Terra Nova. 70 years Siemensstrasse housing estate in Floridsdorf

An exhibition on social housing and urban development in Vienna after 1945 The Siemensstrasse housing estate (1950–54) in Floridsdorf is one of the outstanding examples of social housing and urban development in post-war Vienna. It received high international attention and is now a listed building. At the time of its construction, the settlement was the largest communal residential complex in Vienna with over 1,700 apartments. After the Second World War, the housing shortage in Vienna was dramatic. Over 86,000 apartments were destroyed or unusable. Floridsdorf as an important industrial location was particularly affected. In order to quickly cover the most urgent housing needs, the city initiated a so-called rapid construction program in addition to the regular housing program. Around 4,000 additional apartments had been built by 1954. Many of the more than 1,700 apartments are designed as so-called duplex apartments, small apartments (approx. 30m²) that could later be merged without major technical effort. In line with the demands of social urban development, which aimed to separate work, living and recreation, the settlement was laid out in the immediate vicinity of the large Floridsdorf industrial companies with generous open spaces and green spaces. In addition, Siemensstrasse offered the residents a rich infrastructure inside, such as a Volksheim, kindergarten, children's open-air pool, drip bath and row of shops. The architect Franz Schuster (1892–1972) planned the estate according to the “New Neighborhood” concept, which originated in the Anglo-American region. This should enable the residents to live independently and take different housing needs into account. Separate types of houses and apartments were designed for families, single people, disabled people and the elderly, such as the “home for the elderly”. Franz Schuster built already in the Red Vienna (with Franz Schacherl the settlement "Am Wasserturm", X., 1923-1924 or among others with Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky and Adolf Loos the "Otto Haas-Hof" in XX., 1924-1926) as well the Montessori Kindergarten on Rudolfsplatz (I., 1929–31). In 1926 he moved to Frankfurt am Main, where he worked as an employee of Ernst May in one of the centers of architectural modernism in Europe. In 1937 he was appointed to the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna as the successor to Josef Hoffmann. In 1938 he served himself obediently to the National Socialists and participated, inter alia. on plans for the razing of Leopoldstadt. This did not affect his career after 1945. He kept his position as a professor and played a key role in the reconstruction of Vienna. In addition to the Per Albin Hansson settlement (X., 1947-51, together with, among others, Eugen Wörle and Stefan Simony) and the special kindergarten "Schweizer Spende" (XV.), The Siemensstraße settlement was one of his main works during this period. The exhibition “Terra Nova - 70 Years of the Siemensstrasse Settlement” asks about the strengths of social urban development and the concept of the New Neighborhood. It was conceived in close collaboration with contemporary witnesses, tells about home decor and everyday life in the 1950s and can be seen in a duplex apartment at 5 Scottgasse. Folder “Terra Nova - 70 years Siemensstrasse housing estate in Floridsdorf” as pdf download