Kabelwerk

Within only ten years a large brownfield site in Vienna’s south has been transformed from an active production plant into a mixed-use model neighbourhood. The design features a very varied mix of housing types, active ground floors and interesting public spaces. The urban design masterplan, based on coded rules rather than aesthetic conceptions, has allowed the property developers to adjust their project to market demands without compromising the spatial qualities of the project.

The largest part of the development has been kept car free. The streets and paths on the site are well integrated into the overall network of routes, cultural and leisure facilities draw inhabitants from the whole area into the new quarter and thus facilitate social interaction. On the whole the new neighbourhood benefits from a good mix of well proportioned streets, squares and alleyways that generate different levels of privacy throughout the development.

An innovative and experimental mix of methods has been applied to balance the spatial outcome with the revenue expectations of the house-building firms and achieve a sustainable result overall.