Housing complex Vorgartenstrasse 158–170

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Housing complex Vorgartenstrasse 158–170

The Vorgartenstrasse residential complex in Vienna was built between 1959 and 1962 under the architects Carl Auböck , Adolf Hoch and Carl Rössler. It represents one of the most important community buildings of the post-war period and at the same time one of the most radical projects of Viennese residential construction of that time. Viewed limited to the structural innovations, the residential complex Vorgartenstrasse initiated a paradigm shift in social housing in the community of Vienna, away from traditional construction methods towards industrial construction.

location

The residential complex is located next to Vorgartenstrasse 158–170 on an irregular, trapezoidal plot of land in the 2nd district of Vienna in the so-called Stuwerviertel . The quarter was built in the 1870s as part of the Danube regulation and, in terms of urban planning, is characterized by orthogonally arranged late-founding apartment buildings and apartment blocks of the municipality of Vienna. In direct contrast to the perimeter block developments , the Vorgartenstrasse residential building is made up of four south-facing open blocks. In the tradition of modernity, the entire facility is embedded in a spacious green area, which should serve as a recreation area for the densely built-up area. There is also a market, a school and a kindergarten on the property.

Historical context

The appointment of the architect Roland Rainer as urban planner in 1958 opened a new phase of urban planning in Vienna. Far-reaching decisions were made under his aegis that still shape Vienna today. Among other things, the course was set for the densification of the outskirts and the use of more green space in the city. Densely built-up areas should be loosened up, and over-built areas should be compacted. Another key point of the planning concept was the creation of sub-or district centers. With regard to social housing, Rainer's arrival also meant that the actual reconstruction was as good as complete in 1958, and that the question was now how social housing should be continued in the municipality of Vienna. The post-war communal buildings, which at that time had a negative connotation as "Emmentalerbauten" and which were increasingly similar due to their type floor plans and other standardized details, should now be contrasted with innovative new solutions. For this reason, plans for two demonstrative building projects of social housing were initiated under Rainer's direction from 1958, in addition to the residential complex on Vorgartenstrasse and the residential complex on Eisenstadtplatz , where "new" possibilities of construction and training "should be examined".

construction

In terms of construction, the system represented a building in bulkhead construction , also known as transverse wall construction . The structural core of the stairwell walls consists of reinforced concrete bulkheads arranged in a transverse direction, which divert the loads from the floor slabs into the ground. This type of construction clearly shows that this residential complex was no longer part of the post-war construction style, but was based on the use of new construction methods. During the planning phase, special attention was paid to a selection of innovative and durable materials. In the building description, Carl Auböck and Carl Rössler explicitly point out that the somewhat more expensive materials can be justified with the expected low maintenance costs. In addition to the structural innovations and a careful selection of building materials, the technical building infrastructure was also ahead of its time and above the standard of other municipal buildings: Central heating, passenger lifts and, last but not least, rubbish chutes were available to the residents.

Spatial structuring

Stairs 1–3

The four blocks of the residential building have a narrow rectangular floor plan with ten storeys each and are closed off with a flat roof. Each block of flats has three staircases that access the apartments using the three-in-hand principle. In terms of urban development, the four blocks were not positioned parallel to the street, but at a distance from the building line at an obtuse angle to the street. With this positioning, on the one hand, a reaction to the orthogonal structure of the Stuwer quarter took place and, on the other hand, this type of orientation also has functional advantages compared to the Wilhelminian-era block grid: The rotation ensured that all living spaces of the complex were oriented to the south and thus the same conditions for all residents Location, tanning and ventilation were created. While the blocks by Carl Auböck and Carl Rössler are completely identical in their external appearance as well as in the floor plan, they differ from the blocks by Adolf Hoch in that they are longer and narrower. This had a direct effect on the internal organization of the individual floors.

Internal organization, apartment sizes and floor plans

Stairs 4–6

The complex comprises a total of 324 apartments, which were designed to be more generous compared to the proportions of social housing at the time. The floor plans in Vorgartenstrasse, for example, had a size range of 41 to 84 m², whereas in other municipal buildings only 28 to 76.5 m² were planned.

The internal organization of the blocks of flats by Auböck and Rössler provided for three types of apartments, the smallest of which is oriented entirely to the south. The two side apartments, which took up the entire structural depth, enabled cross ventilation thanks to their design and, due to the insertion of a second anteroom, have separate living and sleeping areas. This floor plan made it possible to consistently separate common and private areas of the apartment. This floor plan solution was implemented here for the first time in a residential complex belonging to the municipality of Vienna and goes back to Carl Auböck, who got to know it during a trip to America.

The floor plan of the apartments in Adolf Hoch's blocks, however, remained somewhat more conventional. In his units, all rooms were accessible from an anteroom.

Ground floor zone

The ground floor zones of the apartment blocks were raised from the ground with the help of panes and pillars , in keeping with Le Corbusier's architecture . The upper floors protrude over the ground floor on all sides, creating a floating impression. In the blocks from Auböck and Rössler, the upper floors were supported by panes on the narrow sides of the blocks, and in the blocks from Adolf Hoch by inclined pillars. However, this concept was only retained in full at the respective ends of the apartment blocks in order not to have to forego space. This was namely used to accommodate laundry rooms, garbage rooms, storage rooms and, last but not least, the entrances to the staircases. The blocks from Auböck and Rössler open up their entrance areas through foyers on the long sides. In contrast, the entrances were placed high on the northern long and narrow sides.

Facades of the upper floors

Loggias are placed in front of the south facades of all apartment blocks from the first floor , which extend the living spaces to the open air. Thanks to the bulkhead construction, it was also possible to completely dissolve the loggias facades in all of the south-facing living rooms. Although the principle of the south façade characterized by loggias was implemented in all apartment blocks, they nevertheless differ from one another. While at Auböck and Rössler the loggias run the entire length of the facade, Hoch interrupted them with regularly arranged windows. However, these were installed at the same height as the balustrades of the loggias so as not to diminish the optically horizontal effect. The north sides of the apartment blocks were largely closed. In the blocks by Auböck and Rössler, apartment and staircase windows were arranged between continuous strips of wall. The north facade of his apartment blocks, on the other hand, was highly structured by emphasizing the staircases on the north side with projections that pierced the eaves line.

The buildings also differ in the design of the narrow sides. Auböck and Rössler designed theirs completely closed and with a surface made of exposed concrete painted white. On the other hand, Adolf Hoch's blocks had centrally arranged, relatively far cantilevered balconies on the narrow sides, which were originally surrounded by a reddish plaster facade. However, this is no longer preserved today.

While Auböck and Rössler designed the external appearance in the sense of Le Corbusier in a radically closed way, Hoch's blocks with the rhythmic loggias and the staircases piercing the eaves can be seen as a link to the modern age of the interwar period. Above all, the framing of the staircase projections are reminiscent of solutions that were found in the context of Austrian modernism in the 1930s.

architectural art

There are several works of art on the green spaces between the apartment blocks. Specifically, there is a double-sided mosaic wall by Carl Unger with the title “Der Flug” (1959–63), as well as a metal sculpture by Oswald Stimm named “Encounter” (1966). Two owls by Maria Bijan Perz (1962) were placed on the site of the kindergarten.

  • The flight

  • encounter

  • Two owls

Building history

The municipal reserve garden and palm house were located on the site of the residential complex until it was built , which was moved to Hirschstetten at the end of the 1950s. On the eastern boundary of the property, along Vorgartenstrasse, there used to be a market where, among other things, fruit and vegetables grown from the reserve garden were sold. The market was to be retained, but with a new structure and placement, planned by the architect Fritz Zügner.

The architects of the apartment blocks Carl Auböck, Carl Rössler and Adolf Hoch received the contract through a direct award . Originally only three buildings were planned instead of the four implemented blocks. Instead of the fourth apartment block, the architects wanted to place the market on the area on the north-eastern corner of the property, which, however, was realized in the project carried out in the north-western area of ​​the property. The final plan also provided that Carl Rössler took over the conception of the northern building (stairs 1–3), Carl Auböck that of the one located to the south (stairs 4–6) and Adolf Hoch that of the other two blocks of flats (stairs 7–12) . The submission plans were officially approved in November 1959 and construction was carried out by the Donauländische Baugesellschaft by 1962.

Current condition

During the 50-year history of the residential complex, it has been the subject of renovations and redesigns several times. In the 1980s, the side walls of the residential buildings were provided with thermal insulation and in the years 2005 to 2008 the property management company Wiener Wohnen completely renovated the entire complex. All blocks were provided with a thermal insulation composite system and (with the exception of the ground floor zones) all windows and portal structures were replaced. However, as a result of these measures, the original appearance in terms of materiality and proportion was lost. In contrast to the external appearance, in the public areas inside, with the exception of the apartment entrance doors, almost all surfaces and fixtures from the construction period have been preserved.

Comparison and follow-up projects

Almost at the same time as the Vorgartenstraße residential complex, another building project was built on Eisenstadtplatz in Favoriten . Between 1958 and 1963, the municipality realized a loose construction of four- and nine-storey, free-standing, south-facing building blocks with a high-rise as the dominant urban structure. While the four-story row buildings in the west were constructed using the conventional construction method, the construction of the southernmost block, like the Vorgartenstrasse facility, was carried out using the bulkhead construction method. Further parallels can be found on the ground floor, as the elongated lines were also lifted from the ground by panes and pilots. This building project was also equipped with central facilities such as a kindergarten, a school and a shop center. The facility is embedded in an extensive green area, which, like in Vorgartenstraße, should not only serve for relaxation, but also help to loosen up the densely built-up district of Favoriten. Another residential complex that can be viewed as a comparative property or a follow-up building is the Sandleitengasse residential complex . The complex, which was built in 1960–62, like the Vorgartenstrasse residential building, was built in rows and thus also stands out from the Wilhelminian style, which was dominated by block perimeter development. Further parallels can be found both in the apartment floor plans and in the construction, as both systems are built in bulkheads and the living spaces are organized on the south side.

The residential block Hartlebengasse 1–3 (which is part of the residential complex Langobardenstrasse - Hartlebengasse), built around 1960, can also be viewed as a comparative property or subsequent building. The architects continued on the path they had taken in Vorgartenstrasse and planned the seven-storey, five-staircase residential building, also using a bulkhead construction. Loggias could also be placed in front of the south-facing façades of the living spaces. Parallels can also be found in the internal development, because the architects designed the apartments here (like Auböck and Rössler) with intermediate floor solutions.

reception

Compared to other projects of this type, the residential complex already received a great deal of public attention during the planning and construction. This ranged from reporting in architecture magazines, above all the magazine “Der Aufbau” of the Vienna City Building Office, to the entrance in Vienna but also national architecture guides of the 1960s. The residential complex also managed to be included in the canon of buildings in the so-called “New Vienna” of the post-war period. As a result, it was printed in illustrated books together with other important symbols of the time, such as the airport, the Ringturm or the town hall designed by Roland Rainer . Last but not least, the construction industry - above all Ludwig Hatschek Werke , better known as Eternit - also used the system as a reference project for building their product range. Against the background of changing architectural tendencies, the residential complex managed to be recognized as an important landmark in municipal housing.

Protection by the Federal Monuments Office

In 1999, the Federal Monuments Office was given the task of selecting from an immense number of objects in public ownership all those that exhibit monument quality. After years of systematic registration, the monument protection for the selected objects was confirmed, all other buildings previously only presumably protected were removed from the program. For Viennese municipal housing, this meant that the number of listed buildings fell from 1752 to just 356. In the course of this process, the Vorgartenstrasse residential complex was classified as a historical monument and was therefore under monument protection according to Section 2a - provisional protection by ordinance.

With this legal regulation, the property is under protection until the Federal Monuments Office checks, at the request of a party or by official channels, whether preservation is actually in the public interest. Such a test procedure was started in the case of the residential complex in 2010 at the request of the City of Vienna. As part of this test procedure, the Federal Monuments Office subsequently issued an official expert report from HR Univ. Doz. Friedrich Dahm and Dr. Inge Podbrecky created. Based on the result of the report, which clearly confirmed the monument status, the residential complex was subsequently placed under monument protection by notification of November 7, 2011 - §3 protection by notification.

Web links

Commons : Wohnhausanlage Vorgartenstraße 158–170  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

  • Friedrich Achleitner : Municipal housing , July 18, 1961 In: Friedrich Achleitner, Nieder mit Fischer von Erlach , Salzburg / Vienna 1986, pp. 20–21.
  • Friedrich Achleitner: Austrian Architecture in the 20th Century: A Guide in Three Volumes , Volume III / 1, Vienna 1990.
  • Rudolf J. Boeck : Social Housing in the City of Vienna , Vienna 1960.
  • Walter M. Chramosta: Wohnkonzepte In: Marion Kuzmany (ed.): Carl Auböck, 1924–1993, architect, Gestalten der Modern Welt , Salzburg 2009, p. 106.
  • Marcus Denk: Destruction as an Opportunity? Urban planning concepts, guidelines and projects in Vienna 1945–58 , Phil. Diss., Vienna 2007.
  • Günther Feuerstein : The Architecture In: Günther Feuerstein / Heribert Hutter / Ernst Koller / Wilhelm Mrazek: Modern Art in Austria , Vienna / Hanover / Berlin 1965, pp. 5–42.
  • Franz Hubmann : Vienna, world city of history , Zurich 1965.
  • Helmut Krebs, Franz Stadelmann, Richard Kurfürst: Das neue Wien, A city with a conscience , Vienna 1962.
  • Marion Kuzmany (ed.): Carl Auböck, 1924–1993, architect, Gestalten der Modern Welt , Salzburg 2009.
  • Karl Mang / Eva Mang Frimmel: Municipal Housing Vienna, The Achievements in the 2nd Republic , Vienna 1978.
  • Peter Marchart: Housing in Vienna, 1923–1983 , Vienna 1984.
  • Construction reserve garden, Vienna II In: The structure , No. 9, 1959, pp. 325–326.
  • Housing complex Vorgartenstrasse In: The structure , No. 3, 1961, pp. 82–83.
  • Good floor plan In: Der Bau , 6/1962, p. 308.
  • Michael Ponstingl: Vienna in Pictures, photo books of the 20th century , Vienna 2008.
  • Roland Rainer, Planning Concept Vienna , Vienna 1962.
  • Wieland Schmied: Do community buildings have to be like this? In: Die Furche , February 11, 1956, p. 3.
  • Karl Schwanzer : Viennese Buildings, 1900 to today , Vienna 1965.
  • Anton Seda: Development tendencies of social housing in the city of Vienna In: Der Aufbau 6/7, 1962, pp. 211–215.
  • Ottokar Uhl : Modern architecture in Vienna, from Otto Wagner to today , Vienna / Munich 1966.

Remarks

  1. ↑ The planning of the market was carried out by the architect Fritz Zügner, the architect Willi Reichel was responsible for the school, the kindergarten was designed by the architect E. Lessel who works in the municipal building department. (Plan archive of the building police MA37, area group east, building file Vorgartenstraße 158–170).
  2. ↑ Friedrich Achleitner also points out this problem in a criticism in which he states “ The architect not only gets the location, the extent and the height of the building, he is also given the corresponding floor plan types. So all that remains for him is the mixed coordination of these types, the division of the windows, the color of the facade and the concern for a place for the art. ” Friedrich Achleitner, Gemeindebau, July 18, 1961, in: Friedrich Achleitner, Nieder mit Fischer von Erlach, 1986, pp. 20-21.
  3. ↑ The originally intended use of the flat roof as a roof terrace was not realized (plan archive of the building police MA37, area group east, building file Vorgartenstraße 158–170).
  4. ↑ Three-in-hand principle: three apartments are accessed per floor.
  5. ↑ Auböck used this functional separation of the private and public areas for the first time in one of his first projects, the highly regarded House Gallet, in the USA, which he planned for his aunt Valier Gallet. He also separated the common area of ​​the house from the private rooms. Auböck also conceived this floor plan of a separation of the communal and private areas for the other building projects with Harry Glück and also for some residential buildings that he planned for private clients, not least for his own in Vienna (Marion Kuzmany (ed.): Carl Auböck, 1924–1993, architect, shaping the modern world , Salzburg 2009).
  6. ↑ The window constructions on the upper floors were made as wooden windows in composite construction. In a review of the facility, Auböck pointed out that the windows in no way corresponded to the standards of the municipal housing and the solution had to be laboriously wrested from the authorities (Alfred Schmeller, Wie long “Tauwetter” bei Magistrat ?, in: Kurier October 18th 1962).
  7. ^ Taken from a preserved site plan by Adolf Hoch.
  8. ↑ In Aufbau No. 9, 1959, p. 326, a publication plan for this design variant was also published
  9. ↑ In the 1950s and 1960s, the municipality of Vienna endeavored to convey the image of a modern, democratic and social, economically prosperous Vienna through brisk publication activity, in most cases handled by its central publishing hub, the municipality's own publishing house for youth and people Simultaneously with slogans such as “that Vienna will become a cosmopolitan city again”, to re-update the urban narrative of red Vienna from the interwar period. The buildings of the post-war period acted as new city symbols. (Michael Ponstingl, Vienna im Bild, photo books of the 20th century, Vienna 2008, pp. 128–129).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Decision of the Federal Monuments Office on the residential complex Vorgartenstrasse 158–170, p. 2 (GZ 29.271 / 2/2011).
  2. ↑ a b Decision of the Federal Monuments Office on the residential complex Vorgartenstrasse 158–70 In: City of Vienna, Wiener Wohnen
  3. ^ Roland Rainer, Planning Concept Vienna, 1962.
  4. ^ Christoph Freyer: Entry on Roland Rainer In: Architects Lexicon Vienna, 1770–1945 , Vienna 2013
  5. ^ Anton Seda, Development tendencies of social housing in the City of Vienna, in: Der Aufbau, No. 6/7, 1962, p. 211.
  6. ↑ Karl Mang, Eva Mang Frimmel: Kommunaler Wohnbau in Wien, The services in the 2nd Republic , Vienna 1978, p. 7. “What bothers about the municipal housing from the outside is that they all, whether they are in Meidling or in Floridsdorf, standing in the middle of a row of houses or in a self-contained larger complex, always look almost the same - as if they were all built according to the plans of a single architect ... "
  7. ↑ Wieland Schmied: Do community buildings have to be like this? In: Die Furche , February 11, 1956, p. 3.
  8. ^ Walter M. Chramosta: Wohnkonzepte In: Marion Kuzmany (ed.): Carl Auböck, 1924–1993, architect, Gestalten der Modern Welt , Salzburg 2009, p. 106.
  9. ^ Peter Marchart: Housing in Vienna, 1923–1983 , Vienna 1984. p. 75.
  10. ↑ Boeck 1960, p. 133.
  11. ↑ a b Denk 2007, p. 224.
  12. ↑ a b Building description by Carl Auböck and Carl Rössler, July 9, 1959 (plan archive of the building police MA37, area group east, building file Vorgartenstraße 158–170).
  13. ↑ Denk 2007, p. 225.
  14. ↑ Machart 1984, p. 87.
  15. ^ Decision of the Federal Monuments Office on the residential complex Vorgartenstrasse 158–70, p. 3 (GZ 29.271 / 2/2011).
  16. ↑ Decision of the Federal Monuments Office on the residential complex Vorgartenstrasse 158–70, p. 4 (GZ 29.271 / 2/2011). The appraisers of the Federal Monuments Office Friedrich Dahm / Inge Podbrecky name for example the house of Hermann Stiegholzer in Beatrixgasse 5-7 from the years 1935/36.
  17. ^ Rudolf J. Boeck: The social housing of the city of Vienna , Vienna 1960, p. 133.
  18. ↑ Site plan and elevation plan for the building project Vienna 2, municipal reserve garden, signed by Adolf Hoch in June 1959, plan archive of the building police MA37, area group east, building file Vorgartenstraße 158-170.
  19. ↑ Plan archive of the building police MA37, area group east, building file Vorgartenstraße 158-170.
  20. ↑ Plan archive of the building police MA37, area group, residential complex Vorgartenstrasse 158–170
  21. ^ Decision of the Federal Monuments Office on the residential complex Vorgartenstrasse 158–70 (GZ 29.271 / 2/2011).
  22. ↑ Vorgartenstraße 158–70 , in: City of Vienna, Wiener Wohnen (June 4, 2020)
  23. ↑ a b Achleitner 1990, pp. 267-268
  24. ↑ Plan archive of the building police MA37, area group south, Bauakt Wohnhausanlage Eisenstadtplatz, Laaerbergstrasse 34–38, Laaerbergstrasse 32, Patrubangasse 9, Eisenstadtplatz 4–8.
  25. ↑ Mang / Mang 1978, p. 8.
  26. ^ Karl Schwanzer: Vienna Buildings 1900 – today , Vienna 1965, pp. 36–37.
  27. ↑ Sandleitengasse 9-13 , In: City of Vienna, Wiener Wohnen (April 12, 2020)
  28. ^ Housing complex XVI In: Der Bau , No. 1, 1964, p. 2223.
  29. ↑ Schwanzer 1965, pp. 36-37.
  30. ↑ Mang / Mang 1978, pp. 8-11.
  31. ↑ Marchart 1984, p. 75.
  32. ↑ Construction reserve garden, Vienna II In: Der Aufbau , No. 9, 1959, pp. 325–326.
  33. ^ Anton Seda: Development tendencies of social housing in the city of Vienna In: Der Aufbau 6/7, 1962, p. 212.
  34. ^ Ottokar Uhl: Modern architecture in Vienna, from Otto Wagner to today , Vienna / Munich 1966, p. 94.
  35. ^ Karl Schwanzer: Wiener Bauten, 1900 to today , Vienna 1965, p. 36.
  36. ^ Helmut Krebs / Franz Stadelmann / Richard Kurfürst: Das neue Wien, Stadt mit Gewissen , Vienna 1962.
  37. ^ Franz Hubmann: Vienna, World City of History , Zurich 1965, p. 146.
  38. ↑ The Structure, No. 6/7, 1962.
  39. ↑ Schwanzer 1965.
  40. ^ Karl Mang, Eva Mang Frimmel: Kommunaler Wohnbau Wien, The Achievements in the 2nd Republic , Vienna 1978.
  41. ↑ Marchart 1984.
  42. ↑ Achleitner 1990, p. 101.
  43. ↑ Michael Rainer, Sylvia Schönolt, Oliver Leo Schreiber: The Karl Marx Hof and the Wiener Gemeindebau In: Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani, Konstanze Sylva Domhardt: Die Stadt der Moderne, strategies for preservation and planning , Zurich 2016, p. 94.
  44. ↑ Rainer / Schönolt / Schreiber 2016, p. 100.
  45. ↑ Federal law on the protection of monuments due to their historical, artistic or other cultural significance (Monument Protection Act - DMSG) StF: Federal Law Gazette No. 533/1923 (NR: GP I 1513 AB 1703 p. 209.)