Location
1210 Vienna

Planning Submission
02/2017

Completion
03/2020

Gross Floor Area
17.700 m²

Rentable Floor Space
12.870 m²

Apartments
200

Partner in Charge
Mark Gilbert

Project Team
Christian Aulinger, Mark Gilbert
Michaela Ebersdorfer (Project Architect), Ricardo Oliveira, Joao Carolino, Kinga Walczak, Manuel Pawelka

Client
ÖVW Bauträger Gesellschaft m.b.H.

Consultants
Landscape: Carla Lo Landschaftsarchitektur
Structural Engineer: Dorr-Schober & Partner
Technical Plant: PHI Klima Technik
Fire Protection: Di Erich Röhrer

Photos
Daniel Hawelka

The „Schichtgründe“ are a brownfield urban redevelopment zone in Vienna’s historically industrial district of Favoriten. The chemical work of the Georg Schicht family was dismantled in 2014; in its stead a new-built, high density and largely residential district for approximately 2000 inhabitants has been built. The 200 affordably priced apartments of SCH form the western edge of this urban neighborhood, facing upon both the Hans-Czermak-Gasse and the woods and fields beyond it.

The characteristics of this rather singular site were the fundamental influence for the conception and design of the project. Although the woods and fields are part of Vienna’s protected Green Belt and will offer the estate’s residents a magnificent and permanent panoramic view, Vienna’s long-term development plans call for the Hans-Czermak-Gasse to be built-out into a major North-South traffic axis in 10-20 years. This means that, although the situation is presently almost bucolically quiet, it will be transformed by a major vehicular artery in the foreseeable future.

The masterplan of the urban development zone – which trans_city helped to design – formulated this edge as a closed street front, which buffers the rear of the settlement from traffic noise. For this reason, trans_city’s common-sense solution was to organize the parcel into two layers.

The western layer, which fronts on the Hans-Czermak-Gasse, was configured into a single thin and articulated block, six stories high in the south and ascending to 7 stories in the north. The stairwells are located street side, creating legible entry zones; the living rooms and kitchens face west to the street and towards the view; the bedrooms look east onto a sheltered courtyard.

The second layer, to the east of this courtyard, is composed of three compact, five-story blocks. The green space of the courtyard flows between these open blocks connects to a green garden and pedestrian zone to the east. Due to this arrangement, all apartments face onto green and attractive spaces with interesting views – despite the density of the quarter as a whole.

Rich colour enhances the architecture. The rust-red, metallic-powder coatings of the balustrades accent the dusty rose stucco of the main facades. White window frames and reveals enliven the fronts. The blue, metallic-glazed render of the entry zones is enclosed by precast walls and canopies whose white-cement concrete surfaces are finely sandblasted for tactile effect. The lively yet harmonious color scheme reinforces and accentuates the architectural composition.