but also to be able to react to acute crises great and small with fresh solutions.
Innovations are driven on a bottom-up basis. Not infrequently they arise at the margins of society, where established structures encounter influences from without, traditional responses no longer work, or safeguards apply to some but not to others.
The projects developed in the studio situation of our Social Design program show that societal innovation–meaning extraordinary results and unexpected approaches–becomes possible where different forms of knowledge and methods interact, where artistic acumen combines with creativity from the so-called hard sciences, where design, theory, architecture and the fine arts not only pool their strategies but also enter into confrontations and alliances that can be both risky and productive.
Innovative methods construct new meanings, strengthen responsibility and thus create the preconditions for identification with one’s own actions. Students who choose the Master’s in Social Design – Arts as Urban Innovation signal their determination to play a critical and active part in influencing society and a refusal to discount the future!
Curriculum
The master programme Social Design Arts as Urban Innovation at the University of Applied Arts Vienna is oriented towards graduates from diverse fields of study, thereby stipulating work in transdisciplinary teams as the central teaching and learning approach in the programme. On the basis of professional competences acquired in their respective previous studies, students become acquainted with transcending disciplinary codes and thinking and working in greater interrelationships. Art in synergy with project-related scientific methods and knowledge is seen as a tool for urban innovation.
Duration and Scope:
4 semesters / 120 ECTS
Graduation: "Master of Arts" (MA)
People
Project
„Wo ist das Kind?“
Publication
Urbane Knautschzone - Forschungsstudie
Project
Dear Architects…
Karolína Plášková
Urbanist, Vienna/Brno
Karolína has studied architecture and urban planning in Brno, Vaduz and Vienna, and Social Design in Vienna. She helped with the organization of several events, for example the "Student Organization of the Faculty of Architecture" in Brno, "Foster the City" and "Pilsen 2015 – European Capital of Culture", as well as the "urbani7e! festival" by "dérive – Society for Urban Research“.
- Title / Function
- Student
- Field of Expertise
- Urban Architecture
- karolina.plaskova@gmail.com
Nathalia Portella
Designer, Rio de Janeiro
Graduated in Industrial Design by Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Work experience in Product and Graphic Design. Interested in what to see, how to do, where to go, what to listen. Curious about illustration, photography and different cultures. Ex-athletic and circus artist, fascinated by body movement. Always looking for new angles.
- Title / Function
- Student
- Field of Expertise
- Design
- nsportella@gmail.com
Lisa Puchner
Text and Radio producer, Vienna
Lisa Puchner studied Comparative Literature and International Development. Her master project in Social Design focused on public toilets. Following the interest in text and sound, she is working within two radio programmes, one dealing with city research, the other with musical exchange with refugees, and writes in magazines and city's newspapers.
- Title / Function
- Alumni
- Field of Expertise
- Writing, Radio, Photography
- lisa.puchner@gmx.at
Milly Reid
Spatial Designer, Vienna
Following a degree in Architecture, Milly's desire is to continue exploring how space can perform beyond the boundaries of traditional practice. Inspired by natural processes of growth and adaption, she wishes to activate these concepts by applying them to issues such as global migration, fluid identities, and the construction of narratives.
- Title / Function
- Alumni
- Field of Expertise
- Architecture
- millyreid@gmail.com
Project
Kinderunikunst Kreativwoche 2019
Project
The places we carry
Project
From Othering to Intersection
Project
Departure Transit Arrival
Gabriela Urrutia Reyes
Architect, Managua/Vienna
I am an Architect from Nicaragua, where I got involved in different projects and social workshops. I Lived in Berlin and London working as a diplomat for the Embassies of Nicaragua.Now I am interested in interventions in the public space, housing and to experiment with the city social interactions.
Gerald Cirilo Reyes
Aid Worker and Photographer, Vienna/Erbil
Gerry seeks to understand and apply artistic design in aid work. His diverse set of experiences and expertise are manifested in the projects he has worked on. Being Austrian/Filipino, he tries to bridge the different socio-economic, cultural and political differences through his work and daily life.