Palais cité

The house in prominent location of the first district Vienna built by Theophil Hansen in 1848 / 49 schould be renovated and adapted into an deluxe apartment building.

Historically interesting is the fact that Theophil Hansen has developed structures which have been revived only 40 to 50 years later by his student Otto Wagner: e.g. in developing concepts to maximise natural lighting - the storey heights decrease from ground to roof to guarantee a balanced lighting in each storey. Furthermore it has been a novelty that the windows could be opened to the inside.

Years ago the initial roof has been replaced by an assembling which disturbed the original building composition quite heavily; this offered a chance for a reinterpretation.

In close coordination with the Viennese monument department driendl*architects came up with a cutting edge solution to re-establish the harmonious appearance of the building with hyper modern interventions:

The main innovation is the development of a double sheeted, multi-functional, sloped glass façade which restores the initial roof pitch of 33°. The high-tech prototype directly connects on protected substance and helps to calm the hectic, nervous roof landscape of the inner districts of Vienna. Horizontal adjustable panels guarantee blinds and sun protection.
Due to prefabrication of individual units the montage could be finished very quickly.