Combining Mosaic Art and Public Housing in Vienna

August 3, 2024 Anika Rieper

In Vienna after World War II, many houses and buildings were destroyed and hundreds of people were without housing. The city of Vienna rebuilt and newly built many affordable apartments and continued the tradition of the Gemeindebau (public housing) which had started in Vienna in the years after World War I.

The goal wasn’t to only create affordable housing and better living conditions, but also to improve overall quality of life of the residents. Vienna had renowned architects design the buildings, landscapers create green spaces, and commissioned artists to create public art, like sculptures, mosaics, and frescoes. A small amount of the building costs was allotted to art, it was called Kunst am Bau (art in architecture).

Hadikgasse 268-272

One such projects was the Hadikgasse 268-272 in Vienna’s 14th district Penzing. Starting in 1952, multiple architects designed three building complexes. They were u-shaped with a courtyard facing the street. The apartments within were designed as duplexes that could be easily made into bigger apartments if needed, and the larger apartments had balconies.

The three buildings have 240 apartments, the architects were: Walter Proché, Karl Zepke, Karl Hartl, Egon Karl Fridinger, and Heinz Surböck.

This is what the houses look like today; they are screenshots from google maps streetview. You can see the large mosaic on the corner of the both buildings.