4. Buildings & energy

4.4 “G’mischter Block” (Mixed Block)

Partner: AVORIS

The real estate company AVORIS developed a property specifically focusing on mixed use and energy supply with renewables. With newly built space for living, work, social activities, entertainment and leisure options close to the city centre, this project contributes positively to liveability and sustainability in the neighbourhood.

"G'mischter Block" (Mixed Block)

On the left and right, there are two visualisations of a modern residential complex designed as a perimeter development with partly greened façades and balconies. At the centre, there are the layout and a vertical section of the planned new structures, integrated into the existing building stock.

Fig. 18: “G’mischter Block” project. Copyright: AVORIS

“G’mischter Block” is an innovative construction project with approx. 3,600 sq m of housing space, 2,000 sq m of shop space and over 1,250 sq m of open spaces. The building employs cutting-edge energy and heating / cooling technologies (heat pump combined with geothermal heat and PV, cooling through concrete core activation) as well as roof, façade and inner courtyard greening to blend climate targets with high quality of life. The mixed-use approach makes “G’mischter Block” an attractive flagship project of IBA_Vienna that was also partly financed with funds disbursed by the WieNeu+ “Grätzlförderung” subsidy scheme. A kindergarten, a wine bar, several offices and commercial premises as well as 75 modern flats enliven the neighbourhood. Intensive co-ordination processes during the planning phase distinguish this project, as does the fact that the design principles of the Gründerzeit master plan of the City of Vienna were taken account of.

Groundbreaking for the "G'mischter Block" project

Groundbreaking ceremony showing five men holding spades and digging in the sand

Fig. 19: Groundbreaking for the “G'mischter Block” project. Copyright: Schedl / AVORIS

Outcomes

Façade greening: when constructing new buildings from scratch, long-term soil-bound solutions are technically less demanding regarding maintenance and more sustainable; however, in densely built-up urban areas, the viability of such systems is limited because space utilisation for this purpose comes at the expense of built-up and, hence, practically exploited surfaces.

The combination of housing and commercial premises contributes to enlivening the neighbourhood, although the setting-up of a wine bar somewhat limits options for later forms of use of these premises. Plans should take early account of the technical side of energy planning because this calls for specific architectural solutions (adequately sized surfaces for solar panels).

For more details, visit: https://www.avoris.at/projektdetails/gmischter-block/