The project arose from a variety of different demands. A five-story solid wood building was to be built in an urban setting, while paying close attention to a lively mix of uses with plenty of greenery and multiple connections and views throughout the structure. Once a parking lot for 40 cars and a single story supermarket is now a mixed-use residential building yielding 85 apartments, as well as a parking garage and supermarket in its base.
Four stepped wooden houses sit crosswise on a base parallel to the neighboring residential buildings. The residential plateau and the surrounding open spaces house landscaped gardens, forming high quality recreational spaces, both for the residents as well as publicly accessible, adding value to the neighborhood.
The Solid Base
The base acts as a mediator between the linear constructed adjacent residential buildings and the transverse wooden buildings. Targeted “zig-zag” expansions along the Geschwister-Spitzer Weg create attractive access points to the building as well as pleasant public areas. The setback of the building line allows for a wide intermediate space with a lot of greenery. At the intersection with Bonygasse, a plaza is formed where the staircase to the residential plateau, an entrance to the building, common rooms and access to the ground-level bicycle garage are located. The sloping terrain is taken up on the inside by varying room heights and intermediate levels containing the supermarket, garage and the inhabitants’ storage rooms, which can be accessed from the outside at ground level.
Airy structure
Playfully positioned, the four solid wooden buildings placed on the green deck form a site-specific ensemble. The spaces in between the buildings function as green open spaces with trees, bushes and meadows for the residents and enable views between the two neighboring buildings. The views of the new buildings are oriented in a north-south direction, with those of the neighbors in an east-west direction, ensuring maximum privacy of the residents. The stepped structures allow light to enter the neighboring buildings at a 45-degree angle and create quality terraces.
Each house is equipped with a balcony framework and a development framework in the form of arcades including an elevator tower. The apartments are designed as open-plan lofts. Predetermined breaking points in the apartment partition walls allow for sustainable adjustments of the apartment sizes. The living areas are generously glazed from wall to wall and allow fantastic views and urban vistas.
Innovative construction and materials
The wooden buildings are constructed entirely of solid wood from floor to ceiling. The outside walls are made of untreated planed wooden boards. In the apartments, the ceiling remains in exposed wood.
Due to the high amount of floors, there are many requirements concerning fire protection and soundproofing, which are solved prototypically. Above the base, everything is made of prefabricated parts and assembled on site, in order to ensure dismantling of the building once necessary. The slab thicknesses vary, depending on the exact structural requirements, in order to save material.
A total of 2,300 cubic meters of wood from domestic forests is used in the four solid wood structures – the same amount of wood takes 40 minutes to grow back in Austrian Forests.
