Project description

The project forms one component of a large new urban development on the area of Wienerberg, Vienna. The scheme for a site on the west side of this area incorporates living and working spaces within an eleven-storey building on a footprint measuring 44 by 22 metres. In place of the simple stacking of identical layers, the design uses interlocking floors to create spaces of differing heights. The result is an interlaced wickerwork of levels so complex that eight cross sections are required to explain the structure. Despite a nominal room height of 2.5 metres, this configuration allows lofty living areas of 3.3 metres to the south as well as lower zones of 2.3 metres to the north, designed for sleep and recreation. The differentiated floor heights are of primary importance for the feasibility of the project, for this innovative design results in an additional storey on the north side of the building. This design permits a multiplicity of dwelling types from bachelor pads to split level apartments, with glazed office units and studios on the north side. The complex interplay of domestic and working spaces is revealed in the dynamic north façade. By contrast, a continuous ribbon of balconies with balustrades screens the apartments on the south side.