Spatial Simulation LabAs a road/rail/air transport hub, Graz Airport and it surroundings offer an ideal opportunity to embed thematic principles of sustainable development such as building and spatial organisation, conservation of resources, sustainable energy supply, quality of life, noise reduction, economic balance and good governance into the planning process and test them out for the first time for potential further application in other projects.
The airport environment is thus transformed into a transparent, interconnected, controllable and resilient location – the so-called SmartAIRea, where the key emphasis is on sustainable design and a space planned around people and their needs. Modelling and simulation are essential tools for the planning of a resilient location of this kind, providing a basis for communication that allows all the necessary stakeholders to be brought together around one table. For this research project both an analogue and a digital model were developed at the SimLab (see images).
This project was elaborated with Joanneum Research Graz LIFE – Centre for Climate, Energy and Society and Energie Steiermark.