Zwischendrin

Urbanity would be unthinkable without housing, especially - as the main use of urban land - it has a major impact on the spatial and social structures of the city. However, the demands and expectations placed on the cities of the 21st century are enormous; worldwide, urban space is subject to exploding real estate prices, the consequences of climate change and seemingly incessant growth. With greater spatial flexibility and mobility as part of the life course - we commute for education and work - we use living space and floor space per capita, as well as resources and energy to an unprecedented extent. However, the economy has proven countless times that exponential growth sooner or later ends in a crisis. In order to develop alternatives and new proposals for solutions, it is also up to city dwellers to take responsibility for the communal shaping of urban space. Initiated by Wohnlabor and developed by the Verein zwischendrin, the project wants to face the responsibility of participative design and test new planning strategies.

Anne Kaestle in

"Neue Standards: Zehn Thesen zum Wohnen"

In this project we want to create self-determined, affordable and diverse living spaces in two houses. Through simple adaptability to changing living conditions, spatial flexibility and change should be allowed though space should always be used optimally. We want to build in a way that is worthy of our society today, with apartments as diverse as life plans. In terms of sustainability, we want to share not only resources but also social life. The project should dare to experiment and live out the potential to link living space and urban space more closely through collective use in everyday life. The basis for the field of experimentation is the life of the residents in all its contradictions, its unplannability and its peculiarities. The diversity and changeability of living spaces thus becomes the central element of the experiment and provide spatial and social dimensions that are mutually dependent and influence each other.

The framework for the spatial flexibility is initially created by the architecture. In order to be able to react to changes, we pursue different structural approaches and ideas, each of which gives the houses their own identity. House H, for example, offers a range of different apartment sizes and configurations, while in House F the floor plan design remains open. The different characteristics of the two houses, when combined, create spatial constellations for a variety of life situations. The high rooms lend a great living quality, which on the one hand allows us to create private areas in their square meters and at the same time to maximize the possibility of usage, as is the case in Vienna with classic old building apartment proves.

House H

In the "basic design" of House H there are four small apartments per floor, as well as a "Schaltraum" - a room for open usage. They are all accessed via the central staircase in the building core. The combination of these five units creates a range of different apartment sizes and configurations. Depending on the needs of the future residents, apartments with any number of rooms and lighting on both sides are possible, which can also extend over several floors due to the split level. With the exception of the two fire walls and the circulation core, all building components are non-load-bearing. Therefore, all interior walls and the façade can be freely designed in timber construction. House H, once built, continues to offer flexibility through the possibility of always adding or reducing rooms to individual residential units.

House F

The smaller house F on the quiet Felbigerstraße is a skeleton building with a free floor plan. On the ground floor there is the common workshop - the "Wunderkammer" - and on the roof the divided terrace. Here, in contrast to House H, the greatest possible flexibility is aimed for through personal planning and self-construction. The external access connects the individually designed apartments as a pergola and provides the space for everyday encounters. The use and temporary appropriation of his zone require a continuous negotiation process.

A special role is attributed to the rooms on the ground floor of House H and House F. We see them as the 'in between' in our Housing project - places that are both residential and urban space. Places that belong to everyone. Places that can do everything. In everyday life, the rooms are used by the residents of the housing project, e.g. cooking in "Speis" in house H and working in the "Wunderkammer" in house F. Through large windows, the lively hustle and bustle - both inside and outside - is brought into relation, thus creating space for accidental or intentional encounters. The changeability of the "Speis" and the "Wunderkammer" is intended to allow a variety of (room) uses. Where a moment ago people were cooking or working, now guests are invited to celebrate and discuss together. The Speis und Wunderkammer will open up and enter into dialogue with city dwellers from the neighbourhood. The result is a lively façade image that shows that "we are allowed to live in the city again". (Dan Schürch, Graz 2018)

Flexible living space is not a new idea. Many architects have already tried and failed in the attempt to change the design of living space in collective housing projects. If certain areas are intended first as resources for the changeability, these are often not released after the private use by individual inhabitant inside no more for the community. The space resources "petrify" and the housing project loses the possibility of the changeability. It becomes apparent that valuable architectural proposals alone are not sufficient to enable the living space to be adapted to changing living needs.

We are convinced that, in addition to the spatial requirements, a social framework - the "Charta" - is needed for changeability, where the rules for living together are laid down. It should help to harmonize the life plans of the individual with the demands of the community. Central points of the charter are the defined area budget per inhabitant, the "Veränderungskonferenz" -as well as the possibility of intermediate living - "Zwischenwohnen" in the housing project.

Resident A is a student and lives alone in a small studio apartment on the second floor of House F. As a member of the "Werktisch" association, he spent countless hours in the Wunderkammer before moving into the housing project. In summer, A's large sliding windows to the arcade are usually wide open and he moves between his apartment and the sunny roof terrace, where the neighbour community often has a barbecue on the weekends.

Resident B and Resident C are among the founding members of the housing project. Together with their three children, they have combined three units in House H for their private living space. The toys are carried from one place to another in the housing project, the stairwell is sometimes transformed into a knight's castle, sometimes into an adventure course. When resident B wants to work in peace in the morning, she likes to use the desk in the "Schaltraum" - the library - on the first floor of House H with a view of the green garden. Resident C recently started renting a desk in House F at the "Wunderkammer". As a family, Resident B and Resident C enjoy especially the regular dinners with their children in the Speis.