moradavaga's interactive urban connectors activate a viennese neighborhood living lab

Moradavaga designs a series of playful communication tools

The Outsiders, designed by Moradavaga for ROOMING INN, is a set of multifunctional mobile urban objects developed as part of the cultural initiative’s ongoing Living Lab project in Vienna. Conceived as a hybrid between communication devices and movable public furniture, the intervention supports social interaction, participation, and informal gathering within the public spaces surrounding a former kindergarten transformed into a community-oriented cultural center.

ROOMING INN promotes art in public space through temporary interventions that explore new ways of activating the public realm. Operating under the motto ‘the city begins at your front door,’ the initiative develops projects that encourage inclusive, shared, and accessible urban environments through traffic-calming measures, open meeting places, and spaces for play, movement, and everyday exchange.

all images by Moradavaga

Mobile furniture supports everyday gathering and participation

As part of its Living Lab program, ROOMING INN is transforming a former kindergarten owned by the City of Vienna, together with its 3,000-sqm garden, into a consumption-free space for collective urban life. The site accommodates activities including gardening, reading, building, cooking, and shared stewardship, creating an environment where people of different generations can meet and participate in everyday community life.

Responding to this context, Moradavaga creative studio developed The Outsiders, a series of mobile elements that combine the functions of tables on wheels, podiums, and communication devices. Equipped with speaking and listening tubes, the objects can operate individually or in combination, supporting interaction between users and encouraging collective engagement.

The Outsiders mobile units in a face-to-face ‘duel’

Designed to move beyond the boundaries of the former kindergarten, the objects can travel through the surrounding Hirschstetten neighborhood as part of workshops, events, and public activities. Their mobility allows them to engage with both the built environment and local residents, extending the Living Lab into the wider public realm. The project was developed by Moradavaga in collaboration with Lola Burdin, Verena Maria Huber, Nina McNab, and Gabriel Waringer.

The Outsiders allow for a multiplicity of functions, settings, and positioning

from up the ladder, one can have a different perspective of the urban situation

different generations can explore and enjoy the pieces together

mobility allows for the exploration of different territories within the neighborhood and beyond

the versatility of the modules allows for a multiplicity of settings and combinations

speaking and listening from both ends of the communication pipes

from whispering to howling, and mumbling to singing, users explore the acoustics of the piece

each module has its own ‘personality,’ with a matching facial expression

exploring sound and space in different contexts

one can literally immerse oneself in the interactive installation

wood, tire, and pipe make up the main material palette

project info:

name: The Outsiders

designer: Moradavaga | @moradavaga

location: Hirschstetten, Vienna, Austria

collaborator: Rooming Inn / Living Lab

special thanks to: Verena Huber, Daniel Ehrl, Nina McNab, and Gabriel Waringer

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom