Margot Deerenberg
Initiator of Paradocks, Workplace, Landstraße, Vienna
FvF x departure
9 Feb 2015
18 photos
9 Feb 2015
Giving space to creative ideas is more than a metaphor for Margot Deerenberg. With the temporary usage agency Paradocks, the urban sociologist ensures that empty buildings are filled with life and that young talents have rooms for legal development, rather than occupying houses.
At Packhaus more than 170 people from different fields – including IT, technology, fashion, design, science, crafts and social fields – work, tinker and cooperate in over 2800 sqm over seven floors, thanks to the dedication of Margot Deerenberg and the Paradocks team. The project, housed in a 1970s office building directly across from the Sophiensäle, has been a fantastic success. It received an award from the Vienna Design Week and the Vienna Business Agency, departure, honored it with a City Hype Award.
Margot moved from Amsterdam to Vienna for her studies. But she’s come to stay – new plans are in full swing, even if the Packhaus project is set to conclude at the end of the year. After her morning warm-up in Vienna’s Prater park, the Netherlander welcomes us into the huge office building. With infectious enthusiasm Margot introduces us to Packhaus and its users.
Where does the name Paradocks come from?
The name refers to a contradiction. On the one hand there are vacant buildings, on the other there are many people who are looking for rooms for their ideas. The point is to understand these unused spaces as unused resources and to bring them together with creativity and talent. The open call for Packhaus took place under the motto “Room Seeks Idea.” It’s also about docking, therefore, Paradocks with a “ck” instead of with an “x.” The bridge in our logo stands for “bridging potential.”
Was it hard to get such a large building?
It wasn’t so easy. Together with an employee at the Municipal Department for Urban Development we were able to present the project to Conwert, a real estate company and later, during a roundtable discussion, to Alexander von der Bellen, who is the University Commissioner for the City of Vienna. We applied for the usage of two floors. Then we got the phone call: “Either you take the whole building or nothing at all.” We hadn’t dared to ask for the entire building. The responsibility of taking that on is enormous. After ten minutes of thinking about it, we confirmed. At the moment I can’t think of a more exciting job.
