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
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