The urbanization of a typical arterial road: parking lots, single-story commercial buildings, fraying urban spaces without planning. On a former factory site in Atzgersdorf, this situation was originally to be reproduced: a ground-level parking lot facing the street, with a one-story retail center behind it. But the Viennese city planners decided against this and in favor of an urban, mixed district. In an exemplary cooperation between the developer BUWOG, the political leaders, the authorities and LORENZATELIERS, a quarter with approx. 800 affordable apartments, social infrastructure, a public square with a food market as well as retail and commercial areas was created. As a central project of the master plan of LORENZATELIERS the building Market & School was implemented.
A paradigm shift has taken place: from the typical construction in the commercial area to a future urbanization of this important west-east connection. For the first time, the city of Vienna demanded that the street-side parking deserts in front of the commercial and retail areas should disappear. LORENZATELIERS solved this messy situation in the master plan: minimum building height, garages under the market and a public square as a complement to the local center Atzgersdorf were among the specifications for this project. The grocery store, slightly elevated by a parking deck, opens up to the new square, which will become an urban meeting place. New connections dissolve old barriers and increase the quality of the district as a catalyst for the development of the entire neighborhood.
The intensive use of the area used for the infrastructure facilities represents an essential quality for the entire neighborhood development. It enables urban densification without being at the expense of open spaces and shortens the distances within the complex. At Markt & Schule, measures for ecological optimization were also implemented: In addition to an intensively greened roof, there is, among other things, a photovoltaic system on part of the roof surfaces.
Not the usual "box" with parking spaces in front of it, but a lively and urban center for Atzgersdorf, a catalyst for the development of the entire neighborhood. The vertical stacking of the functions - parking, shopping, school - conditions the construction and the form of the building. This results in a clear separation of the individual areas, which can be read in the facade design. Years of searching for a suitable location ended successfully with LORENZATELIERS' proposal to build the school on the roof of the grocery store and parking lots. On the north side of the building, the access zone sits behind a translucent screen - a daily adventure for the schoolchildren on their way to class. The all-day, 17-class elementary school is designed as an atrium school. The central courtyard gives the building a calm center, creates typological clarity and a clear orientation. Different play and recreation zones are provided in the atrium as well as on the roof areas. The open spaces are located on the roof. Urban identity is created by the centrally located piazza, through which the market is entered.
The intensive use of the area used for the infrastructure facilities represents an essential quality for the entire neighborhood development. The extraordinary quality of this infrastructure project is the result of a long and intensive planning process in which highly diverse possible uses were evaluated within the framework of the specifications.
Internationally active Austrian architecture offices for urbanism, architecture and design, founded in 1980 in Innsbruck by Peter Lorenz. They handle master plans, project development and building planning all the way to its culmination in property handover. Their work is anchored in ethical standards, a humanistic world view, all-embracing accountability and responsibility. Their objective, among other things: achieving long enduring quality and timeless architecture. It is not the ‘style’ that assumes priority, but rather, finding the optimal solution for complex challenges in irreproducible locations. Competent construction management provides the indispensable complement to professional planning. For international projects, local partners of unsurpassed standing are available.
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