Biotope City Wienerberg

>> This is about renaturalizing the city: Leaf green is by far the most efficient and cost-effective means of mitigating heat stress and environmental aftereffects. The Biotope City proves that both, high-density and green housing are possible and affordable. <<

Helga Fassbinder, Urban Planner and Founder of the Biotope City Foundation

Many of the measures, which make a relevant difference compared to “conventional” planning, consist of process design and coordination as well as technological or constructional innovations that will not be visible with the naked eye after completion. These “hidden treasures” are made visible and understandable through publications.

Climate adaptation measures in subsidized housing play an increasingly important role, but the principle of affordability must not be neglected. The Biotope City Wienerberg shows that dense development and effective greening are compatible. The IBA_Vienna carries these aspects further so that similar measures can be established in other areas.

Building a green city together!
From the very beginning, all the stakeholders involved have worked together on the basis of the mission statement “Biotope City”. To operationalize this mission statement, the planners, developers, consultants and municipal departments have subsequently drawn up a detailed quality catalog.

The shadow of a tree is much more effective in the summer heat than the shadow of a building. At Biotope City, tall trees with a trunk circumference of up to 35 centimeters are planted from the very beginning. Inner courtyards and rooftop areas are used for gardening, the facades are planted with wild wine and wisteria (climbing plants), and the loggias and balconies are equipped with structurally already integrated planters. The design of partial areas as “G’stättn” (a Viennese German term for fallow land and natural grassland) and “rain gardens” is still largely untested in housing construction: Unsealed green surfaces serve as catchment and seepage surfaces during heavy rainfalls.

With the GREENPASS®, microclimate simulations were carried out for the Biotope City in order to optimally coordinate urban development and measures, and to achieve the highest possible climatic effects with the least possible effort. The planned measures achieve a cooling of the air flowing through by 2°C. Thus, the Biotope City has a cooling effect not only on its own residential and working population, but also on the surrounding city.

Fact Sheet

Approx. 990 apartments, thereof 400 subsidized apartments (incl. 200 SMART apartments)
152 hotel rooms
1 school, 1 nursery school
2.000 m² playground area for children and youths
600 m² community gardens
3.850 m² ground level gardens
420 bicycle parking spaces
1.720 m² common rooms
20.000 m² commercial space
Approx. 250 trees
8.900 m² meadow areas
930 m² shrub areas
13.600 m² roof greening
2.200 m² facade greening
760 m² retention pond