Skatepark in the box urbanise 2015 in Vienna

On a single wooden pallet you will find the material including tools and assembly instructions to build your own skate park/sport in the city.

We will build a skate park (in the box) there together with and for refugees and then also

guide kids with your skateboards.

A package will be put together with which anyone - even without specialist knowledge of construction and building - can build their own skatepark or spot. The contents of the package can be used to build at least one skate element, for example a bank, a curb, a quaterpipe or simply a wobble. Regardless of whether a local skate park is to be expanded, someone wants to build a new skate element in their garden or young people want to appropriate the area under the highway bridge that has been unused for years. Guerrilla skating, intervention, reclaiming public space, self-realization and drawing attention to current problems in the city are made possible and supported by this SKATEPARK IN A BOX.

Building your own skate element with the help of a single box - we make it possible. The reclaiming of public space, self-realization, intervention, guerrilla skating and drawing attention to current problems in the city are the basic ideas behind this box and should be supported by it. The initiative thus comes directly from the future users and ideas can be implemented without detours via authorities and long administrative processes. According to the bottom-up principle, ideas and suggestions for improvement can be effectively communicated to those responsible.

Any skater can go to the nearest park and ride the existing obstacles there. But who can claim to have built their own spot? With the Box, anyone can become an urban activist. No matter where, no matter when, no matter how, you call the shots. Are you bored of walking to school/university or work? Then build yourself a curb or a small transition at the underpass in the most suitable place to make your wallride easier! The park around the corner needs more momentum to jump higher and further out of the bank or simply more flow? Then build yourself a Wobbel! Building your own guarantees that it will be used later and working on an individual project brings everyone involved closer together. What's more, nobody will get their own skate spot dirty or subject it to vandalism.

The box stands on a Euro pallet (80x120cm) and is approx. 120cm high. It contains all the material and small tools including protective clothing. It takes about two days to build the element. However, the time for setting and hardening must be taken into account.
The pallet of the box is used as a base. This saves concrete and the element is also mobile. For example, it can be moved with a pallet truck. Wooden boards are used as formwork to shape the concrete. These can also be used later to build a small bench or kicker. The concrete is made from ready-mixed screed. This means that only the right amount of water needs to be added and mixed well. There is an agitator and a mortar bucket in the box for this purpose. The liquid concrete is poured into the formwork and compacted well using a simple wooden lath, for example. After a certain time, the concrete is smoothed out with special concrete trowels. When the concrete has reached sufficient strength, the formwork can be removed. Now just wait until the obstacle can be skated.

At this year's urbanize! festival (2-11 October 2015) in Vienna, we packed up the box for the first time and then built a curb. The festival is all about exploring the perspectives of cooperative urbanism. Workshops, urban explorations, lectures and discussions, films and artistic interventions explore a practice that is blossoming in many cities, characterized by collaboration, self-empowerment and the desire for social change. Since mid-September, the urbanize! festival headquarters has not only been home to the Cooperative Playground, a mixture of open knowledge space, social laboratory, workshop and exhibition, but also serves as emergency accommodation for a large number of refugees. Together with the Red Cross as a support organization, theory became practice with the participants of the "Cooperative Playground Laboratory", festival guests, the public and many volunteers.

Once the construction was complete and the concrete had hardened, we immediately grabbed a few boards - which Skate-Aid provided - and went to the refugee reception center right next door. The children immediately jumped on the skateboards and, after a short practice session, made their way to the skate spot. After a short lesson in skating, they didn't want to give up their boards and they don't have to. The skateboards stay on site permanently!
Thanks again for the support to Skate-Aid, whose skateboards have really been put in good hands here. And if anyone still has equipment lying around that they no longer need, this can be donated to Skate-Aid at any time, this is the only way to make new great projects possible!
Even during the construction, we skated with some local skaters in the courtyard. Everyone was so motivated that, in addition to the curb and the rail we brought along, we also built various other elements such as a bench and manual pad out of wood. In addition to interested visitors to the Urbanize festival, refugees often came over to test ride skateboards and even help build the park. Once again, it has been shown that skateboarding is a sport that knows neither religious nor political differences. Skateboarding connects people and has an extremely meaningful and identity-forming effect, especially during the orientation phase for young people. It is possible to give people who have fled war and hardship a new perspective and provide them with a meaningful activity while they wait for their asylum application to be processed. The fact that everyone in skate sports is challenged to improve their own skills and concentrate on their own abilities can significantly boost the athletes' self-confidence. This is essential in order to find one's bearings and develop further in a comparatively unstable situation.