BER – BERRES:OnThePULSE

An open field of possibilities


With a focus on subsidized housing and a developable floor space of 23 hectares, the area east of the recreational lake in Hirschstetten in Vienna’s 22nd district is considered as the next big urban development area in the city—a near-endless field of possibilities, in which AllesWirdGut, after winning a developers’ competition, were commissioned to plan 170 residential units with a total rentable floor space of well over 12,000 square meters. By shifting the bulk of the built-up volume from the four-story plinth upward into the vertical, the design follows the multiple high-point building silhouette prescribed in the urban-design guideline. This results in a sculptural building, which, as an urban-design landmark, defines a distinctive and identity-establishing new quarter while offering a large number of high-rise residential units with good daylighting and views. By connecting the forecourt of the new school campus with the living street on the west side, a site of social encounter with facilities for sports and play is created. Shifting the mass of the built-up volume upward also entails a maximization of public areas: less built-up and more free space for everybody! All apartments in the free-standing tower blocks have a corner aspect, offering high residential quality through maximum daylighting. Classical design elements such as upright two-sash casement windows, subdued coloring, contoured cornices, meandering smooth-plaster lines, and varying plaster grain sizes make for buildings of timeless traditional elegance and quality which are also feasible under cost pressure. Buildings that are a far cry from drab purpose-built minimalism.

 

Architecture: AllesWirdGut
Client/Developer: ÖVW – Österreichisches Volkswohnungswerk
Project Stages: 1–5 + Artistic Supervision

Competition: 09.2018 – 1st price
GFA: 21,950 sqm
GFA above finished grade: 17,040 sqm
Rentable floor space: 12,300 sqm

Team: Felix Reiner, Gerlinde Starlinger, Jan Schröder, Julian Tratter, Miriam Harst, Rachele Albini, Viviana Merz

Landscape planning: rajek barosch Landschaftsarchitektur
General technical planning: Dr. Ronald Mischek ZT GmbH

Visualization: riviera moretti/ AllesWirdGut
Illustration: AllesWirdGut