TERRITORIAL SCALE: CONURBATION
Graz is the capital of Styria and centre of an agglomeration of almost 900,000 inhabitants. The city grew along the river Mur dividing it in the historical centre with its hilltop fortress, government, historical museums and universities on the one side, and the railway lanes with their industrial developments, train station, the central cemetery, breweries with fields on the other. On this side large development reserves are still available and intense renewal is ongoing. The city has structurally grown toward the south and beyond the city limits where a huge basin extends until Slovenia, providing a spread out urbanization whose facilities serve the Slovenian and Austrian inhabitants (airport, regional trains, highway, cargo terminal, shopping malls, leisure areas)

URBAN SCALE: STUDY SITE
The partly very old brewery was the starting point for the development of the whole district whose historical structure has developed southwards and is now in a dilapidated state. The close-by airport, the adjacent shopping centres and leisure facilities, the still existing agricultural fields, and the large amount of new traffic infrastructure create an extraordinary potential for the study site. It is situated at the intersection of two important traffic axis, the main north-south connection and the east-west-connection. The local impact of recent infrastructural improvements still has to be explored in its potential for new built development.

Programmatic intentions
A new interface between the local and regional population has to be developed to an urban node. Local connections shall interweave the existing with new developments considering the barriers between important spots. As well, the quality of green spaces shall be improved and integrated in new green areas acting as a strategic tool. Following the initial development along the N-S axis (site of project) a range of uses can be considered: commercial, retail, leisure with a special emphasis on housing.

PROXIMITY SCALE: SITE OF PROJECT
A naturally grown green corridor stretches along a significant escarpment and divides the site into a higher and a lower level. The lower level extends eastwards to a huge open agricultural field (study site) and is occupied by abandoned park sheds and a historical ware-house in a dilapidated state. The upper level connects to the main N-S road and the tramway line, which leads to the city and the new train station just across the road. Adjacent to the site a park& ride facility for 500 cars including a small shopping centre will be built until 2009.

Programmatic intentions
A mixed use development of high density shall trigger local centrality for the area, including communal facilities, cultural and commercial programs, offices and shop surfaces. The cultural programmes should concentrate on the lower western part. The development/building proposal should at all events enable a high degree of flexibility and multi-functionality.