SERGISON/ BATES; KRUCKER; NEUWIRTH: THREE HOUSES IN VIENNA CULTIVATING THE ORDINARY

Three Houses in Vienna features a new housing project in the Austrian capital. The multi-family buildings were commissioned by Neues Leben, a private social-housing and building cooperative. Situated near Vienna's recently opened new central railway station, they are realised by Krucker von Ballmoos Architekten (Zürich), Werner Neuwirth Architekt (Vienna), and Sergison Bates Architects (London). Three houses - three identities - a single social and cultural organism: that is the idea at the core of the project. Like three people in discussion the buildings are grouped as an ensemble, forming a graceful urban space at human scale. From a distance the three housing blocks appear of metropolitan size and strong urban presence. Each of them designed by one of the three architectural firms with an individual architectural attitude and character. This is also achieved by choice of materials, colours, and the layout of the various flats. Yet they work as one functional place to live within a big city, offering private and public spaces for their residents. The new book features the entire projects in essays and images, site and floor plans, elevations and renderings in a lavish book design.