145 apartments
10.953,11 m²
social housing with specialized apartments for single parents

A city planning competition provided the guideline for an exposed main body with different heights and widths located at the entrance to Village im Dritten in the center of Vienna, Austria.
Sensitive handling is required to have the building appear simple, yet appealing and interesting.
Not to decrease the court yard space, an oriel was only planned on the north-east part of the 10-story-tower to accentuate the building`s silhouette.
145 units are made accessible with 2 grand as well as daylight exposed stairwells. In the south the generous main entryway with a ceiling height of 5 meters grands access to the building and represents a knot of communication. An open bike storage and work shop area are accessible from the main entrance as well as the court.
A social crises management center is located on the ground floor accommodating children and teenagers between the age of 3-15 in their time of need. Temporary living is available for the younger generation without encapsulating them from their social environment, located between a playground in the court yard and a school complex across the street.
Almost every single floor contains a common room equipped for different types of use. Supporting single parents, there are common rooms for studying, playing, cooking and sleep overs.
Bike and stroller storages are located next to the elevator on every floor.
Two grand common outdoor spaces can be found on the 6th and 7th floor, providing urban gardening, lounge terraces and zones with intensive greening beneficial for the microclimate. The two surrounding taller parts of the building structure create areas in the shadow - perfect for hot summer afternoons – as well as sunny terraces. Neighboring common rooms are equipped with kitchens accessible for every resident.
Those two 10-story wings are covered with solar panels and semi-intensive planting, reducing CO2-emissions and generating energy for common spaces, as well as e-car charging and watering the planted facade automatically.
Offering different apartment typologies, there are modern and contemporary options, among them apartments for single-parents with a flexible home-office space.
On the ground floor, 4 meter ceiling height is used for an especially efficient typology with an office-gallery.
A simple layout, as well as a loggia and balcony can be found within every unit.
The main characteristics of the project are the L-shaped elements on the planted south facades and the L-shaped balcony structure on the west facade being linked above the main entrance. The stairway structure of the balconies and the distinct frame of loggias behind it create an ensemble with both a suspenseful depth effect and a playful development of shadows throughout the day. Prefabricated L-shaped elements form planting trays and together with vertical climbing ropes they create a unique microclimatic shield. Furthermore they provide a natural shadow during hot summer months, representing climatic and structural physical advantages. Natural shadow on a larger scale across the south facades reduces high temperatures noticeably during summer, yet allowing sunlight inside the living area in winter.
A neutral beige color on the facade complements the green and colorful blossoming flora of the planted façade and becomes a screen for a play of light and shadow behind the planted façade as well as the balcony structure.