Open and Honest

Grete-Zimmer-Gasse Residential Complex, Vienna

Are there alternatives to full thermal insulation façades in social housing? Yes, there are! 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.

Details

Photography

Andreas Buchberger

Client

familienwohnbau

State

Completed

Awards

Wettbewerbsgewinn

The Growing City

On Berresgasse in Vienna’s 22nd district, a new residential neighbourhood is currently being built at the crossroads between urban and rural areas. In a heterogeneous setting, between farmers' fields and single-family houses in the north, tall residential blocks from the 1970s in the south, and the Hirschstetten swimming pond in the west, a car-free urban quarter will provide space for around 3000 units. A mixed-use plinth zone accommodates neighbourhood amenities and infrastructure.

An Open Ensemble

We won the property developer competition together with g.o.y.a. – Group of Young Architects but realised our residential projects independently. Directly opposite the Berresgasse educational campus, an important public hub in the new neighbourhood, we have realised two subsidised residential buildings with 113 apartments and seven townhouses. The two eleven and eight-storey buildings are each adjoined by a flat two and three-storey wing. Together, the buildings form an open and inviting ensemble with two green courtyards.

»Prefabricated in their entirety at the factory, the composite façade components ensure a time-efficient construction method that does not compromise the quality of the architecture itself.«

Björn Haunschmid-Wakolbinger, Franz&Sue partner

Prefabricated Building Elements

All façades consist of concrete sandwich elements, which were prefabricated by the manufacturer Trepka in Lower Austria. We gained the needed expertise in this building method with our own office project, the Stadtelefant, in the Sonnwendviertel quarter. Employing this innovative approach for municipal housing was also a premiere for our team.

Built Quickly

Prefabrication in the factory facilitated a high level of precision and quality in the processing of the concrete. The components were sandblasted for a rich surface texture. The slightly higher building element costs compared to a conventional construction method using in-situ concrete and full thermal insulation were offset by the shorter construction time. Once the outer shell was installed on site, only the windows still needed to be fitted into the prepared openings. The gold-toned balcony railings and window frames elegantly accentuate the exposed concrete. The façade ist extremely robust and highly durable. In this form, concrete also proves to be a sustainable building material.

»Our residential complex truly stands out! The gold-coloured windows and balconies lend an elegant touch to the exposed concrete façade.«

Judith Mayr, Franz&Sue project manager

Floor Plan Ground Floor

Floor Plan Upper Floor 4

Floor Plan Upper Floor 7

Floor Plan Upper Floor 10

Site Map

Index/Count
Type Of Commission

Bauträgerwettbewerb

Client

familienwohnbau

Construction

2022-2024

Gross Floor Area

14.365 m²

Scope Of Commission

Architekturplanung

Location

Wien

State

Completed

Design

2019-2024

Team

Judith Mayr (PL), Norbert Peller, Markus Jungwirth, Linda Ercusi, David Kovařík, Kateřina Kunzová, Katarína Martoňáková

Awards

Wettbewerbsgewinn

Structural Engineer

Harrer & Harrer

Building Physics

ZT Moser

Building Services

Kainer

Landscape Planning

EGKK

Fire Safety Planning

Kern+Ingenieure

Photography

Andreas Buchberger

Other Cooperation

Sub-Planung Ausführung: Arch. Robert Haranza,

Kulturtechnik: Dipl.‐Ing. Schattovits