Daring to use colour

The ‘Wildgarten’ residential neighbourhood in Vienna’s twelfth district, is currently under construction, planned by schneider+schumacher Vienna and its general planning team. On plots 5 and 7, fourteen buildings, each between two and eight storeys, are being constructed in monolithic brickwork with integrated thermal insulation. The 160,000 or so Wienerberger bricks employed in the project have now received their planned coat of paint.

The colour palette comprises ten different shades and by highlighting the different types of houses through the use of colour, it underscores the urban planning concept established for the quarter by the Spanish architecture firm ‘arenas basabe palacios’.

The blocks designed by schneider+schumacher consist of five different types. Each type has two alternating colours – a base colour for the façade and another colour to frame the window openings, the entrance area, and the plinth: Type XS is decorated in yellow tones, type S has bluish tones, MS is violet, ML is greenish and L is reddish in tone. The entire façade is painted in colour, while all the elements set in front of it retain their natural colour – such as the particle bonded boards employed as balcony panels. Umbra grey window frames, galvanised metal railings and rain pipes all blend harmoniously into the colourful blocks. The client for the project is ARE Austrian Real Estate Development GmbH, with GERSTL BAU GmbH & Co KG acting as a general contractor. All 157 apartments are due to be completed by late 2024.