Experimental Housing for the Growing City 2020:

The age structure of the city is changing as the senior population is increasing and a plurality of lifestyles abound with more and more single households. Unfortunately, social-spatial segregation is also on the rise as well as refugees seeking shelter. These challenges require innovative answers that break habits and standards: How do we get down from the current average of 46.5 m2 per head to a more reasonable number? Are there other forms of living than the 1/2/3/4-room apartments? How small can or must an apartment be? What makes an apartment spacious?

We answer these questions with 3 different concepts: Affordability through maximum compactness, a minimized façade area, and homes partly built through self-construction. All of these minimize the living space per person as much as possible while maximizing the use value through generous openings and intelligent floor plans. For example, terraced houses create an affordable property with 5 rooms and around 120m2 of living space, with optional second story areas and fully glazed façades.

The multi-story apartment building and its different ‘community typologies’ are all developed with outdoor horizontal access in order to enable the affordable and barrier-free development of as many small apartments as possible. A large common building will be created for both user groups, offering overarching communal functions as a clear added value compared to conventional apartment buildings. The stairwells also serve as communal areas, e.g. the large entrance area on the corner of Filchnerstraße above which large communal kitchens, work and living rooms are situated.