In the heart of Vienna’s 11th district, on a lot densely vegetated by an old tree population, a new pioneering geriatrics center was to be realized. Central idea: High-quality dwelling for care-dependent senior citizens in the comforting atmosphere of a green oasis - rather then the common, sterile, hospital-style atmosphere of geriatrics centers as they used to be. The individual wards are designed to conceptually resemble an organic city center, with its varying and diversified spatial characteristics.
The program is stratified vertically. Above the ground floor, which houses all public areas as well as spaces for outpatient services, are stacked three to four levels with four respectively two wards each, and 56 units of subsidized housing on the topmost floor. All support and service areas are located in an underground level, which in the east protrudes from the surface, and thus facilitates natural lighting of the daycare center, kitchen and social areas. Parking and logistics zones were also integrated into the subterranean level, with their road access remaining hidden under the main entrance deck. Enabling often immobilized inhabitants to quickly integrate with a new social environment was a decisive design criterion. Both floorplan layout and spatio atmospheric design were intentionally targeted at stimulating communication and interaction among residents, as well as providing a wide range of opportunities for self-initiative and customization of their new home. Obviously, a loss of local community cannot be substituted easily – especially for elderly people – which accordingly led to this aspect receiving particular attention in the design process. The leitmotif of the building’s interior spaces is an abstract interpretation of the traditional, organic european city center, with its complex structure, its squares, alleys and corners.
However this is not about any kind of aesthetic mimicry, but rather about the differentiated, subtle layering of public, semi-public and private zones, and their dynamic patterns of interaction.
