In der Wiesen Süd Housing, Vienna (AT)
New building,
Affordable housing
Client: Heimbau Gemeinnützige Bau-, Wohnungs- und Siedlungsgenossenschaft
Location: A-1230 Vienna, Carlbergergasse
Architecture: Dietrich Untertrifaller with ARTEC
Competition: 2013, 1. prize
Construction: 2015 – 2017
Area: 23,000 m²
Programme: 310 apartments (Dietrich Untertrifaller 156), studios, supervised shared flat for young people
Photos: Bruno Klomfar, Lukas Schaller, realitylab, Auböck + Karasz
Team
Florian Aigner, Diogo Alexandre Cruz, Melanie Högl, Sinisia Macedonic (Project management), Catharina Maul, Maria Megina, Katharina Reiner, Gordon Selbach, Margarete Sierek
Text: Gerlinde Jüttner
Planungsbeteiligte
Statics: Straka und Partner, Vienna
Building services, electrics: Mischek, Vienna
Building physics: Kern+Ingenieure, Vienna
Landscape: Atelier Auböck und Karasz, Vienna
Social processes: realitylab, Vienna
Construction management: Strabag, Vienna
Awards
- ZV Bauherrenpreis, Nomination
- Wiener Wohnbaupreis , Award
Focus on social sustainability
On the "In der Wiesen Süd" site in Liesing, we worked with ARTEC to build an attractive residential complex with 310 flats, five studios and a residential community for young people. The main challenge was to develop a cohesive neighbourhood that promotes joint activities between the neighbours across building sites and thus enlivens the area.
We designed the northern area with three buildings that form a central, quiet square for the residents. The bends in the two solitary buildings open up the area to the south and promote permeability.
A circumferential band of loggias and the full-surface glazing bring light and openness into the flats and offer expansive views of the park and the city. A particular highlight is the light-flooded atrium, which is remarkably spacious for a subsidised residential building. A variety of visual connections ensure attractive and communicative access to the individual floors.
Compact flats, spacious outdoor areas
The compact one- to five-room flats have generous private open spaces such as loggias, balconies and roof gardens. They are orientated to the east or west and designed as corner flats at the ends – pure north-facing flats were therefore avoided. The surrounding loggias with protruding balconies and the full-surface glazing bring daylight into the kitchen and entrance areas and extend the flats both visually and functionally.
We deliberately fitted the loggias and balconies with a permeable flat steel railing so that the residents can determine the transparency to the outside themselves - whether through complete openness, greenery or a variety of privacy screens. This has created a space for residents to make their own, which they gladly use.
The range of types on offer covers the entire spectrum, from efficiently organised flats for single parents and couples (B-types) to flats for young families (C-types) and large families (D-types). Almost a third of the 310 residential units were designed as space-optimised SMART flats with low rental costs for the residents. Evenly distributed throughout the buildings, they offer the same qualities as all the flats: Kitchen-living rooms and private outdoor spaces in the lower SMART-B and SMART-C types of the solitaires are just as large as in the other B and C types.
Living together
This project won the public property developer competition, not least because of its social sustainability. The high-quality commercial and social community facilities on the ground floor have quickly developed into a popular centre and meeting point for the entire area:
The workshop for handicrafts and bicycle repairs
The cooking studio for family celebrations and neighbourhood parties
The home office as a temporary workplace for students
The nursery as a meeting place for parents with children under the age of three
The children's playroom as a place for spontaneous meetings and socialising
Community gardens on the roof
Furnished communal terraces with far-reaching views over Vienna and rentable gardens on the roof areas compensate for the lack of private gardens at courtyard level. The plant beds on the roof create additional opportunities to get to know each other.
Climate and resource-friendly
The compact low-energy houses have an optimised ratio of usable space to building envelope. PV panels were installed on all roof surfaces. The concrete surfaces serve as storage mass in the residential units, while the external solar shading prevents overheating in summer. Green roof surfaces store rainwater and improve the microclimate. At garage level, the areas are not underbuilt to allow large trees to be planted between the buildings.
Green Islands
The free-form green islands between the buildings offer space to meet outdoors or simply relax on the benches and loungers. Some of the islands are planted with large trees and equipped with easily visible children's playgrounds.
