S︎LARBLOCK

public housing repair & care



S︎LARBLOCK is a low-tech open source architecture project based in Vienna that aims to transform existing public housing blocks into solar architectures. The add-on is based on an innovative free standing wooden skeleton structure, creating an affordable wintergarden extension of the current living areas, providing views, light, heat gains in winter, ventilation and shading in summer.
































Gemeindebau Jägerstraße 89-95
built: 1964 - 1966
flats: 658


Residential construction in Vienna increased in the 1960s up to the housing boom of the 1970s. The basis for this was formed by an urban planning concept and a general traffic plan by Roland Rainer in 1961. The planned subway construction and the development of previous peripheral areas to the northof the Danube promoted this development. In the southern and eastern outskirts in particular, there were plots of land at reasonable prices on which large new residential areas were being built. The new prefabricated construction method with prefabricated concrete elements made it possible to rebuild entire districts in a short time.
(source: City of Vienna, Wiener Wohnen)
Filed under:

Vienna, 60s


Johann-Kaps-Hof
built: 1957 - 1961
flats: 726

Since 1975, the residential complex has been named after the Viennese municipal councilor Johann Kaps (1895-1966).The trained locksmith was a member of the Association of Young Workers and the SDAP, after the First World War co-founder of the ‘Republikanischer Schutzbund’ in Brigittenau. Because of his political commitment, he was arrested in 1934 and interned in the Wöllersdorf detention camp. After the Second World War he was district chairman of the SPÖ Brigittenau until 1963 and a member of the Vienna municipal council until 1964. A commemorative plaque is primarily intended to commemorate his services to the district during the period of reconstruction. (source: City of Vienna, Wiener Wohnen)
Filed under:

Vienna, 60s



Gemeindebau Friedrich Engels Platz 21
built: 1968 - 1970
flats: 155

In the 1950s, the main focus was on rebuilding what had been destroyed and building many new homes. In the communal residential buildings of this time one can find the first beginnings of the linear construction method that later prevailed, which characterizes the large suburban settlements to this day. The residential buildings became larger, higher and were increasingly designed in block form. The flat roof prevailed. All newly built apartments were equipped with bathrooms and toilets and the minimum size has been increased from 42 to 55 square meters. (source: City of Vienna, Wiener Wohnen)
Filed under:

Vienna, 60s


Gemeindebau Brigittenauer Lände 170-172
built: 1967 - 1968
flats: 314


Residential construction in Vienna increased in the 1960s up to the housing boom of the 1970s. The basis for this was formed by an urban planning concept and a general traffic plan by Roland Rainer in 1961. The planned subway construction and the development of previous peripheral areas to the northof the Danube promoted this development. In the southern and eastern outskirts in particular, there were plots of land at reasonable prices on which large new residential areas were being built. The new prefabricated construction method with prefabricated concrete elements made it possible to rebuild entire districts in a short time. (source: City of Vienna, Wiener Wohnen)
Filed under:

Vienna, 60s


Otto-Gratzl-Hof
built: 1954 - 1957
flats: 351

In the 1950s, the main focus was on rebuilding what had been destroyed and building many new homes. In the communal residential buildings of this time one can find the first beginnings of the linear construction method that later prevailed, which characterizes the large suburban settlements to this day. The residential buildings became larger, higher and were increasingly designed in block form. The flat roof prevailed. All newly built apartments were equipped with bathrooms and toilets and the minimum size has been increased from 42 to 55 square meters. (source: City of Vienna, Wiener Wohnen)
Filed under:

Vienna, 50s