Diverse living spaces
On the old village green of Aspern, a part of Vienna’s 22nd district, we planned a total of forty apartments, using two very different building typologies. The site is about 150 metres long and varies in width between 17 and 34 metres.
At either end of the garden we placed a multi-storey residential building that directly faces the street. Between these end buildings we positioned four stepped rows of houses, eighteen in all, which are hidden from the street. Despite a high building density of 45 % and the small distance between the rows, relative to their height, we were able to provide high-quality living space and outdoor areas.
Community and intimacy
The development regulations for the row houses would have required a very large number of rooms with sloping ceilings directly under pitched roofs: spaces that are essentially very difficult to use.
Our creative interpretation of the constraints convinced the authorities that our solution could achieve much the same cubage, would involve no disadvantages for the neighbours, and, in addition, would offer the future residents contemporary floor plans with spaces that are far easier to use.
The average building height is the stipulated four metres, yet the houses – all of which have two main floors while a number have an additional, spacious roof-top level – offer highly usable spaces.
The south facades of both street front buildings have full-height openings that lead onto generously sized balconies. Jutting out from both the wall and the pitched roof, these are the distinguishing elements of the facade and give the building the requisite structure.
On the northern front the strict rhythm of the balconies gives way to a pixel-like image created by the open and closed parts of the facade.
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