Baufeld J6 in der Seestadt Aspern

Client: Austrian Real Estate Development GmbH

Place: Vienna, Austria

Date: 2022 Competition

Type: Mixed Use

Area: 57.559 m2

Budget: undisclosed

AZPML

Alejandro Zaera-Polo, Maider Llaguno-Munitxa, Ivaylo Nachev, Ceyda Soyran

Silbermayr Welzl Architekten

Felix Silbermayr

The complex is treated as a composition of three elements, whose footprint has been minimized in order to preserve as much natural ground as possible. Rather than treating the site as a single project, we are proposing a solution where every element of the program is given an independent formal expression to create a smaller grain for the complex. The architectural expression of every element will derive from the construction technology chosen for each one of the buildings:

– A 31,500m2 office tower located on the Northwest corner of the site. The office tower will provide 25 stories of just over 1,000m2/floor of flexible space. Some conference facilities and coworking spaces have been located on the ground and the top levels. The corners of the tower have been chamfered at regular intervals in order to avoid downdrafts. The building is to be built with a reinforced concrete structure, where the external structure is made with prefabricated units. The envelope uses punched out windows to optimize the thermal performance of the envelope.

– A parking building for 280 parking spaces located on the Northeast corner of the site has been designed to permit conversion into offices: by removing the access ramp in the centre, the building becomes a 5-storey office building around a central atrium, offering 2,100m2 per floor. No parking spaces have been located on the ground level, which is entirely dedicated to public or community functions. The parking building is clad with precast concrete elements following a hexagonal geometry which will serve as support to creepers. The roof of the building will be covered with a pergola of photovoltaic cells, covering sports facilities for the community.

– A 10,500m2 residential complex occupies the Southern tip of the site. The building is lining the SW and SE edges of the site, forming a well-defined street edge, while maximizing the open space inside of the block. The units will be accessible through four different vertical cores which are opening both to the Seestadt, the Sonnenallee Strasse and the internal garden. The residential block varies between ten and eight stories plus the ground level, which is entirely dedicated to communal and public facilities. All units are oriented to the SW or SE. The building is designed to be built with solid timber cross-laminated panels, except the ground floor which is proposed in concrete. The South-facing facades have been designed with generous terraces, held by projecting vertical walls, which shield them from neighbours’ views while producing a distinctive three-dimensional pattern.

These three elements are placed on the site surrounding an internal semi-private garden with playgrounds and breakout areas for the inhabitants of the project. The gaps between the three elements become narrow alleyways which will contribute to provide closure to the interior garden while allowing free access to the public.