Lockerwiesesiedlung, Vienna: visual statement and architectural unity combined

Much like Siedlung Hermeswiese the Lockerwiesesiedlung includes apartment buildings that are used along the edges of the estate as visual and spatial statements. Here two tower-like ends of apartment blocks give access to the central curved street of the housing estate as if it were a formal gate building. 

A view along one of the "outside walls" of the estate (left) shows the typical attention paid to the spatial and visual distinction of the housing project in relation to its (sub)urban context. When looking through the gateway the central verge planted with trees and shrubs of the main curved street is clearly visible.

View along the curved main street towards the central square with the markedly higher buildings (apartments above shops). A tower-like building marks the corner of the square. The buildings around this spatial pivot point in the estate have been given a specific architectural treatment, emphasising this place.

At the end of the central curved street the building has these decorative sgraffito panels with socialist themes such as industry, agriculture and education. From the central square a short street is directed at the church of the care home complex. The housing is simple in design with white render and clear perforations of the facade (windows and doors).

A view into a street of the second building phase through one of the gateways underneath one of the middlerise blocks that surround the central square. The housing is very similar to that of phase one.

These houses can be found along the eastern edge of the estate. The long terraces are connected at the corner to form a continuous facade around the street corner. These houses all have a covered protruding porch with a flat roof.

Along the central curved street colour blocking is used to create more visual interest in the streetscape. For this a central green verge planted with trees and shrubs adds to the character and also signals its special position within the whole estate.

The inner streets are not continuous in building line, nor do they display a continuous front facade. The buildings are placed along the streets in an Unwinesque manner. The buildings have been particularised by the use of brick details. These can be seen around the front doors and in between the windows. 

The buildings of the second building phase are less decorative. Here brick is used more sparingly to emphasise the corners and create more visual interest.

The houses have no front gardens. Hedges are used to edge gardens. The streets are mostly curved like in these examples of the second building phase. Some are bayoneted with an axial shift to prevent long vistas along the streets - another Unwinesque design device.

In keeping with English examples closed cave been included in the layout of the Lockerwiesesiedlung. These are basically groups or pairs of housing blocks set back from the road on a cul-de-sac.

Lockerwiesesiedlung, Vienna: a 1920s garden suburb

On pasture dotted with reeds and bulrush a new garden suburb for Vienna was planned by the socialist council in the 1920s. The site near Lainz in the 13th District of Vienna Hietzing was chosen for its proximity to the Krankenhaus Hietzing (a large hospital - 1908) and the Versorgungsheim Lainz (care home - 1902). Also the Lockerwiese Estate is only a few hundred metres north of the Hermeswiese Estate and walking distance from the Werkbundsiedlung.

The site was developed for social housing by a Building Society -GESIBA- that was founded especially for building this estate. GESIBA was founded in 1921 as the Gemeinwirtschaftliche Siedlungs- und Baustoffanstalt by the City of Vienna, the Republic of Austria and the Verband für Siedlungs- und Kleingartenwesen (Association for Housing Estates and Allotment Gardening), each for a third. The plan was that the Building Society would transfer the housing to the City Council after completion.

The design was made by Karl Schartelmüller, who had previously drawn up plans for "Am Freihof". Building work started in 1926 with a second building phase in 1938-39. This northern extension had already been designed in 1931 and -although less detailed than the housing of the first phase- fit seamlessly into the whole estate. In 1950 some former playing field near the rail tracks were developed for housing with apartment blocks designed by Franz Mörth and Otto Schönthal. The formal gates in the first building phase that connect to the streets of the second phase shows the designer had pre-empted a future expansion of the estate.

The whole estate is basically a Muthesian-inspired garden village. The layout is similar to that of Am Freihof, by the same designer. The basic structure is a curved street with family housing on either side with middlerise buildings at either end. Thus the entrances are emphasised and the spatial effect of the estate is improved. The gate-like entrance has a clear reference to the Superblocks of the Gemeindebau. Most of the buildings are two storey row houses with gardens at the back. This makes the streetscape rather urban in character.

The Lockerwiesesiedlung is a typical semi-suburban garden village with some amenities. Most prominent is the Versorgungsheimer Platz (Care Home Square - VP) near the entrance to the Versorungsheim (VH). On this garden square is one of the formalised entrances to the estate. Also the tree-lined street that gives access to the second entrance (E) is indicated by the Maria Heil Kamillianerkloster (Heeling Mary Camillian Monastery). In addition the estate features many formal gates and gateways (G).The central streets culminates in a small square with shops (S). Most buildings are low family housing arranged along curved streets. In some places small closes (C) have been included in the layout. The building phases are indicated in red: 1 (1926-29), 2a (1938), 2b (1938), 3 (1950).

After completion the housing was transferred to the Vienna Housing Authority, who are still renting out these homes at affordable rates. There are long waiting lists for this estate as it is located in the edge of the Viennese Conurbation but with excellent transport links (train and tram). As such it is still the intended garden suburb.

Lainzer Tiergarten, Vienna: a former royal hunting domain

In 1561 the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand I created the Lainzer Tiergarten. He had a wooden fence erected in existing woodland in the foothills of the Alps to enclose a royal hunting preserve. The name was derived from the village closest by named Lainz. The word Tiergarten translates literally as "animal garden", and now often indicates a zoo. It's original meanig was "enclosure with wild animals" and indicated a hunting preserve or an area where animals were kept for the use in hunting (mostly fallow deer and pheasants). In 1781 a stone wall was built to replace the wooden fence. Most of this wall still exists encircling the preserve although some sections on the edge have been developed -for instance for the Friedenstadt Estate. At present the Lainzer Tiergarten is enclosed by some 22 kilometres of original wall and some short sections of fence. There are seven gates, of which the Lainzer Tor at the end of the Hermesstrasse is the main entrance.

A comparison of the 2450 hectare Lainzer Tiergarten (1) with the more famous Berliner Tiergarten (2), Wiener Prater (3) and Park Schönbrunn (4) shows that it is much larger. The section a was developed for the Friedenstadt Estate. Section b was added to mitigate habitat loss caused by the building of a new motorway. Section c is also in part an extension outside of the historic wall.

Several natural streams and springs were diverted to feed into the Lainzerbach. This brook was dammed to form an artificial lake, used for fishing. It also serves as a source of water for the animals within the enclosure of the hunting park. This Hohenauerteich  (a name best translated as: "high lying artificial pond between the fertile fields") is located near the edge of the preserve not far from the Lainzer Tor.

A view across the Hohenauerteich from the Hermesstrasse, with the Hohenauerwiese behind it and the Leitenwald on the Wilder Berg in the background.

The Hermesstrasse that runs from the centre of Speising west towards the Lainzer Gate ends in a loop that gives access to the Hermesvilla. This building complex was commissioned by Franz Joseph I Emperor of Austria and Hungary as a getaway mansion for his wife Elisabeth (Sisi). It comprises of a main mansion building with covered walkways towards stables and other practical building behind it that together surround a formal garden with fountain. At the front an arboretum with many exotic trees was planted to enhance the landscape. This garden is fenced off from the rest of the Lainzer Tiergarten to prevent game feasting on the plants. In 1918 the entire park was opened to the public as a paying attraction, entrance has been free however since 1973.The villa is now a restaurant. Two other restaurants are located deeper into the woods: Hischgstemm and Rohrhaus. In 1927 an obervation tower was built called Hubertuswarte. This 22.4 metres high construction was named for the Patron Saint of hunting, St. Hubert. It is located on the highest point in the preserve, the Kaltbründlberg, of 508 metres.

The Hermesvilla (1886) with the eponymous statue in front of it (left). A view from the forest edge with the wooded alpine foothills in the background. On the right the Hubertuswarte, a viewing tower.

As a hunting preserve the area within the fence was aimed at providing a favourable living environment for game. Most of the Lainzer Tiergarten is made up of natural woodland with a mix of deciduous woodland in valleys and low-lying areas and mixed fir-beech woodland higher up. Some 20% comprises of meadows.

The Rohrhauswiese was named after the Rohrhaus ( a name meaning house built with reeds) and is a typical meadow in the Lianzer Tiergarten with fruit trees in one corner and a flower meadow stretching between the edges of the surrounding forest.

Today several species can still be encountered here. The lainzer Tiergarten is home to 800-1000 wild boar, 200-250 fallow deer, some 700 mouflon and 80-100 red deer. In parts of the hunting park shrubs and strees were introduced to provide more food for the animals. Thornless bushes were planted and kept low to allow the deer to nibble at them. Fruit trees like apples and plums were introduced to provide for foraging boar. The woodland was thus managed to favour oak and beech, as both provide vital nuts for the animals. Hunting is still practiced here.

From all the animals that live within the Lainzer Tiergarten some are seen more often than others. Most visitors will be able to encounter fallow deer (on the right) or the large sheep called mouflon. Wild boar and red deer are much more shy creatures that prefer dense forest. I was lucky to meet several boar, but only caught a glimpse of a red deer sprinting away through the forest below me.

Although most tourists will focus on Vienna and the iconic Ringstrasse or large parks like the Wiener Prater, the Augarten, the Belvederegarten and Park Schönbrunn, the Lainzer Tiergarten is well-worth a visit. Even though it is located some distance outside of the city and can only be reached by bus. The entire former hunting preserve is open for about 9 months of the year from early March to early November. The section around the Hermesvilla is open throughout the year and can be accessed via the Lainzer Tor.

Hermeswiese, Vienna: an example of mixed social housing

 

The edge of Hermeswiese II consists of a long row of short terraces along a village green-like public garden. These houses mark the edge of the estate to neighbouring Speising, a former village now absorbed into the Viennese Metropolitan Area.The houses are rather simple with rendered facades in ochre tones with red clay tiles on the roofs.

The formal entrance to the northern section is formed by this gatehouse crowned with a clock tower. The housing behind is arranged in staggered rows of terraces.

The second street of the northern section also has a formalised entrance here as a gate with posts. At the entrance a text in metal letters on the side facade commemorates the Building Society responsible for this housing project.

The houses were built by the participants in the Building Society (as such it is a Building Cooperative). They are thus rather simple in construction and decor. Brick surrounds emphasise the entrances. In other places the entrances are combined and placed under a low roof in a porch. The use of simple colour blocking to create visual interest can also clearly be seen.

To make the long streets of the northern section more interesting an Unwinesque device is employed in the design. Some sections of the housing is set back from the street creating spatial division an framing of the view along the street. The front gardens are often merely a narrow strip bordered by a privet hedge.

The main entrance to the municipal section leads via this double gateway (left) through the long wall along the Speisinger Strasse. Here the architect used white render with brick detailing on corners. The whole is a sculptural predecessor of the much larger Karl-Marx-Hof. A similar but smaller gate connects the two sections of this housing estate. A simple arch in soft yellow shows some of the ochre housing behind. The building again features brick accents, mainly on the corners.

These more ornate terraces can be found in the municipal section (Hermeswiese I). Here the lengthy row of housing is broken up visually by the use of flat protruding turrets, triangular gable ends and a pergola on concrete pillars.

Two details of the front with these sensuously curved balconies which create shadows that add to the sculptural quality of this apartment building.

A cul-de-sac in the municipal section with simple housing, partly built by participants of the collective.

Around the small square behind the formal wall most of the housing is an extension of the white render and brick combination at the front. The blocks are again sculptural, but seek to form a bridge between the higher wall and the standard terraced housing. A small gateway connects the square to one of the cul-de-sacs.

A view across the small square, the first of a sequence, loosely based on the ideas of Camillo Sitte. Here the white render dominates, with on the one hand flat roofs and cubist shapes, and on the other a more vernacular idiom again with brick details.