Mostlikely: A collaborative, circular workshop focused on positive change

The Mostlikely platform works in the fields of architecture, design and research, collaborating in various legal structures and networks. Mostlikely’s output is equally wide-ranging, from design products and art installations to architecture, print media and videos. In its “Common Space” project, which was recognised at the Creatives for Vienna competition 2021, Mostlikely works with an interdisciplinary team towards creating new typologies for public spaces. The aim is for these new types of spaces, which Mostlikely calls “common spaces”, to facilitate creative, collaborative working, business and social life. Read our interview with co-founder Mark Neuner to find out more.

Since 2012, you have pursued interdisciplinary approaches to architecture and design with Mostlikely – including focusing on communities, such as through Sudden Workshops (a working method and tool for the collective reactivation of the city’s unused spaces). How important is fostering a sense of community to your work, and why?

In our vision, integrating residents allows us to create a new layer of communal spaces. These spaces adapt and open up the existing city. These changes don’t happen overnight – which is why our Sudden Workshop method builds temporary prototypes of this community-focused city, bringing this vision to life for a time. This makes the idea and the space tangible and allows the idea of a city based on shared use to percolate in our minds.

What impact do you hope your “Common Space” project, which was recognised in the Creatives for Vienna competition, will have on future communities in Vienna?

Our “common spaces” aim to set a positive change in motion. We have analysed existing spaces, such as markets, workshops and even ways of working, rethinking them in tangible case studies that incorporate innovations and potentials. This offers the many dedicated small enterprises, one-person businesses and creative individuals the space they need. It strengthens and promotes the local economy.

What aspects of your work have changed since the start of the pandemic?

As we collaborate in various configurations at Mostlikely – from a classic architectural firm as ZT GmbH to a community-based association – we often worked in exclusively digital formats and organised our work in clouds even before the pandemic. New technologies have now been created in these fields and have established themselves in the classic working world as well. At the same time, however, opportunities for personal interaction have become more precious and are increasingly used to discuss matters in person rather than simply working through tasks in a linear fashion.

How can architecture strengthen our communities? And how – against the backdrop of the pandemic – should we develop our society in future?

Our common, shared spaces can do a great deal to strengthen communities. They demonstrate the advantages of living in cities alongside other people: well-equipped spaces, public areas and spaces that serve as meeting places, cultural institutions – things we couldn’t make alone.

What projects are you currently working on?

We’re working on a series of projects in the hospitality sector, such as the Cobenzl, taste! FOOD MARKET by the Danube Canal and also some private buildings. However, we’re still working hard to develop and disseminate our Common Space urban model. As part of the Vienna Biennale and Studio Mobil, we’re currently organising a three-day symposium during Vienna Design Week from 1-3 October in Vienna.

What tips would you give to architects and designers hoping to start their own business?

That’s not an easy question, because the best way is for it to result from inner drive and conviction. However, the funding programmes offered by the Vienna Business Agency offer excellent opportunities to get your ideas off the ground.

Company:

Mostlikely Architecture ZT GmbH

https://mostlikely.at/

Services offered by the Vienna Business Agency:

• Recognised in the Creatives for Vienna: Future Communities 2021 competition
• Participated in the Vienna Biennale for Change 2021 as part of a collaborative project with the MAK Studio Mobil / think tank 2021
• Received funding through the creative_pioneer 2019 funding programme

Date: 07/2021