The elongated project area reads in the large-scale context as part of the elongated railroad or station area running from north to south along Conrad-von-Hötzendorf-Strasse. For these areas, the rail as a system is thus the character-giving element of an authoritative typology in the classical urban context. The structure of the volumetric distribution suggests two halves of the building that can be shifted lengthwise, each of which responds to its immediate context, such as the residential building opposite, whose view and sunlight remain almost unimpaired, but also to building regulations.
Conrad-von-Hoetzendorfstraße 162
Morphological transformation of a rail system with SKYPARK
Year
2023
Venue
Graz
State
Competition
Category
Work
Size
13.947 m²
Year |
Venue |
State |
Category |
Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 |
Graz |
Competition |
Work |
13.947 m² |
Year
2023
Venue
Graz
State
Competition
Category
Work
Size
13.947 m²
The horizontal joint becomes a special element of this object: it is not only a scale reference to the surroundings, but also an ambassador of a three-dimensional urban body interwoven with greenery and can thus become the starting element of a more complex open space structure for the city. In any case, this joint is not a green strip applied to the facade, but rather a garden/park landscape, a skypark, on the entire level of this incision. This signal already opens up to those arriving in Graz immediately after the city entrance Graz-Ost. This green strip at the urban gateway is laid out as a landscape with lush growth and appearance.
A Highline Park in Graz
In connection with the railroad area, the association with Highline Park in New York may well be made, an elevated open space level with multi-layered possibilities for use. The difference here, of course, is that this level is intended for occupation by the users of the object and not as a public area. In any case, this open space will contribute to the essential well-being of the building's users, as will the zone of greenery on the ground level in the longitudinally extending open space area to the west, facing the railroad area.
Functionally, the building - in analogy to the rail system - is designed as a two-hipped facility. Along the facades, the space is organized in a sequence of office axes; the central area connects the two office tracks like the railroad sleepers as a zone to be occupied from both sides for communicative and complementary functions of the overall program.
Architecture
Pichler & Traupmann Architects
Design team
Bartosz Lewandowski (team leader design)
Patrik Drechsler
Daniel Kith
Anna Chakhal-Salakhowa
Client
Bauunternehmung Granit bzw. C162 GmbH
Statics
Wendl ZT GmbH, Graz
Structural fire protection
Norbert Rabl ZT GmbH, Graz
Landscape planning
Lindle+Bukor – atelier für landschaft, Vienna
Hard facts
Start of planning: 2023
Usable floor area: 11.757 m²
Gross floor area: 13.947 m²
Location: Graz
Use: Office building
Scope: EU-wide open, double-stage competition
Rendering
Patricia Bagienski-Grandits, Vienna
Model
Harald Schmidt, Vienna
Award
2nd place