In the capital of Austria, ancient buildings are being protected and, at the same time, a “district of the future” is being built, one of the most ambitious urban projects in the world. Exploring what’s new in Vienna
Vienna boom
Vienna began to develop on a large scale since the 1980s. Austria’s accession to the European Union in 1995 only spurred these paces. The city is in an extremely favorable geographical position – due to the fact that it unites the western and eastern parts of Europe, it gathers the best ideas from all over the continent. The capital attracts people – in 2027, the population of Vienna will step over the mark of 2 million people. To provide future residents with infrastructure and homes, ambitious projects are being launched here. One of them was Aspern Seestadt.
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city lake
Aspern Seestadt is a new quarter that covers an area of 240 hectares. It is being built on the site of the former Aspern airfield, one of the oldest in Europe. It is planned to build about 11 thousand houses and many offices that can accommodate up to 20 thousand employees. The total investment will amount to € 5 billion. The construction of the quarter began in 2009, now, by the end of 2021, more than a third has already been completed.
A lake has already been dug in the center of the future quarter, for which the workers had to extract about 650 thousand tons of earth. However, it was not disposed of, but used to create building material from which houses are built in the quarter. Old highways have also found use: concrete is dug up and reused when laying roads and streets.
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Return to basics
Large-scale recycling is not the only “smart” use of materials at Aspern Seestadt. HoHo Wien, the second tallest wooden building in the world, is also being built here. Due to its 84 m, it will dominate the panorama of the entire quarter (approximately the same as the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, similar in height, towered over old Moscow). 75% of the wood was produced in Austria in compliance with all environmental standards.
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HoHo Wien will house a hotel, apartments, restaurants and offices. In the southeastern part of Aspern Seestadt, the facades and walls of more than 200 residential buildings will be built of wood. A distinctive feature of Aspern Seestadt is the use of precast concrete blocks. Walls, slabs and beams are prefabricated in factories. This speeds up the construction process and makes it more environmentally friendly.
Science for ecology
The manufacturability of the quarter is not limited to construction. Many buildings have special equipment that measures energy use. The data is then sent to the laboratory, where they develop new solutions to optimize consumption.
Without cars
Transport solutions in Vienna are also created in the spirit of the times. Two new railway lines connect the quarter with the center of Vienna and neighboring Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Two tram routes are planned. In 80% of cases, Aspern Seestadt residents will travel on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Cities of the future
The quarter has already won a number of awards for advanced building solutions and proper property management. Through climate-smart building and early preparation for a population boom, Vienna is setting a new standard for urban expansion. Soon similar practices will be applied in Europe and then in the rest of the world.