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New European Bauhaus
News article22 June 2021

A sustainable building that promotes solidarity and togetherness

We want to see sustainable housing solutions that are affordable and lead to more inclusive communities.

50_Gleis21_web
50_Gleis21_web
50_Gleis21_web

We're bringing the village into the city! 

That's the motto of Gleis 21, along with "Setting the course together".

Markus Zilker shared through our website a co-housing project planned, from beginning to end, in a participatory manner with its residents.

The aim of this residential project is to implement a "different" type of living. All residents support it actively through personal efforts, commitment and continuous communication internally & externally.

The building creates a feeling of togetherness and promotes the fundamental principles of the Gleis 21 cultural group:

  • living in solidarity
  • enjoying life cleverly
  • creating with media

Solidarity is manifested in various ways, including simple neighborhood services, a Solidarity Fund for personal emergencies & some apartments planned in cooperation with a youth refugee aid organisation.

The property is located in the center of the new urban development area, "Leben am Helmut Zilk Park" near the Vienna Central Station ("Hauptbahnhof Wien"). Where the city used to be separated by a rampart and railroad tracks, Vienna's master plan tries to reunite different areas. Gleis 21 is located in the heart of the new district & contributes to this inner-city link.

The co-housing project is designed as a compact, zero-energy house. It's a wood-hybrid construction built in a resource-saving way.

Big communal areas represent the focus of the house. There is space for shared & individual use: from the communal kitchen to the library & sauna on the top floor to the workshop, studio, and fitness room in the basement. The ground floor serves as a meeting point for people and is animated by a café & restaurant.

To help shape the newly developed quarter's cultural, social & media life, there is cooperation with Radio Orange, Okto TV & Stadkino Wien.

The individually planned housing units on the upper four floors are accessed via an open north-west-facing arcade & have private balconies. The neutral & flexible structure of the building enabled each unit to be planned individually with its residents.

? Gleis 21 © H. Hurnaus

Details

Publication date
22 June 2021