Atelierhaus C21

LIVE AND WORK

The studio building with its surroundings is located directly on the railway line and is a remnant of the large urban expansion Sonnwendviertel at the main station in Vienna. From this circumstance, both the building and the open space drew their potential and allowed themselves a great deal of freedom in the implementation, which was supported by the client. Seventy-eight studios nested within themselves offer space for working and living, primarily used by creative freelancers and artists, with communal areas and exhibition space on the ground floor.

TIME

The unconventional working and living concept allowed an almost completely open-ended design and worked with the understanding and patience of the users right from the start. The open space of the studio building is a potential area for the development of the spontaneous and the unforeseen and an experimental field for us landscape architects as well as for the residents. The brittle charm of the surrounding infrastructure landscape and the coming and going of the trains is an integral part of it.

ANARCHY ­AND CHANGE

The space is initially defined by the trees and shrubs that have been planted and the different substrates. Except for the entrance terrace and the work area with the delivery zone, all other areas remain loose, freely accessible and only vaguely defined. Boulders five to six meters long, picked directly from the quarry, interlock with the necessary terrain modeling above the underground car park and span small spatial sequences. In the west of the house, the open space leads over a few steps around a clay eye that is subject to alternating moisture, into which the soil is seeped. Starting with a few initial plants, the vegetation, which continues to sow, starts its growth from the different substrates and develops and changes visibly. Paths emerge gradually from use and appropriation. New species emerge and become established, while other short-lived ones disappear. Likewise, people from the neighborhood, they use the seating blocks and the barbecue area, which was created from core drillings in the wall openings and from found objects.

BIODIVERSITY

The substrates differ in their composition in grain size, humus content, construction height and installation method. We assume that this measure alone will result in a different vegetation picture in the long term and a variety of plants will develop in a small habitat in the urban landscape. The care remains subordinate and only minimally intervenes. Already the second year brought a multitude of insects. Nutrient shrubs and a bird bath in the form of a hollow in the stone block also contribute to this.

FUTURE AND COEXISTENCE

The process remains open. Depending on the mood, vegetation and fauna together with the interactions of the users shape the garden space to total wilderness. Every participant is entitled and there is a possible coexistence of the near-natural space with its urban environment. It is precisely from this contrast that the garden of the studio building draws its attraction.