İDEALKENT

Öz

This
article discusses the concept of “borrowed space” as a mechanism that
transforms the urban open spaces into a ‘locus of possibilities’, and within
this understanding, it aims to analyse the Vienna City Hall Square (Wiener
Rathausplatz) through its identification as a borrowed space that introduces
different practices. The original contribution here can be described as this
mechanism’s representation as a translation between ‘social processes’ and
‘spatial form’, (the dual components which have been widely recognized in the
understanding of complexity of the urban structure) and its utilization as a
theoretical framework within the analysis of the Square in question. The
concept of publicness frequently reflects its semantic duality (that of
belonging to the society yet implying a relationality with state) upon the
space, especially upon the ones organized by the state. However, in the cities
with an ever-growing density, public spaces actually possess a certain
potential of becoming the grounds of counter-resistance against the spatial
dissociation. As a matter of fact, in one’s mind, the image of a good city and
lively urban public spaces are mostly intertwined. Vienna, as one of the
European cities affirming this argument, is best known for its numerous public
spaces, squares, parks, and moreover for its urban(ite) culture that integrates
these spaces into life effectively. Within this understanding, the Vienna City
Hall Square participates to the urbanite’s everyday practices as a dynamic
urban public space via the social, political, cultural, artistic, sportive
facilities, thus, transcends the institutional and tectonic monumentality of
the surrounding neo-classical buildings of City Hall, Parliament, University
and Theatre by a new urban / spatial meaning. This meaning produced by the
Vienna City Hall Square as a borrowed space stands for an accessibility for all
social strata of the society and a strong urban bond with the citizens.