Vienna, November 2014

Initiative of new urbane rituals
The City of Vienna is expecting to increase up to 2 million citizens in 2029. For to provide enough housing space Seestadt Aspern is under construction, it is the largest of Vienna’s new city development projects.
The basis of the The 2nd World Non-Congress of the Missing Things were answers to the question „What might be missing in Aspern Seestadt when this new urban development project is realized in full scale?“, this will be in about 15 years. Current and future inhabitants, construction workers and neighbors were asked to point out qualities that are evident and important for them in the currant situation.
One of the surprising answers was: „Mongolian Jurt“.
Not having further information this term lead me to tradition, gathering and even more to rituals. Until 2028 about 20.000 people will move into the new buildings and at that dimension it is clear there will be arriving and leaving continuously.
 What makes a city a livable city is community. To build community it is necessary to warmly welcome the new neighbors.
On a specifically chosen place in the Seestadt Aspern construction site area with good view over the lake and the growing city I performed a welcome ritual, Ritual No.1.
In the center of a marked circle there was a second much smaller circle out of stones from Aspern Lake that includes textile strips. In the first part of a ritual ceremony this stripes were arranged in a certain pattern on the ground.
ground was given to a chosen person. By overhanding it, the printed word “breathing” was readable. Depending on the reaction of the person there was intense eye contact and /or shared breathing as the most honest way of making contact with a person.

RITUAL No. 1