Master's Thesis Elisabeth Mitterfellner: Gründerzeitliche Vorgärten Graz

Historic Front Gardens of Graz – Connecting Fragments

In a society characterized by constant growth, excessive consumption, resource scarcity, and increasingly extreme weather events such as prolonged heatwaves, flooding, and severe storms, analyzing existing resources and potentials is of paramount importance.

The historic front gardens of Graz have lost significance in recent years, despite being an essential fragment within a complex urban environment. These gardens offer versatile design and usage possibilities, capable of generating added value for both people and their environment. Currently, however, these spaces are often repurposed as storage areas or even parking spaces. To counteract this trend, this work develops forward-thinking ideas through three planning examples, aiming to better integrate these existing structures into public spaces and, as a next step, expand them into the street space.

The foundation of this study is an analysis of the current situation, conducted through on-site visits and photographic documentation of each individual street. Based on the collected information, the first step identifies existing and well-functioning examples. In the second step, potential synergies between the front gardens are explored by utilizing available resources. Finally, in the third step, the existing garden structures are expanded and integrated into the street space. The ultimate goal is to create a synergy between the existing and the new.