33_POOL LUX | LUX

NAME

Project title: Public housing project on the former KDAG Industrial Area in Vienna. – LUX

Recommending party
The project has been submitted by:

Pool Architektur

LOCATION

Country: Austria

City:  Vienna

Address:

AUTHOR

Designer or design team architects:

Pool Architektur

DETAILS  

Lot surface area: 4355 m²

Total area of the project: 5798 m²

Of which residential: 6246 m²
Public/communal areas: 200 m²
Facilities for the public: 300 m²
Business/trade: – m²
Offices: – m²

Number of residential units: 58
Typology of users: families

Construction costs (euro/square metre): 888  €/m²

Work started on date: 2005
Work completion date: 2006

OWNERSHIP 

Promoter: Municipality of Vienna
Owner: Kabelwerk Bauträger GMBH

Description of the project: 

Urban Context

Lux is part of the award-winning public-housing development in the southern periphery of Vienna known as “Kabelwerk” (see description of project “Poolhaus”). The housing complex is one of three houses that we designed at “Kabelwerk” and is situated in the sensitive southern part of the premises, along the ascending main street – the “Transversale”. Lux marks the edge of the development along this public street towards a typical sprawl-like quarter in the west, thus needing not only to link the existing sub-urban development with the new quarter, but also to resolve a significant height-fissure on the site.

Design Approach

Our approach was to take up the given situation and use it as an opportunity for the design of the housing complex: Secondary functions with possibly public or half-public activities, like the foyer, community facilities, but also storage-rooms belonging to the apartments, bicycle storage and a shop are placed along the “Transversale”, levelling out the height fissure, creating a 50 meter long, extended multifunctional public space, that flows into the building, opening up the complex towards the existing neighbours.

Seen from a distance, Lux is a medium-sized, modest crystal, that is grey at the outside and shimmering green in the inside, facing, with its quiet façade, the neighbouring detached houses. The apartments on the ground floor are accessed by their front gardens on the east side of the housing complex, the flats on the first floor get connected by a naturally exposed, spacious corridor, and the maisonettes occupying second and third floor are accessible via terraces facing west.