Europan 13
Into the Woods, St Polten , Vienna
We are proud to have participated at the Europan 13 Competition with a urban housing proposal at Saint Polten in Austria. Our project’s concept has two basic principles. On the one hand, a grid which meets the ideal orientation to provide natural lighting and ventilation, and on the other a forest-like feel when in the site. A sequence of different urban layers blend with each other, creating variant qualities of urban spaces. The project is consisted of ten basic urban elements as seen below, which provide the new identity for the Europan site. Also historical traces are being preserved, placing the starting point of the project’s main promenade (The Funnel) in between the traces of the old barracks. Two of the them are being represented as wooden frames and are being incorporated with the rest of the urban environment.
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The Forest: Existing trees are maintained as much as possible and together with new ones, a dense wild landscape is created, bringing the site closer to the nature and giving the feeling of a “living in the woods” character.
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The Playground: Bubbly, introvert spaces, slightly lower from ground level are being evolved in the inner part of each cluster.
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The Square: Angular spaces, slightly hilly along the longitudinal axis hosting public activities.
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The Trail: Soft material path, in between the “forest” creating several connections.
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The Funnel: Main corridor connecting directly the existing developments to the Traisen.
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The Deck: Spaces connecting certain modules. Their shapes are defined by the inclination of the blocks and they can host commercial activities like outdoor seating for restaurants or markets.
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The Sound barrier: A linear dense stripe of trees, aiming to seclude the housing area from the noisy railway.
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The River promenade: Linear passageway along which certain activities occur.
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The Bridge: The perforated common space connecting housing units, also indicating the different typologies of the project by using different colors and/ or material. Residents can recognize their neighborhood!
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The Observatory: Elevated platforms which pop up along the forest trail. An intimate space that brings residents and visitors closer to the nature and can provide great views.
