Stadtparterre

The concept of the urban parterre plays a central role in considering what makes a city liveable. The urban parterre is the zone of the city at eye level: the urban ground floor. It is a fabric composed of the built and unbuilt spaces in which we move and interact every day. While urban research has previously tended to focus on either the ground floor level or public spaces, this book considers the systemic interplay of ground floor, inner courtyards, streets, and their interfaces. Using Urban Parterre Modelling to carry out a comprehensive analysis of architectural structures dating from the late nineteenth century (the Gründerzeit), the hidden challenges and opportunities posed by these buildings are explored and discussed with reference to the sustainable, resilient, and circular future use of existing architecture. Taking Vienna’s Gründerzeit parterre as a starting point, the author takes a critical and comparative look at the development of the urban parterre systems of various European cities.

Angelika Psenner is a professor of urban development research at TU Vienna, and has had a significant part in defining the concept of the urban parterre. Her research has received multiple awards. Among other things, her teaching and research focus on urban structures of the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries, flexible-use buildings, perceptions of architecture and public spaces, the negotiation of mobility and site loyalty in urban discourse, and City Information Modelling (CIM).