The Brick

Right at the southern entrance of Vienna, a huge construction site with countless cranes rises on the Wienerberg - the Biotope City is a district development area in the south of Vienna that offers over 950 apartments for around 2,000 people, offices, workplaces, and green oases by 2021. The striking three-part building, located directly on Triesterstraße and named "The Brick," will house the headquarters of Wienerberger in the southern part and will have approximately 24,600 square meters of usable space starting from 2020.

In addition to the Wienerberger headquarters, there will also be a hotel, gastronomy, and additional office spaces. The design was created by the architects RLP, Rüdiger Lainer + Partner, while Soravia is developing the building complex. The unique feature of the construction is the brick facade, which provides a changing perspective through its design. The architects' concept is reminiscent of the design of old commercial buildings, as explained by Oliver Sterl from RLP: "The column order, in harmony with the urban layout, creates a distinctive building complex - a landmark in the traffic flow of Triesterstraße. The order is based on classic examples with the dissolution of the building masses towards the top."

Behind the brick facade, however, is a concrete structure that also utilizes prefabricated components. The architects made this decision due to the significantly faster construction time and the flexible and sustainable building structure consisting of load-bearing exterior walls and interior column rows.

The concrete's heat storage capacity is utilized for heating and cooling purposes. Vasko+Partner is responsible for the building technology planning for The Brick. The Brick will be the first completed project of the Biotope City. The challenges include the tight time schedule as well as the extensive construction work in close proximity: the Biotope City, with 13 building sites and around 900 apartments, is growing rapidly.

The concept of the Biotope City envisages extensive greening of open spaces and building facades. This ecological approach has also been adopted for The Brick; intensive facade and rooftop greening are planned, and the entire building complex will receive a DGNB Gold certification.