Platinum Winner of the International Architecture & Design Awards 2024
social housing with a garden deck for all residents
Architecture
Living Spaces Architecture
Completed / Professional Category
Architect / Designer:
querkraft architektur
Studio:
querkraft architektur
Copyright:
hertha hurnaus / querkraft
Country:
Austria
The HAK is a new public housing in Vienna offering plenty of outdoor space and room for community.
The main aim was to create quality for both existing and new residents. The central element in this regard was to achieve and maintain a view to the danube for all. This was achieved through slender designs and by adapting the different heights of the new building. The top floor of the garage block in front of the existing housing behind was removed so that more light and sun can penetrate than previously. The undulating rhythm of the existing buildings is continued by the stepped heights of the seven new blocks. The positioning of these blocks guarantees sufficient light for the living areas in the building behind them.
The activated residential street that runs between the existing buildings and the new public housing is both a connecting and a structuring element for the entire complex. Generously designed outdoor staircases provide access to the garden deck of the new buildings on which leisure time facilities encourage communication and exchange. As a kind of planted connecting platform these outdoor spaces create communicative zones where all the residents can spend time.
The cantilevered loggias are the most immediately striking feature of the new housing. Each loggia with its tapering walls was produced as a single piece in the conrete works. The loggies were hung in place on site, fixed to just 4 bearing points. Through a clever variation of the geometry a lively hybrid of balcony and loggia type apartment was made. These prefabricated concrete elements are mounted on the north-western and south-eastern fronts of each building. By swivelling them the views outside and into the private area are deliberately directed towards the danube.
In close collaboration with artist ingo nussbaumer, who in his work deals intensively with colours and their effects, a colour palette was developed that is specially adapted to the site and the surroundings. As one walks through the complex, differently coloured spaces are created, which, depending on the light and the time of day, have a different effect on the viewers.
The HAK is a new public housing in Vienna offering plenty of outdoor space and room for community.
The main aim was to create quality for both existing and new residents. The central element in this regard was to achieve and maintain a view to the danube for all. This was achieved through slender designs and by adapting the different heights of the new building. The top floor of the garage block in front of the existing housing behind was removed so that more light and sun can penetrate than previously. The undulating rhythm of the existing buildings is continued by the stepped heights of the seven new blocks. The positioning of these blocks guarantees sufficient light for the living areas in the building behind them.
The activated residential street that runs between the existing buildings and the new public housing is both a connecting and a structuring element for the entire complex. Generously designed outdoor staircases provide access to the garden deck of the new buildings on which leisure time facilities encourage communication and exchange. As a kind of planted connecting platform these outdoor spaces create communicative zones where all the residents can spend time.
The cantilevered loggias are the most immediately striking feature of the new housing. Each loggia with its tapering walls was produced as a single piece in the conrete works. The loggies were hung in place on site, fixed to just 4 bearing points. Through a clever variation of the geometry a lively hybrid of balcony and loggia type apartment was made. These prefabricated concrete elements are mounted on the north-western and south-eastern fronts of each building. By swivelling them the views outside and into the private area are deliberately directed towards the danube.
In close collaboration with artist ingo nussbaumer, who in his work deals intensively with colours and their effects, a colour palette was developed that is specially adapted to the site and the surroundings. As one walks through the complex, differently coloured spaces are created, which, depending on the light and the time of day, have a different effect on the viewers.
querkraft architektur
The Vienna-based architecture office querkraft was founded in 1998. Around 100 projects, competition entries and buildings in Austria and abroad provide ample evidence of the successful work by this team that currently comprises around 45 staff members. The mission statement formulated by querkraft is “giving people space”, which expresses a constant striving for generosity in the field of spatial design and for the kind of freedom that facilitates users’ personal development.