GerambRose 2024

Building Culture Award for Division of Anatomy in Graz

We are honoured to receive the GerambRose 2024 for the Division of Anatomy building at MedUni Graz! The BauKultur Steiermark association presents this award every two years to exemplary projects in Styria, recognising special achievements in building culture.

See jury statement

Foto: David Schreyer
Photo: Andreas Buchberger

Wonderful Years

Seniors Residence in Mödling, Lower Austria

Society is ageing, and more and more elderly people live alone: a third of population over 65 already lives as singles in a household. How can we lead a fulfilling and self-determined life in our later years without social isolation? In the Lower Austrian city of Mödling, we have built a residence for senior citizens that promotes active participation in the community, combines comfort and needs-oriented care, and also ensures ample privacy.

See project

Embedded in the Green

New Ottakring Clinic

We are delighted to have won 2nd prize in the competition for the new Ottakring Clinic in Vienna together with our partner firm Pfaffenbichler Architektur. Our campus design provides clear organisation and short circulation routes with inner courtyards and spacious terraces embedded in a green park landscape.

See project

Franz&Sue on the Road

Excursion to Budapest

For two days, we travelled around the Hungarian capital on our office trip. Under the expert guidance of the Guiding Architects team, we visited the Museum of Ethnography and the House of Music in Liget city park, gained fascinating insights into the 8th district, and admired the metro stations on the M4 line. Of course, there was also time for some individual sightseeing and to enjoy the glorious autumn weather. Many thanks to our High-Five team for the great organisation!

Under Construction

U5 Metro Station Frankhplatz

The first of five subway stations on the new U5 metro line, which we are planning together with YF architekten, is currently under construction at Frankhplatz. Above and below ground, the construction work for Vienna’s first fully automated metro line is in full swing. The substructure of the entrance building on Universitätsstraße is already visible, marking the future station in the cityscape. 18 meters below ground, the construction company is still performing the concrete work, the escalators are being installed, and the metalworkers are mounting the brackets for the wall cladding on the platforms.

See photo story

Photo: Andreas Buchberger
Photo: Andreas Buchberger

Open and Honest

Grete-Zimmer-Gasse Residential Complex, Vienna

On Berresgasse in Vienna’s 22nd district, a new residential neighbourhood is currently being built at the crossroads between urban and rural areas. Directly opposite the Berresgasse educational campus, we have realised two subsidised residential buildings with 113 apartments and seven townhouses. Together with the housing developer Familienwohnbau, we ventured on an experiment to work with composite façade elements that were completely prefabricated in the factory. The advantages? A perfect, “honest” exposed concrete façade, an extremely efficient construction time, and a high level of precision on the building site. Applying such construction method to social housing is a premiere in Vienna.

See project

October 2024

Franz&Sue in the Underground

Regulars’ Table at the U5 Metro Construction Site

This time, the fifth regulars’ table of the year took us deep underground. We visited the U5 construction site at Frankhplatz – the first of five new subway stations that we are planning in cooperation with YF architekten. It was impressive to see the deep shafts, the underground passageways, and the raw structure of the future platforms. At the moment, concrete is still omnipresent, but later the station areas will be furnished and clad with our subway line designs. Above ground, the substructure of the station building on Universitätsstraße has already emerged on the surface, marking one of the entrances to the new subway station.

Photos: Louai Abdul Fattah

Fabulous Party

Five Years Stadtelefant

Five years ago, we moved into the Stadtelefant together with our partner offices PLOV, SOLID, Hoyer Brandschutz, and A-NULL Bausoftware. With this team, we planned and implemented our architecture and creative cluster in the Sonnwendviertel. Our city quarter house is not only a workplace but also a lively networking hub and – with the Mimi restaurant on the ground floor – a meeting place for the whole neighbourhood. In September, we celebrated our fifth anniversary with a big party. Thank you to everyone who joined in the celebrations and to all those who have accompanied us on our journey. We look forward to many more years together at the Stadtelefant!

On Stage at School

Überbau Academy at the Leopold-Kohr-Straße Primary and Secondary School

For the second time this year, we were invited to present one of our projects as part of an On-Stage Seminar by the Überbau Academy. This time, the lecture series was hosted at our school in the Leopold-Kohr-Straße in Vienna’s 22nd district. Franz&Sue partner Björn Haunschmid-Wakolbinger and project manager Friederike Dammaß spoke about the building’s urban planning and architectural concept. Following presentations by Peter Kovacs from the Municipal Department 34, Peter Holzer from Larix Engineering, and Peter Udel from Swietelsky, our architects gave the visitors a tour of the building.

See project

Photos: Überbau/Grünbeck
Photo: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah

Under Construction

Oberwart Education Centre Building Site

Construction work on the Oberwart Education Centre has been well underway since the end of last year. The new building is not only home to the primary and music schools but also the local music association. In the near future, the place will be bustling with 24 primary school classes divided into six clusters. The heart of the new educational campus is the central aula, a meeting point and communication zone that opens up to the surrounding green. The shell of the building is now complete and the recently installed 28-metre-long steel trusses impressively set the stage for the future gymnasium.

See photo story

August 2024

Extending a 50s Original

Fröbelgasse Education Centre, Leoben

We are renovating and expanding the historically listed primary school in the Leitendorf district of Leoben in Styria. The building ensemble is regarded as a particularly authentic example of 1950s functionalism. On the exterior, this can be seen in the uniform articulation of the windows. Inside, almost all the furnishing elements and fittings remain intact in their original design. In the autumn, the pupils will move into their temporary replacement facilities, and construction is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2025. Shortly before school closes, we stopped by the school again for a photographic survey.

See photo story

Photo: Andreas Buchberger

Franz&Sue&what we stand for

New Booklet with Portfolio

The new Franz&Sue booklet is here! On 84 pages in a compact A5 format, we present our office and show what we stand for with our work. In short, concise articles, we explain our approach, outline how we work together and the structure of our office, and present our view on topics such as sustainability and building in existing contexts. In the second part of the booklet, we provide a comprehensive overview of our diverse portfolio on the basis of numerous projects.

See booklet

best architects 25 Award

Nordbahnhof Residential High-Rise

Our residential high-rise on the site of the former North Railway Station has been awarded the prestigious best architects 25 architecture prize! The prize is presented annually as a mark of quality for outstanding architectural achievements. The international jury of experts honoured our project, which was completed in May, in the category of housing/multi-family houses.

See contribution

Photo: Hertha Hurnaus

The Networked Campus

IDSA Linz Competition Proposal

In the coming years, the Institute of Digital Sciences Austria (IDSA), a new university for 6000 students and 1550 employees, will be built in Linz. Located next to the existing Science Park on the outskirts of the city, the new complex is to be realised in three construction phases. Our competition submission proposes a progressively extendable campus with networked, pavilion-like units grouped around a central circulation zone and a green atrium. The underlying modular structure of the clusters ensures flexible adaptation to the spatial requirements.

See project

Dragonboat Ahoy!

Franz&Sue Summer Regulars’ Table

At our summer regulars’ table, there was a dragonboat race at the Vienna rowing club “Pirat” on the Alte Donau. After a short dry training session, our boat crews took to the water. A brief thunderstorm jeopardised the big regatta, but we still had a lot of fun paddling around and celebrating together.

Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah
Photo: Felix Meyer

Under Construction

Evangelical Campus Nuremberg Building Site Update

A concrete behemoth from the 1970s is being transformed into a contemporary university centre: In Nuremberg, we are converting the former postal headquarters into a campus for the Evangelical Church. The main demolition work on site is now complete. Currently, foundation work is underway, the construction company is building new staircases and extending existing ones, and a section of the prefab element façade can already be seen on the high-rise.

See photo story

July 2024

Learning with Openness

Leonding Digital Secondary School, Competition Winner

We are proud to announce our competition win in Upper Austria! On the outskirts of Leonding, west of the state capital Linz, we will realise a new secondary school with a digital focus for 600 pupils, embedded in a large campus with educational and leisure facilities. On the edge of the site, between the HTL school, sports facilities, an outdoor pool, and a car park, we have designed a compact building that redefines the existing open spaces. Vis-à-vis the HTL, a shared, prestigious school plaza and meeting point is created in the west, while to the east, the L-shaped building provides ample space for a large school garden. The balcony zone facing the garden is protected from the weather and offers pupils an outdoor area that can be used all year round.

See project

Photo: Überbau/Grünbeck

On-Stage Seminar

Überbau Akademie at Nordbahnhof Residential High-Rise

The Überbau Academy – an educational format “about building” – held an “On-Stage Seminar” at our new high-rise in Vienna’s Nordbahnhof quarter, prominently located on the urban wilderness of the “Freie Mitte”. Franz&Sue partner Björn Haunschmid-Wakolbinger outlined the architectural and urban planning concept behind the 21-storey building with its striking knitted façade pattern. In addition to expert presentations by architect Regina Freimüller-Söllinger from the Nordbahnhof quality assurance advisory board, Thomas Auböck and Mikolt Piller from KIBB Immobilien, and Dieter Schreiner from Strabag, participants were also given an exciting tour of the building.

See project

Building Site Visit in Gersthof

AzW Architecture Lounge Tour

In the framework of its Architecture Lounge, the Architekturzentrum Wien paid a site visit to our project in Vienna-Gersthof, where we are currently renovating the former orthopaedic hospital and converting it into a school. Franz&Sue partner Corinna Toell and Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft (BIG) project manager Claudia Maria Walther gave the group a tour of the building, the inviting school park, and the new gymnasiums, while explaining our architectural concept and the challenges of dealing with the monument-listed building from the 1920s. The new BIG Managing Director Gerald Beck also dropped by for a look at the future flagship school. Following the tour, there was an opportunity to network and exchange ideas with the participants.

Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah
Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah

District Tour

Franz&Sue on a Grätzl Walk

At the third Regulars’ Table of the year, we set off to discover our home district Favoriten (and a little beyond). The Grätzl (neighbourhood) walk with our tour guide Eugene Quinn took us from Helmut Zilk Park on a district detour through the Arsenal – which belonged to Favoriten until 1938 – to Vienna Main Railway Station, up Favoritenstraße, and along other stops all the way to the green Bohemian Prater amusement park. We learned a lot of new things, heard interesting tales about the city, and gained loads of impressions – and got to know our Grätzl a lot better!

Knit and Purl

Nordbahnhof Residential High-Rise, Vienna

Our residential high-rise in Vienna’s Nordbahnhof quarter is finished – now the tenants are moving in! By 2025, a new urban quarter with six high-rises as defining cornerstones will be realised here. Part of the former industrial wasteland will be preserved as a large, urban wilderness – the “Freie Mitte”. In exchange, the residential towers around its perimeter reach metropolitan heights. Our project is situated in the northern part of the site, opposite the old water tower on the edge of the green space. At this prominent point, the high-rise forms a keystone in the development of the new quarter.

See project

Photo: Hertha Hurnaus
June 2024

Insider’s Look

Franz&Sue in architektur.aktuell Annual Review

In the new Architects annual issue of architektur.aktuell, the professional journal provides comprehensive insights into the Austrian architecture scene. Our office was also invited to answer questions about the role of digitalisation in the everyday work process and the effort required for competitions. We were also invited to present our high-rise residential building in Vienna’s Nordbahnhof district on the project pages.

See article

BIG SEE Awards 2024

Institute of Anatomy and Primary School in Graz

Two of our projects, the Division of Anatomy of the Medical University of Graz and the Graz-Puntigam Primary School, won the BIG SEE Architecture Award 2024! Our team leader Martino Libisch was in Ljubljana on the occasion of the BIG SEE Festival to present our office in a lecture and accept the awards.

Photo: Martin Vogrič
Photo: David Schreyer
Photo: David Schreyer

In-Between

Second Phase: Puntigam Education Campus

In Graz-Puntigam, work is currently underway on the second construction phase of the new education campus. Beside our already completed primary school, we are renovating and extending the existing 1950s middle school and adding a new lightweight timber construction level. The project will be topped off by a new polytechnic school, which will be built on the site of the old connecting building between the middle school and the gymnasium. In our current building site photos, the excavator is busy with demolition work between the old, previously separate classroom wings. Our design integrates this area into the building, creating an open, bright assembly hall with a library and canteen.

See project

May 2024

Göllersdorf Forensic Therapeutic Centre

Competition Winner, Lower Austria

Upon commission by the Federal Ministry of Justice, we will renovate and expand Schloss Göllersdorf Forensic Therapeutic Centre. After 40 years in operation, the historic Renaissance ensemble and the 1980s extension are in urgent need of a fundamental modernisation and strategic extension. Embedded in a spacious park, the complex will be supplemented with two new buildings for living groups and a new service wing. Our design picks up on the courtyard structure of the existing building and creates links to the natural habitat on all sides, while offering the residents private green spaces with small loggias in the rooms.

See project

Photo: Fanz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah
Photo: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah
Photo: Louai Abdul Fattah
Photo: Louai Abdul Fattah

From Building Site to Sports Ground

Regulars' Table With a Visit to a Construction Site and a Stadium

At our Regulars' Table, our team visited the construction site in Vienna-Gersthof, where we are currently transforming a listed hospital from the 1920s into a school on behalf of the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft. After the tour, we travelled one district further to the Wiener Sport-Club stadium, where our group braved the cool weather in the stands to watch the match against FC Marchfeld Donauauen (final score 1:1). An exciting evening for the regulars' table, both professionally and in terms of sport!

April 2024

Terraces Ace the Test

Leopold-Kohr-Straße Primary and Secondary School, Vienna

Our primary and secondary school on Leopold-Kohr-Straße in Kagran, situated between a business park, recent housing estates, and the Ostbahn railway, sets a new anchor point in the district’s urban development. Spacious terraces facing the schoolyard garden offer pupils plenty of sheltered outdoor space that can be used all year round. In time, wild vines will climb up the storey-high steel cable meshes and screen the natural larch wood façade. Inside, two sculptural, reflective bridges make the heart of the school a very special space, instilling it with an atmosphere of discovery and movement. This central atrium serves as a hub for orientation and the common meeting point in the school.

See project

Photo: David Schreyer

Operation on the Edge

Cardinal Schwarzenberg Clinic Building Site

In Salzburg’s Pongau region, we are currently realising a new building in Schwarzach for the Cardinal Schwarzenberg Clinic, the second largest hospital in the state, together with our partner office Maurer & Partner. The seven-storey compact extension will provide space for operating rooms, an intensive care unit, a pharmacy, and the pathology and psychiatric departments. A three-storey bridge will connect the new building with the existing complex. Construction work on this topographically challenging site has been underway since last October. The slope stabilisation measures alone for excavation pit deep into the terrain have taken on impressive dimensions. The rocky foundation had to be detonated in parts. The construction company is presently working on the shell of the basement floors, which are up to 15 metres below ground level due to the slope.

See project

Honourable Guest

London’s Deputy Mayor Visits Franz&Sue

London’s Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, Tom Copley, was in Vienna last week to gather information on the topic of social housing. That day, a visit to our office was on his agenda! Franz&Sue partner Christian Ambos introduced the London delegation to the Stadtelefant and described the development of the Sonnwendviertel neighbourhood. After lunch at Mimi, the restaurant on our ground floor, there was then a presentation about the office.

Photo: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah
Photo: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah

Oberwart from Above

A Visit to the Education Centre Building Site

In Oberwart in Burgenland, we are currently building a new education centre with premises for a primary school, music school, and the town’s music association. Construction work has been in full swing for a few weeks now and the basement walls and floor slabs are currently being poured. Our project team made the most of a visit to the construction site with a crane ride – including an impressive view over the entire construction site. From above, you can already fathom the dimensions of the 120-metre-long building. And the lines of steel rebar give a hint to where the individual rooms will be situated.

See project

March 2024

“Learning on Historical Foundations”

Press report on our conversion project in Gersthof

The daily newspaper “Die Presse” dedicated a feature article to our project in Vienna Gersthof. Commissioned by BIG, we are currently renovating the former orthopaedic hospital and converting it into a contemporary educational campus. The building from the 1920s is a listed heritage property with a unique combination of architectural details from the late Secession, Art Deco, and Expressionist periods. Among other things, the article outlines the structural interventions we will be making to further enhance this charming architecture for use as a school. The editor interviewed BIG project manager Claudia Maria Walther and Franz&Sue partner Corinna Toell.

Zum Artikel

Photo: ORTE

30 Years ORTE

Jubilee Podcast with Robert Diem

Happy Birthday, ORTE! This year, the Lower Austrian Architecture Network celebrates its 30th jubilee. To mark the occasion, it has prepared a podcast in the form of an audio collage with comments from architects. The programme is set in the future, in the year 2054, and takes a retrospective look at the imaginary past since the jubilee. Franz&Sue partner Robert Diem took part and shared his visions on how housing, mobility, and often pronounced dead town centres will have evolved by 2054. You can listen to his entire statement here.

Franz&Sue&the city (his)story

A Visit to the Wien Museum

The first Franz&Sue regulars’ table of the year led us to the Wien Museum. After being remodelled and expanded by Certov, Winkler + Ruck, the building has been open to the public again since December. Our team enjoyed a guided tour of the permanent exhibition, insights into the Fischer von Erlach special exhibition, and views of Karlsplatz from the visitor terrace. Thanks to project manager Heribert Fruhauf from the Wien Museum for the interesting remarks! At the end of the day, we went to the Irish pub for a game of pool.

Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah
February 2024

Berlin Duet

Competition Winner, Berlin

Together with our working group partners Schenker Salvi Weber, we have won our second competition in Berlin! In the downtown district Mitte, as a last urban building block between the former Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie, a new federal ministry is being built in combination with a residential complex housing 111 apartments. The ministry is designed as a timber-frame construction; for the residential building, we developed an innovative concept with prefab timber modules – sustainable, time-saving, and efficient.

See project

January 2024

Prize-Winning Project

Montanuni Leoben Study Centre in A&C Magazine

The South Korean magazine Architecture & Culture takes a look back at the year 2023 in its December issue with an editorial focus on international architecture awards. One feature is dedicated to our Study Centre at Montanuni Leoben, which was named “Best of Best” at this year’s Iconic Awards. In an interview with the editorial team, we had the opportunity to outline our architectural concept and report on the realisation of the project.

See article

Photo: David Schreyer

Archello Awards

First Prize for the Division of Anatomy, Med Uni Graz

In a multi-stage evaluation process for the awards of the architecture platform archello.com, an international jury of experts selected our Division of Anatomy project on the new Med Uni Graz campus as the winner in the category “University Building of the Year”. This year, there were a total of 1000 entries from 66 countries, with a jury prize and an audience prize awarded in each of the 27 categories. We are delighted to have received this distinction with such international competition!

See project

December 2023

Balcony Details

Stadtelefant in AMC

Balconies are the theme of the current issue of the French architecture magazine AMC, which presents international projects and technical details in its editorial focus. And one of the articles in the dossier features the Stadtelefant, our headquarters in Vienna’s Sonnwendviertel neighbourhood. Merci beaucoup for the wonderful report!

See article

“Connecting the Old and New”

HDA Publication with the Division of Anatomy, Med Uni Graz

On the occasion of this year’s Styrian Architecture Award, the Haus der Architektur (HDA) in Graz has produced a high-quality publication. Next to the award winner and the honourable mentions, the Division of Anatomy of the Med Uni Graz is presented as one of six nominated projects. We are delighted to have received this recognition and to be represented alongside projects by our esteemed colleagues!

Let´s Clay!

Clay Workshop at Franz&Sue

The Young Earth Builders association is committed to raising awareness and knowledge transfer about earth building methods – they were our guests for a workshop at our latest regulars’ table evening. The event began with information about the history, possible applications, opportunities, and challenges of using natural materials like clay. Afterwards, the participants could try their hand at clay stamping, plaster mixing, or brick moulding at various workstations.

Fotos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah
November 2023

Clean Cut

Competition Winner: Baden Secondary School, Lower Austria

A large school complex on the outskirts of Baden will be expanded substantially in the coming years. For the new secondary school, we have designed a connecting forecourt at the heart of the site as an arrival area and anchor point. The three-storey building presents its clean-cut front to the street side. Behind, open spaces unfold on different levels, creating bridges to existing green zones. Our design adds identity and makes a coherent gesture in this heterogeneous area.

See project

Iconic Awards 2023

Prize-Winners: Montanuni Leoben Study Centre and Graz-Puntigam Education Campus

The German Design Council honoured two of our projects at once at the Iconic Awards 2023. The Montanuni Leoben Study Centre was distinguished in the premiere “Best of Best” category, while the Graz-Puntigam Education Campus was named a “Winner” project. The prize was awarded by an international jury of experts at the ceremony held in Munich at the beginning of October. In its explanatory statement for the Study Centre in Leoben, the jury emphasised the “functional form that asserts itself in the existing built fabric”, the continuous bands on the façade, and the concise use of materials in the interior, and added: “With the campus extension, the mining university confidently underlines the role of the Styrian city as a science hub in keeping with tradition.”

Foto: German Design Council/Lukas Schramm
Foto: Hertha Hurnaus
Foto: David Schreyer
Photo: Andreas Buchberger

Under Construction

Adapting the Listed Orthopedic Hospital Gersthof into a School

We are renovating the former Gersthof Orthopedic Hospital in Vienna's 18th district and converting the listed building from the 1920s into a school on behalf of BIG. In the process, we are preserving many charming elements from the historic building stock, opening up the dark corridors and using targeted interventions to create a contemporary, bright school with great classrooms, break rooms and social rooms.

See photo story

October 2023

Planning Insights

Info Event on the Liezen Regional Hospital in Stainach-Pürgg

We have recently completed the preliminary design phase of the Liezen Regional Hospital, which we are realising in cooperation with Maurer & Partner. At an event in Stainach-Pürgg at the end of September, the local residents were able to inform themselves about the current state of planning and ask questions of those involved in the project. Franz&Sue architect Barbara Hohensinn took part on behalf of the working group. She reported on the coordination talks with users, authorities and specialist planners and explained our concept for the new hospital, in which we are placing three buildings of different sizes in the gently rising landscape, taking advantage of the topography. The next step is the design phase, in which the plans will be further deepened.

See project

Photos: Gesundheitsfonds Steiermark/Christoph Huber
September 2023

Open Space on All Levels

Renovation and New School on Laimäckergasse, Vienna

On Laimäckergasse in Vienna’s tenth district, a heritage-protected primary school with historical girls and boys classroom wings is to be renovated and expanded into an all-day school for 17 classes. Directly opposite, a new building is planned for eight secondary school and four additional primary school classes. Our design responds to the limited available space on the plot with a variety of open spaces on all levels in both buildings. We were awarded 2nd prize by the competition jury.

See project

August 2023

Excursion to Northwest Station

Franz&Sue&things done together.

For our summer regulars’ table, we went to the site of the former Vienna Northwest Railway Station. First off, the Tracing Spaces team gave us a guided tour of the terrain with exciting historical insights. Afterwards, we had a barbecue at a great location, the old petrol station. With cool drinks, DJ beats, and live music, we chatted and danced the summer evening away.

Photos: Louai Abdul Fattah
July 2023

Learning on the Job

Julia Hottenbacher in an AIT Interview

The German magazine AIT introduces our colleague Julia Hottenbacher in its June issue as part of the interview series “Working at...”. After studying at TU Dresden, Julia started her first job as an architect in our office in March 2022. In the interview, she speaks about her transition into professional life, her activities at Franz&Sue, and what she particularly likes about living and working in Vienna.

See article

Inspiring Books

Franz&Sue Exhibition Contribution

“Architecture in the book and the book in architecture” is the theme of an exhibition at the AIT ArchitekturSalon in Hamburg, where Franz&Sue partners Christian Ambos and Michael Anhammer also made two contributions. For the show, architects were asked which book had a special influence or still inspires them today. Christian Ambos chose The Poetics of a Wall Projection by Jan Turnovsky, his former professor of housing at the Vienna University of Technology. Michael Anhammer chose Italomodern by Martin and Werner Feiersinger, which accompanies him on journeys with his family and makes him rhapsodise nostalgically about Italian post-war modernism.

Photo: Jochen Stüber
Photo: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah
Photo: Jochen Stüber
Photos: Louai Abdul Fattah

Cheers!

Stadtelefant Party

Together with our office neighbours in the Stadtelefant, we celebrated an early summer party on June 1st. With balmy evening temperatures and DJ music, it was a great ambience to eat, drink, and chat as well as exchange ideas with colleagues from the other Stadtelefant offices. Thanks to everyone who joined in at the celebration for a wonderful evening!

June 2023

Democratic Architecture

Excursion to the Parliament

This time our Stammtisch took us to the Parliament, which has recently undergone a complete renovation according to the plans of Jabornegg & Pálffy and now shines in new splendour. The 40-member Franz&Sue delegation had exciting insights into the built heart of Austrian democracy – from the plenary halls and the library to the visitor centre and the observation deck underneath the new glass dome. Our team was even allowed to take a seat in one of the investigative committee rooms. Many thanks to Harald Wagner from BIG and Rudolf Gollia from the Parliamentary Administration for the expert tour!

Photos: Louai Abdul Fattah
Photo: Louai Abdul Fattah

Aiming High

Nordbahnhof Residential High-Rise Building Site, Vienna

On the site of the former North Railway Station in Vienna’s second district, our first high-rise residential building is currently creeping up in the skyline. Three quarters have already been completed, and when it is finished, the building on the corner of Taborstraße and Leystraße will be 21 storeys. By 2025, a new urban quarter with six high-rises will be built on the site. Part of the former industrial wasteland will be preserved here as a large, urban wilderness – the “Freie Mitte” (Free Centre). In exchange, the residential towers around its perimeter reach metropolitan heights.

Read Article

In Production

At the Trepka Factory

The Trepka company manufactures the façade composite elements for our housing project in Grete-Zimmer-Gasse in Vienna. We recently visited the factory in Ober-Grafendorf. The individual work steps are performed station by station on a circulation line: First, the employees build the formwork into which the rebar is installed, and then the concrete is poured. Once it has dried, the insulation is fixed in between, and another layer of concrete is poured. Finally, the elements are sandblasted to give them a high-calibre exposed concrete surface – then it’s off to the building site.

Photos: Louai Abdul Fattah

Leoben, the third

Competition Winner, Fröbelgasse Primary School

Franz&Sue and Leoben: That sounds like a perfect match. With the Study Centre of the University of Leoben and the conversion of the Primary School and the New Secondary School, we have already implemented two projects in the second largest city in Styria. Now it’s time to realise our third educational building in Leoben: In the district of Leitendorf, we are renovating the historically listed Fröbelgasse primary school and expanding it into a modern education centre. In the future, two existing schools will be consolidated at one location.

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Tunnel Tapping at U5-Station

Construction Work at Frankhplatz

Together with our partner office YF architekten, we are planning the new Vienna U5 stations. The underground outer walls of the new station at at Frankhplatz have already been erected and tunnel construction work started there at the beginning of May. On the occasion of the tunnel tapping ceremony, we had the the opportunity to take a look around the construction site deep underground.

See project

May 2023

Puntigam School Ensemble

Second Phase: Middle and Polytechnic School

Education Campus Part II: Last year, we completed the new elementary school in the Puntigam district of Graz – in the meanwhile, the building permit plan for the adjacent second construction phase is complete. We will renovate and extend the existing 1950s middle school and add a new lightweight timber construction level. The project will be topped off by a new polytechnic school, which will be built on the site of the old connecting building between the middle school and the gymnasium. In the future, there will be ample space for another 350 pupils in 14 classes on campus.

Read article

Under Construction

Building with Prefabricated Concrete Elements in the Social Housing Sector

Prefabricated composite façade elements save a lot of time during construction and enable high-quality and precise processing of concrete. We already employed this building method for our own office project, the Stadtelefant, and now we are following a similar concept for a residential development in Vienna’s 22nd district with a premium quality exposed concrete façade – elegant, honest, and straightforward.

Read Article

April 2023
Photo: Eylül Aslan

Turn On 2023

Lecture at the Architecture Festival

As part of the Turn On architecture festival, Franz&Sue partner Michael Anhammer, together with lighting designer Christian Ploderer and Gudrun Schach from Zumtobel, recently presented the Montanuni Leoben study centre. An identity-forming building has been created here next to the Mur river. Inside, the three lecture halls and the main staircase are freely arranged. In the flowing room structure, the lighting concept supports orientation and helps to create a clearer zoning between daylight and artificial lighting areas in the large public building.

See project

March 2023

Triple "Best of Austria"

AzW Publication Shows Award-Winning Projects

We are featured with no less than three projects in the new publication "Best of Austria 2020/21" published by the Architekturzentrum Wien. The anthology shows buildings that were awarded national and international architecture prizes in these two years and also presents the architectural studios behind them. In addition to the Leoben Education Centre and the renovated and expanded Court House in Salzburg, our Stadtelefant office building in Vienna's Sonnwendviertel district is also presented in the publication.

February 2023

Ceremonial Opening

Konrad Lorenz Secondary School, Gänserndorf

Last September, the students of the BG/BRG Gänserndorf moved from their substitute accommodation back to the secondary school, which was renovated and expanded by us. Now the school was ceremoniously inaugurated by Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research Martin Polaschek, BIG Managing Director Wolfgang Gleissner and Regional Education Councillor Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister.  A delegation from the Franz&Sue planning team was also present at the opening - and because the school also has plenty of space to let off steam during the breaks, we brought the director of the school, Eva Zillinger, a punching bag as a gift.

January 2023

Opening Celebration

Graz-Puntigam Education Campus

"A school has been built according to our needs and ideas, from the very beginning we have had the feeling that we are moving into our common house, which we have helped to plan and design", says Roland Schadl, director of the elementary school Puntigam. Recently, the largest elementary school in Styria was ceremoniously opened, where we turned a pavilion-like structure into a contemporary cooperative educational campus with plenty of space for education, exercise and leisure. And the special part about it: for the building, we opted for materials such as brick, loam and hemp and a low-tech approach that promises longevity. "

See project

Foto: Stadt Graz/Foto Fischer

Better Worlds of Learning

Distinction for Leoben Education Centre

At the beginning of October, Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research Martin Polaschek presented the award for projects in “building culture education” for the second time, and our primary and secondary school complex in Leoben received an honourable mention. “Architectural factors can have a significant influence on one’s concentration and thus on successful learning. That is why contemporary and functional architecture is essential, especially for educational buildings,” said Polaschek. Architect Carla Kuhn, Director Christian Gschiel, and Franz&Sue partner Michael Anhammer (from left) were delighted to accept the award.

Opening Celebration

Montanuni Leoben Study Centre

Glück auf! is an Austrian miners’ greeting of old. After opening the doors to our new study centre at the University of Leoben to students in early October, it was now ceremoniously inaugurated by Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research Martin Polaschek, Rector Wilfried Eichlseder, BIG CEO Hans-Peter Weiss, Styrian Governor Christopher Drexler, and Mayor Kurt Wallner, amongst others. Franz&Sue partners Corinna Toell and Michael Anhammer were also on site to join BIG project manager Gabriele Leitner in a befitting celebration to cheer in the campus’s new hub.

See project

Photo: Foto Freisinger
October 2022

Lower Austrian Building Award 2022

Special Award for the IST Austria Chemistry Lab

The learning and research building we planned in cooperation with Maurer&Partner has received the “special award” from the Lower Austrian building guild and the government of Lower Austria. The focus of the award is on quality craftsmanship, contemporary design, economic functionality, and sustainable construction. The jury highlighted the fulfilment of special user requirements – such as the special reinforcement solution for spectroscopic NMR technology – and the spatial layout, which specifically fosters interaction and “offers top researchers from 75 nations spaces and technical standards at the highest level.”

See project

September 2022

Healing with Nature

Competition Winner, Styria

Where clover now grows, the new regional hospital for the Liezen district will rise in the coming years. In collaboration with Maurer&Partner, our design for the 230-bed hospital on a slope provides for short distances, simple orientation, and optimal lighting. And all this “hides” behind just three visible floors and harmonizes perfectly with the rural idyll.

See project

Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah

City Planning Day

A visit with Camillo Sitte Bautechnikum

At this year’s Stadtbautag (City Planning Day), everything revolved around the Vienna metro extension for the polytechnical students. After a visit to the train remise, a tour of the construction site at Frankhplatz, and a lecture by planning director Thomas Madreiter, the Stadtelefant was the last stop on the excursion. Franz&Sue partner Erwin Stättner and Robert Leitner of YF architekten gave the students some insights into the planning of the U5 line, the development of the design concept, and the role of the architects in this project.

Open House

Anatomy of the Med Uni Graz

We adapted and expanded the former Institute of Pathology for the Institute of Anatomy of the Medical University of Graz. The heritage-listed building, which dates back to 1912, will be enhanced with a new, two-story entrance area including a spacious foyer and also accommodate laboratories, offices, and a library. A subterranean lecture hall for 500 students connects the existing structure with the modern new building. Two dissection rooms with 70 tables, for example, are situated here. In cooperation with the Haus der Architektur, the project manager of Franz&Sue, Thomas Rögelsperger, and of BIG, Klaus Grill, gave interested parties first-hand insights into the project during two guided tours on September 17.

Fotos: HDA/Felix Dokonal
Oberwart Education Centre, Competition winner 2021

Silver for Schools

2nd place in the competitionline school rankings

At the end of the summer vacations, competitionline ranked the most successful German-speaking architectural firms in school construction 2021, and we landed in second place in the ranking behind h4a and ahead of Kohlmayer Oberst from Stuttgart. We are particularly pleased with this second prize because schools are places for real encounters between people, built for the next generations. They must fulfil their function as places and offer children safe learning landscapes.

See rankings

August 2022

Franz&Sue on tour

Office Excursion to Graz

This year, our excursion took us to the Styrian capital where we are currently completing two exciting projects. First, the team went to the Puntigam Education Campus, and after a group lunch, they continued to the Institute of Anatomy at the Medical University of Graz. A big thank you to the project managers who presented their designs with so much enthusiasm!

 

Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah
Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah

Franz&Sue&home grounds

1 Year in the Studio

For over a year now, part of our team has been working in the Franz&Sue studio, our second office location not far from the Stadtelefant. Since then, new routines have also taken hold: Meetings of the competition team take place outdoors when the weather is nice, a reading corner has been added in the tea kitchen, and the height-adjustable tables in the meeting rooms are usually fully booked. You could say: We have arrived at our second home.

Franz&Sue&crossing the border

Bratislava Excursion

Our project team, which planned the Institute of Anatomy at Med Uni Graz, has done a great job in the past years. To conclude the project, the team went for a trip on the Twin City Liner to Bratislava, where Pavol Paňák, partner of BKPŠ, gave us a guided tour of the National Gallery, which is currently under construction. With architect Andrea Dilhoffová, we then headed to other stops in the city: the Radio and Television of Slovakia building, the functionalist housing project Avion, the Slovak University of Technology, Freedom Square, and Kamenné námestie. With so much exciting architecture, we will definitely come back soon!

 

Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah

U5 Extension

First Automatic Platform Doors in Volkstheater Station

Several years of work went into the design of the platform doors for the new fully automated U5 metro line. First, we worked in a joint venture with YF architekten on a mock-up in Erdberg, later in close coordination with the manufacturer and Wiener Linien on a connecting track between the stations Erdberg and Stadion to test and optimise the platform element. For example, special templates were developed to ensure that the anchor points in the reinforced concrete fit to the millimetre. At the Volkstheater, the construction team has now mounted the first two of 36 platform screen doors for the station. To this end, the pre-assembled platform doors were lifted down onto the tracks by a crane via an opening in the construction site. From there, a special vehicle took the doors to the platforms where they were hoisted precisely into place.

Communication is everything

Competition winner, Leonding | Pasching

The internationally active company KEBA needs new office and production space that communicates its corporate culture to the outside world. Our design links the working worlds between office and production, incorporates the outdoor space, and focuses on resource-saving circular economy.

Photo: KAGes/locustmedia

Liezen Regional Hospital

Competition winner, Styria

Recently, the Health Fund Styria announced the winners of the general planning competition for Liezen Regional Hospital,and, together with Maurer&Partner, we are very pleased about winning first place! “A hospital must be designed so that it not only meets current needs but also those of the future. (...) With the award-winning design for Liezen Regional Hospital,these diverse demands for a modern hospital architecture become reality in a regional area,” commented social regional councillor Doris Kampus. More details about our design will follow!

July 2022

Franz&Sue&letting go

End of the week at the Heurigen

This time, the Franz&Sue regulars’ table included a hike through the vineyards on the Kahlenberg for a toast to the summer up at the Wailand winery with lots of sunshine and good wine. We were rewarded with typical Viennese Brettljause snacks and a stunning view over Vienna.

Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah

Growing with the Mountain

New Educational Campus in Frastanz Fellengatter

The municipality of Frastanz by Feldkirch decided to reorganise its early childhood care, kindergarten, and elementary school into a joint building ensemble. Our design, in cooperation with Querformat, envisages three offset buildings with different heights that form an overall ensemble, a meeting place for children and a social centre for the district. With varied connections on the different levels, the slope flows through the ensemble and adds character to the project. This integration of the landscape creates a smooth transition between natural and architectural space, despite the large volumes. We received 3rd prize for this proposal.

Franz&Sue&learning from each other

Kick-off Franz&Sue Academy

In recent years, we were able to deepen our knowledge in a number of specialist areas and gather a lot of experience as a team. Now we would like to pass on this know-how to our colleagues in the framework of an internal training programme and continue learning together. This idea led to the Franz&Sue Academy, which will take place at regular intervals. We also open the floor to guest lectures by experts – such as Ursula Spannberger, who recently presented her Raumwert method in a workshop.

 

Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah

Behind the Scenes

Renovation and Extension of the Salzburg Festival Houses

Our design for the new workshop building, developed in collaboration with Prof. Jörg Friedrich, envisages a cube with workshop areas stacked on top of each other – with high rooms, ample daylight, and as few supports as possible. We situate the volume in its urban context in a way that draws air and lightness into the density of the historical theatre complex. To this end, we thrust the new building into the mountain towards a subterranean logistics corridor and thereby attain a generous inner courtyard. We were kindly awarded 2nd prize.

See project

Tunnel Tapping at U2xU5 Metro Intersection

Construction Work at Vienna City Hall Begins

At the future U2xU5 metro station Rathaus (City Hall), the first tunnel construction works for the new U2 metro line to “Matzleinsdorfer Platz” started in June. We visited the old, imposing tunnels, most of which will be preserved and integrated into the new infrastructure. At the Rathaus station, the U2 line will cross underneath the tracks of the fully automated U5 line.

See project

 

Photo: Wr. Linien/Johannes Zinner

"Work from Shed"

Inspiring garden offices from all over the world

Why commute to an office when you can work from a shed? The British publishing house Hoxton Mini Press has collected the most beautiful garden offices in the book “Work from Shed” – including our enchanted shed from the Vienna Woods. “Though the crumbling building has been almost completely renewed, the architects note that ‘we didn't touch the roof. It is covered with moss – and we like that.’”

June 2022

Your Best

Short Lecture Evening at BFI Linz

When the Austria-Architects platform was looking for the building of the year 2021 in a reader voting, we reached the top 10 with the Chemistry Lab at the IST Campus in Klosterneuburg – making us now part of “Your Best”! At the finale of the Architecture Days on June 9, our project manager Björn Haunschmid-Wakolbinger provided insights into the design process and told the story of how the building came into being.

 

 

Photos: Austria-Architects
Photos: Louai Abdul Fattah

gebaut 2021

Award for Housing Project

No master plan, but together for diversity! We collaborated with the architectural firms g.o.y.a. and Illiz on the development of the Carrée Atzgersdorf neighbourhood in Vienna’s 23rd district, which now received the “gebaut 2021” award. Each year, the City of Vienna awards this prize to high-quality architectural projects that also contribute to social sustainability and climate protection. This time, the award ceremony with city councillor Ulli Sima took place at our Mimi im Stadtelefant! By the way, all award-winning projects are now on display for one year at an exhibition in the building of the MA 19 municipal department.

Montanuni Leoben Study Centre

Time-Lapse Video

The recordings of the webcam from the University of Leoben campus impressively document all that has happened in only 1.5 years of construction time at the newly built study centre. The site directly beside the Mur River used to be a parking lot. On behalf of the BIG real estate company, we designed a centre for 1,000 students with three lecture halls. The horizontal layers of the façade are reminiscent of the mining landscape, which Austria’s only university for mining and metallurgy is intrinsically linked to.

 

Photos: Louai Abdul Fattah

Franz&Sue&a change of perspective

Joining a Shades Tour

In several groups, we got to know Vienna from a different side as part of our regular “Stammtisch” activities: The Shades Tours are guided by people who provide insights into socially polarising topics, such as homelessness and addiction, based on their own experience. We were deeply impressed by the intimate stories of the guides and are still exchanging about what we learned from this unusual perspective.

May 2022

Long Live Sports

Competition First Prize, Vienna

Across from the Generali Arena stadium and close to a major traffic junction in Vienna’s Favoriten district, a ball sports high school is being built, where – in addition to the standard lessons in German, English and math – the focus is on competitive sports. Our design is oriented upon the needs of young athletes and includes a gymnasium that accommodates three courts with a roof garden where students can relax after training.

See project

Franz&Sue&daring to dream

Fifth Anniversary of Franz&Sue

On May 19, 2017, we tied the knot at an exuberant wedding in the Brotfabrik in Vienna. That was five years ago – five years full of successes, challenges, and, above all, constant team growth. Since the company merger, our team has almost tripled in size. We celebrated the wooden wedding at Mimi im Stadtelefant with an opulent cake, fine drinks, and lively conversation.

The Cycle of Life

Competition winner, Berlin

The working group of Franz&Sue and Schenker Salvi Weber has landed in Berlin! For three quarters of a year, we put a lot of heart and soul into the design for the new building of this great German institution. Looking back on working out two stages and a revision phase for this project, and after several joint competitions, we finally came out the winners for the first time! All the greater is our delight about this prize!

See project

Weinviertel at its best

Kindergarten Immendorf, Lower Austria

The new kindergarten in Immendorf, a village in the Weinviertel region, is reminiscent of the traditional Lower Austrian elongated farmhouse typology – reinterpreted for the next generations. The exposed wooden beams unconsciously convey the idea of architecture to the children – they propose a rhythm and structure and reveal the construction of the building.

See project

April 2022

Order in the Quarter

Administration Building for the European Stability Mechanism and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

This quarter in Luxembourg City is characterized by EU institutions, security concepts, and heterogeneous architecture. Our design lends the neighbourhood more civic identity with an ensemble that incorporates public space and adds a touch of calm to the urban fabric. These ideas earned us 2nd prize.

See project

Number One in Austria

Competitionline Ranking 2021

At the top of the list for the second time: In the ranking oriented upon our competition results, we succeeded once again to be the best-placed Austrian architectural office! Internationally, we rose to sixth place.

See the ranking

 

Franz&Sue&The Shiny Colours

Exhibition visit

The Architekturzentrum Wien has a colourful new permanent exhibition, and we recently paid it a visit: “Hot Questions – Cold Storage” provides insights into Austrian architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries. Many thanks to curator Monika Platzer and architect Michael Hieslmair from Tracing Spaces, who gave us an exclusive guided tour and engaged in a lively discourse with us!

On the Apprentice’s Behalf

The New Central Vocational School in Seestadt Aspern

Our design integrates into the heterogenous neighbourhood elegantly and articulates diverse spatial-pedagogical concepts in three clusters for hands-on professional training. Our plan was awarded 3rd prize by the jury.

See project

February 2022

Groundbreaking

Construction Starts in Donaustadt

Project manager Friederike Dammaß (middle) with Anita Bartos and Edin Hadžović from the project team celebrated the construction kick-off of the school complex on Leopold-Kohr-Straße together with City Councillor of Education Christoph Wiederkehr and District Councillor Ernst Nevrivy. The cluster school will comprise 29 educational spaces for nearly 800 students.

News from the Nordbahnviertel

Construction Begins on the Residential High-Rise

Right beside the “Freie Mitte” – the planned wilderness park in the quarter – and right in the centre of the end loop of tramway O, the cranes have taken their positions. This is where our 21-storey residential high-rise is being built. The concrete foundation slab is currently being poured, and the first walls are soon to follow. What’s special about this project is its striking form and the differently designed balcony fronts. Follow the link to see our design.

Institute of Anatomy Med Uni Graz

Time-Lapse Video

The images from the webcam on the campus of the Medical University of Graz show how much has happened in two years of construction at the central Institute of Anatomy! We adapted and expanded the existing building on behalf of the Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft real estate company – in the new building there is now ample space for large dissection rooms, communication and learning zones as well as for events on the open plan ground floor.

Sleeping Beauty in Gersthof

Renovation and Conversion of the Monument-Listed Orthopaedic Hospital

We set on a journey through the past of this historic building and had a look at what has changed through bygone decades. How do the former operating rooms look today? By how many floors did the hospital grow? And we also dare to peek into the future: Here’s how the hospital rooms will transform into school classrooms. 

See photo story

[Translate to English:]

Foto: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah

Building without Insulation

Graz-Puntigam Education Campus

Sustainable and at the same time simple, built with natural materials – that’s our claim. In our school project in Graz, we are therefore using 50-cm-thick insulating bricks, which we cover with clay plaster on the inside and with only 3-cm-thick hemp panels on the outside. This strategy provides ecological thermal, heat, and sound protection and replaces conventional polystyrene thermal insulation. The clay plaster also provides a particularly comfortable indoor climate for the future pupils.

A Wood Building for Research

New Replacement Building, University of Bonn, North Rhein-Westphalia

Our design for the laboratory and research building focuses on sustainable timber construction and climate-friendly fabrication. To this end, we developed a sustainability concept together with experts in this early planning stage. The competition jury awarded us 2nd prize.

See project

December 2021
Photo: Daniel Shaked

Everything’s new in 2022

Franz&Sue expands the management team

In January 2022 the longstanding team members Corinna Toell and Björn Haunschmid-Wakolbinger become partners at Franz&Sue.

See news story

November 2021

Piran Days of Architecture

Architecture Conference in Slovenia

The programme of the Piran Days of Architecture, which takes place each year in the Slovenian coastal town, consists of lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and an architectural competition. This year Franz&Sue partner Christian Ambos participated at the international architecture conference as a juror and lecturer. The 2021 theme was centred on the question of what is measurable in architecture. Other lectures were held by architects from Hungary, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Spain, and the USA.  

Photo: Jadran Rusjan
Photo: Jadran Rusjan

Austrian State Prize for Architecture 2021

Nomination for Salzburg Courthouse

We made it to the short list! Our Salzburg Courthouse has been nominated for the Austrian State Prize for Architecture 2021 of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs – in a group with high-calibre design projects such as those by Snøhetta Studio Innsbruck, SWAP Architects, Caramel Architects, or Berger+Parkkinen. We and our colleagues are thrilled and looking forward to the award ceremony!

Diploma Double-Pack

Congratulations to Completion!

We congratulate Katarína Martoňáková and Ajdin Vukovic for their exciting research projects! Katarína’s diploma thesis "Die Stadt und die Trauer" (The City and Mourning) reflects on the relationship of the city and society towards death and how mourning can be localised in contemporary cities. Parallel to his work, Ajdin furthered his studies at the Institute of Anatomy at Med Uni Graz in the field of neurosciences and wrote about innovations in psychological trauma therapy. In "Body as a House" he investigates the role of our bodies in trauma treatment and how architecture can make a contribution.

Design the design process!

Lecture at the TU Wien

How do we design the design process? Which tools do we use to design, which methods are employed to analyse, research, experiment, evaluate, and arrive at decisions? For the first time, the Architecture and Design Field of Research at the TU Wien organised guest lectures with contemporary architecture groups, who provide short introductions to their own design strategies. Together with Claude Probst and Elisabeth Nobl, Franz&Sue partner Robert Diem spoke about our design methodologies.

Architekturumtrunk

Lecture at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences

The series “Architektur Umtrunk” of the Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering in Wiesbaden kicked off its winter semester with a lecture by Michael Anhammer. He provided the students insights into our work methods and projects – for example, the Salzburg Courthouse, the Leoben School Complex, and the Evangelic Church Campus in Nuremberg.

Photo: Stefan Dadic
October 2021

Off to Oberwagram

Residential Project in St. Pölten, Lower Austria

The aim of our new residential project nearby the Government district in St. Pölten, with its eye-catching indented rows of lush green loggias, is densification. But opposed to building a 140-metre-long block facing the city, our strategy was to play with various heights and to fracture the volume into four individual building components. The small-scale articulation of the façade generates an individuality that is embedded in a harmonious ensemble.

See project

The best of both worlds

Lecture at the Graphisoft Conference

Upon invitation of Graphisoft, BIM coordinator Thomas Karl held a lecture at the international event “Building Together” in September 2021 on the entanglements between digital and analogue working methods and how we applied them in the Stadtelefant. 

See online event

under construction

Building site: Headquarters of the Upper Austria Provincial Police Directorate

A command centre to take emergency calls from all over Upper Austria – and it’s under construction at the moment on the premises of the Upper Austria Provincial Police Directorate in Linz. The heart of the three-storey complex will be the 300-plus m² operations coordination room. A glazed bridge connects the new building with the existing – if needed, the headquarters can be topped off with two additional floors. The green atrium offers an attractive space for relaxing during the breaks.

See photos

wienwood 21

Vienna Timber Construction Award

We build on wood! For instance, the residential complex for Caritas Wien in Strebersdorf, which was distinguished with the wienwood 21 award! proHolz Austria, together with the City of Vienna and Architekturzentrum Wien, awards the prize for outstanding timber constructions in Vienna. “From the very beginning, the new building was viewed critically by its neighbours, here and there even with a pinch of hostility. Hence, it was all the more important for the architects to lend the building a friendly face in the form of a timber façade,” stated the jury.

September 2021

Franz&Sue on Tour

Office excursion to Lower Austria

Following a pause, we were on the road once again to check out two exciting projects. Franz&Sue partner Robert Diem and project manager Björn Haunschmid-Wakolbinger guided the team through our recently unveiled Chemistry Lab on the IST Campus. After lunch together, the tour continued to the Großweikersdorf community centre where Christian Kircher and Olya Sendetska from smartvoll architects gave us some insights into their building.

Welcome to the Studio!

New office location

Our team just keeps growing. And so fast that the two floors that accommodate Franz&Sue in the Stadtelefant just aren’t enough anymore. Hence, we opened a new office location right around the corner: the Franz&Sue Studio. It is home to the competition team, there is a spacious model making workshop, and to top it off, there’s also a leafy inner courtyard for relaxed breaks.

See project

Chemistry Lab in Operation

Architecture for Research

2.5 years construction, 61,700 m³ excavation, 184,000 m IT cables, 194 lab spaces, and offices for 130 PhD students. Together with Maurer & Partner, we designed a laboratory facility for the Institute of Science and Technology Austria in Klosterneuburg with an adjacent study and teaching area, which brackets the site and integrates the surrounding architectural settings. On 3000 m² surface area, pioneering experiments will be conducted, for example, with NMR spectroscopy.

See project

Dream Team with Distinction

Congratulations on Graduation!

Lukas Föger and Josef Kern got to know one another on their very first day at the TU Wien and have been close friends ever since. In 2018 they both began working at Franz&Sue, and now they have completed their diploma studies in architecture – each with distinction – at the same time. Since 2020 the duo has been busy in our construction engineering department and take care of the detailing in projects such as the Evangelical Church Campus in Nuremberg or the Puntigam Education Campus. “We look forward to the many exciting challenges in which we can learn more and grow together with the team,” say Lukas and Josef in unison. May your shared path be a long one!

August 2021

1 Year, 11 Prizes

Congratulations to our competition team

We are delighted with our team in the Franz&Sue competition department, who once again did great work in the past year and landed a number of podium finishes. Of the more than 20 submitted competition entries, we won 5 first place, 3 second place, and 3 third place titles. Plus 6 honourable mentions! We toasted to the success recently in Augarten park – including farewell presents for the interns of the department, who made valuable contributions to the (winning) projects over the course of the last year.

Photos: Franz&Sue/Louai Abdul Fattah

Franz&Sue&the successfully together

New slogans, new printed matter

We’ve learned that good architecture and good collaborations can only flourish from dialogue on eye level. This belief motivated us to further develop our language in an exchange with the experts from Jung von Matt – because without the & there is no Franz&Sue. Our new slogans on stickers, cloth bags, notepads, and building site tarps now communicate to the world what’s important to us in our architectural work but also for life together in society.

Lake view ahoy

Redesign of the University of Klagenfurt Campus, Carinthia

The University of Klagenfurt needed an urban planning concept to accommodate the continual growth of the campus. This included the design of the first new buildings and the organisation of public pathways. We proposed institute and seminar buildings grouped around a central square, which form a nexus for the entire campus.

See project

July 2021

Together in the Neighbourhood

Bockmühle Essen Campus, North Rhine-Westphalia

Our aim was to create a stimulus for the Essen-Altendorf district with a sustainable place for all – the new buildings for the Bockmühle Comprehensive School, a sports hall, and a neighbourhood centre reorganise the urban fabric and public space with tangible benefits for the district. Our concept proposes an inviting ensemble of buildings with welcoming qualities both inside and outdoors. We were honoured by the competition jury with 2nd prize.

See project

June 2021

A long-awaited get-together

Franz&Sue Picnic in the Park

For the longest time we have had to go without get-togethers and parties… Now the team could finally meet up out in the park and spend some laid-back hours together with picnic baskets and a park quiz.

See News Story

More than the Sum of the Parts

Competition winner, Oberwart

We are the winners of an EU-wide open architectural competition with 63 participants and will realise the new Oberwart Education Centre! “It was very important to us to pay attention to all details and select the best project for the welfare of our children and the town’s role as an educational hub. I am pleased that the choice for this winning project was unanimous,” says Oberwart Mayor Georg Rosner about our competition success.

See project

Parlour of Inclusion

Competition winner, Vienna

Village im Dritten: Our new residential project creates a space for living and working together. The two-storey parlour – the entrance to the building but also to the city quarter – encourages encounters and communication; numerous communal rooms, open spaces, and a village street of sorts expand the living spaces of the inhabitants. Furthermore, it is they who will also play an important role in the project development and support in the framework of the “MIeTMACHEREI” participatory planning process , and after moving in, in the residents’ advisory board.

See project

May 2021

under construction

Building site: Study Centre at Montanuniversität Leoben

As the first project of a long-term extension of the campus, we have been building the new Study Centre of the Montanuni since June 2020. The open structure is designed as a learning landscape in which three auditoriums are embedded like diamonds. Parametric column generation for the outer structural walls and novel constructional solutions inside provide light and clear views.

See photo gallery

Operation Schwarzenberg

Competition winner, Salzburg

Kick-off for our first hospital! In collaboration with Maurer & Partner, we are planning a new seven-story building on the premises of the Cardinal Schwarzenberg Clinic in Schwarzach. The second-largest hospital in the province of Salzburg was in need of additional space for operating rooms, a pharmacy, a laboratory, and the pathology and psychiatric departments.

See project

under construction

Construction site at the Institute of Anatomy, Med Uni Graz

Since autumn 2019 construction is underway at the Institute of Anatomy for the Medical University of Graz. The existing historical building will accommodate a generous entrance area, and the former Institute of Pathology transforms into a state-of-the-art institute building for a large number of students. A courtyard with a cheerful atmosphere connects the existing and the new buildings, a large auditorium finds its place below.

See photo gallery

Sleeping Beauty in Gersthof

Competition winner, Vienna

The former orthopaedic hospital in Gersthof, with its characteristic historical architecture, will be refurbished from the ground up and adapted with targeted interventions into a contemporary school complex.

See project

Ring A Ring o’ Roses!

Competition winner, Luxembourg

Together with our cooperation partner SchemelWirtz Architectes Associés, we are planning a school building with a day-care centre and gymnasium in Rodange, Luxembourg. Its child-friendly, identity-building architecture creates a marked contrast to the neighbourhood and a new stimulus for the town.

November 2020

Recognition

Franz&Sue awarded the Lower Austrian Culture Prize 2020

“This architecture office with its large team and strong network stands for profoundly contemporary and future-oriented architecture and has left exemplary traces both in Lower Austria and around the world.” — Andi Breuss, Lower Austrian Culture Prize jury member

To the eulogy

Photo: Stefan Sappert
Oktober 2020

…and the many stories

Lecture at the Wiener Stadthalle event and convention centre, October 15, 2020

Upon invitation by curator Volker Dienst (architektur in progress), Franz&Sue partner Michael Anhammer held a passionate lecture on the topic of façades at the international trade show Architect@Work.

To festival website

September 2020

Stories from the lockdown

Video contribution for the Stadtansichten lecture series 2020

In our video for the online lecture series “Stubenarrest” (Grounded), initiated by the Münster School of Architecture, our team reflects on the special year 2020, from life and work in home office to the new challenges for cities.

To the Stadtansichten lectures

Photo: David Schreyer

The many potentials of imperfection

Interview with WohnenPlus

For its September edition WohnenPlus magazine invited Franz&Sue partner Harald Höller to an interview about housing construction and the human aspect in architecture.

See interview

Juni 2020

Investing in the future

Campus for the headquarters of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt am Main

In the framework of a large-scale redesign and expansion plan, a modern campus is being built for the 5000 employees of the central bank of the Federal Republic of Germany. Together with our partner Schenker Salvi Weber, we developed a competition concept that sets a new path between architectural ensemble and individuality.

See project

 

Photo: Hertha Hurnaus

best architects 21

Leoben Education Centre

Our renovation and extension of the historically listed primary school and new secondary school in Leoben has won an internationally prestigious best architects 21 award.

To article

 

Architecture without Vanity

Intermezzo with Franz&Sue on Ö1 radio station

Each Sunday, the radio programme Intermezzo on radio station Ö1 invites artists to a conversation. Franz&Sue partners Harald Höller and Robert Diem spoke with Anna Soucek about our office philosophy, the architecture cluster Stadtelefant, and projects that are important to us on a personal and political level.

Listen to the audio file

 

Mai 2020
Photo: Louai Abdul Fattah

What a boost!

Top 3 in the architect ranking on competitiononline.com

In this year’s ranking of competition successes we rose to the top amongst Austrian offices and took third place internationally. On the occasion competitiononline invited us for an interview.

See interview

 

März 2020

We keep on working

Franz&Sue in home office

In mid-March 2020 the Austrian Federal Government announced a nationwide lockdown to combat the pandemic. Our team keeps on working and provides insights into the architects’ daily work in home office.