The name of this urban quarter is a reference to its location on the north-eastern edge of Vienna. The project, which is based on a competition-winning scheme, is a dense ensemble of six buildings, including two towers that accentuate the site at its northern and southern edges. The spatial positioning and volumetric development of the individual buildings is based on the principle of self-similarity, which lends the complex a sense of organically developed urban fabric, despite its peripheral location.
The multi-use and multi-storey base zone exemplifies the concept of the horizontal and vertical organisation of public, semi-public and use-specific spaces as a balanced interaction between urban flair and autonomous functionality.
At first glance, the aesthetic individuality of the various buildings is drawn from their differing heights and the sculptural design of their façades, whose differentiated transparency and changing relationship between open and closed surfaces contribute to their characteristic appearance. In addition to this, the palette of finely varying shades of grey subtly suggests the visual analogy of a homogeneous structure.
The partly covered and richly planted external areas, which move between the buildings at various levels, offer the integrating qualities of a high-grade connecting and communication zone and lots of space for chilling out, while also providing clear orientation and generously lit ground floor spaces, despite the densely interweaving circulation routes.
The high density and the wide range of uses, combined with the local shops and restaurants, contribute to the dynamic diversity of an autonomous urban quarter that, also due to the public facilities that it will contain, will become a location that lends a strong sense of identity to the 22nd District.
