Allee der Kosmonauten cluster school honored at the BDA Prize Berlin

Our double school in Berlin-Lichtenberg, at Allee der Kosmonauten, planned for HOWOGE and together with FCP, has been honored at the BDA Prize Berlin. We are thrilled! Our schools are designed to provide stimulating learning and living spaces and to promote pedagogical and spatial synergies, with diverse meeting places that enable children of all ages to learn from each other.

Prof. Anne Kockelkorn, architectural historian at the University of Ghent and member of the jury:
"The school construction offensive launched in 2016 is one of Berlin's largest infrastructure projects. One of its answers to the question of social permeability is the “Compartment School”, which divides the school into smaller, flexibly usable areas and thus dissolves the hierarchy of corridor and classroom. This facilitates open teaching as well as the possibility of self-determined learning in smaller groups.
But how does this work on the scale of a large school building for 1,600 pupils, which combines an integrated secondary school (ISS) and a grammar school? The Compartment School in Lichtenberg, designed by Viennese architects PPAG, functions like a city within a city: its urban planning and architectural leitmotif is the interlocking of relational groups. The open first floor leads visitors under the elevated classrooms and past the swing seats directly into the center of the action - to the auditorium with the sports halls stacked above.
This accessibility from the outside is also reflected in the internal organization of the complex: the assembly hall and sports halls are shared by the pupils of both schools and can be viewed through glass façades. The compartments are docked around this core and are accessed via two spacious staircases. The heart of each compartment is the forum, which is designed for cross-classroom learning and, like a village square, provides access to all the rooms in the compartment. Projections and recesses in the classrooms make it possible to open all the forums on two sides and give each classroom its own spatial expression.
This open school building is also a contemporary counterpart to Freie Universität's Rost- und Silberlaube, whose structuralist design concept from 1963 was intended to democratize the university and integrate it into its neighborhood. 60 years later, the education of democratic skills and the de-hierarchization of schools is just as urgent as the demand for equal opportunities. The Austrian team of architects gets to the heart of both with minimal means and sculptural persuasiveness.”

More information about the BDA-Prize Berlin 2024: here and here.

Foto: © Jan Bitter

Rivus Vivere is “Residential Building of the Year”

We are delighted to have won the first prize in the ‘Residential Building of the Year’ 2024 competition, with which Callwey Verlag honors outstanding residential construction projects. Our Rivus Vivere project, realized in Vienna for BUWOG, was honored by the jury! Our urban building block impressed the jury with its approach to the entire neighborhood and our credo: “Building housing also means building cities”. Many thanks to the jury and Callwey publisher for the award – and to our client, BUWOG, for their trust in our ideas!

You can find out more about the award-winning projects and the publication ‘Ausgezeichneter Wohnungsbau’ here.

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Europe’s best Buildings at the Architekturzentrum Wien 

The Architekturzentrum Wien is hosting the exhibition of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture 2024 (a.k.a. Mies van der Rohe Awards) under the title of “Europas Beste Bauten / Europe’s best Buildings”. It presents the 362 nominated buildings of this edition, highlighting the 40 works shortlisted by the jury and presenting more detailed and extensive information about the winners and finalists.
We are proud to announce that our Steirereck am Pogusch project is part of the exhibition, together with 13 other nominated buildings and the two shortlisted works built in Austria!

Thursday 03.10.2024 – Monday 20.01.2025
daily 10:00–19:00
Architekturzentrum Wien, Exhibition hall 2

More info here: www.azw.at

Photo: © Lisa Rastl / Az W

PPAG talk in Florence

On 10 October 2024 the Fondazione Architetti Firenze and the Austrian Cultural Forum are organising a conference on the topic of sustainability and urban renewal, using Vienna as an example. We are looking forward to showing some of our Viennese housing projects, and to discuss important questions together with Regina Freimüller-Söllinger!

What: ARCHITECTURE IN AUSTRIA: SUSTAINABILITY AND URBAN REGENERATION. THE EXAMPLE OF ASPERN SEESTADT IN VIENNA
Where: Palazzina Reale, P.zza della Stazione, 50 – Florence
When: 10 October 2024, 5 pm

Admission free.
The event will be held in English.
Moderation: Paola Giaconia, Kent State University & California State University

“Utopian pragmatism” for our school in Berlin Lichtenberg

In the new issue of Bauwelt 243 / 20.2024, on “Utopian pragmatism”, two double pages are dedicated to our Berlin double school in the Allee der Kosmonauten. Because if you want to change the world, according to the Bauwelt editorial team, you need a clear stance. The same goes for those who improving our cities. But every visionary plan leads to a compromise with reality. What helps to overcome the hurdles? Read for yourself!

You can find the entire article (in German), by Ulrich Brinkmann, here.

The Enzis made it to the MAK

We are proud to have our Enzi elements, designed in 2002 for the MuseumsQuartier, among the 100 selected objects standing for the diversity and innovation in Austrian product design since the turn of the millennium. The MAK exhibition “AUT NOW: 100 × Austrian Design for the 21st Century” provides an overview of the diversity and innovation in Austrian product design in the new millennium on the basis of 100 design objects. Each of the 25 thematic categories—from A for “Alpine” to Z for “Zeitgeist”—contains four objects that are representative of the wide range of things designed and produced in Austria from the year 2000 to the present day.

Opening
Tuesday, September 17^th 2024 at 7 pm with:
Andrea Mayer, Secretary of State for Arts and Culture
Lilli Hollein, General Director, MAK
Vandasye (Georg Schnitzer, Peter Umgeher), Sebastian Hackenschmidt, Marlies Wirth (MAK), Curatorial Team

Exhibition
18.9.2024—18.5.2025
at the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna

The exhibition AUT NOW is a project of the MAK in context of the Vienna Design Week 2024.

Photo: © kunst-dokumentation.com/MAK

Lecture at the Vienna Architecture School 2024

On August 27, Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka will give the lecture "Telling the future" during VAS². Of course you can't narrate the future. But the action of planning always inclides thenimagination of the near future. It is our responsibility as architects to exploit the potential of architecture for the general public as far as possible. Architecture is the creative synthesis of an infinite number of influences. The climate crisis is triggering a major transformation that is profoundly changing practice. We are thinking and acting fundamentally differently, with the result that the built environment looks different. Using examples from our work and sketches of ideas, we show various possibilities. This is in line with our self-image as an active part that happily accepts the complexity of challenges. It is about making the best possible use of intellectual and material capital for a good life for all.

When: 27^th August 2024, 7:30 pm

Where: Nordwestbahnhof, Nordwestbahnstraße 16, 1220 Vienna

More info here.

Schools for Vienna, Berlin and Cuenca

A lot is currently happening in terms of PPAG school construction – worldwide!
While the city of Vienna is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Sonnwendviertel educational campus  – and thus the pilot project of the paradigm shift in Viennese educational construction – the city of Berlin is opening two schools united under one roof and around two sports halls on the Allee der Kosmonauten. This is one of the first new schools to be built as part of Berlin's school construction offensive, and the largest. Access to the building, including the Howoge exhibition, is possible on 1.06.2024 and on selected guided tours. You can find more information here.
On the other side of the Atlantic and at 2,600 meters above sea level in the Andes, the first building section of the new school complex for the German School Stiehle in Cuenca has gone into operation in Ecuador. We designed the school as a high-rise building on a slope on a plot of land with a height difference of 56 meters. The project we designed was implemented on site by Durán-Hermida Arquitectos.

Photo: © Franz Brück

10 years of Sonnwendviertel educational campus

The Sonnwendviertel educational campus its celebrating its 10th anniversary today!
This municipal educational facility for children aged 0 to 14 consists of a kindergarten, elementary school and secondary school and is based on an innovative educational concept developed by the City of Vienna. It was the first of its kind in Austria, in which educational facilities are organized in so-called clusters or compartments. Four classrooms, a project room and a team room for the teachers are arranged around a marketplace, where students learn and live across classes and groups. During all-day lessons, the educational facility is not only a learning space but also a living space. At today's 10th anniversary celebration, we were able to witness the enthusiasm with which the principals, teachers, children and young people teach, learn and live here. Congratulations!

Exhibition „New School(s) for Berlin“ at the Allee der Kosmonauten school

The big moment has arrived: our double school in Allee der Kosmonauten in Berlin Lichtenberg has been completed and handed over to the city! This is the largest school construction project to date as part of the Berlin school construction offensive. Our new school building for a grammar school, an integrated secondary school (ISS) and two triple sports halls under one roof follows the pedagogical concept of the Berlin Learning and Team House. To mark the occasion, HOWOGE and the Senate Department for Education, Youth and Family invite you to the guided exhibition "New school(s) for Berlin".

You can register here from April 29, 2024 for a guided tour.
Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka are guiding through the school on following appointments:
May 28, 2024 1am to 3pm and June 4, 2024 6pm to 8pm.

Lecture and discussion at the AZW with Sophie Delhay and PPAG architects

At the Architekturzentrum Wien, on Wednedsday 3^rd April, we will present some of our spaces made for a diverse constellation of uses, as well as our research into “elastic homes”. We are also very much looking forward to the discussion with Sophie Delhay, who has dedicated herself to social housing that is forward-looking!

Moderation: Angelika Fitz, Az W

When: Wednedsday 3^rd April, 6 pm
Where: Architekturzentrum Wien, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Wien

More info here.

The event was recorded and is be available online here.

International 2023 Piranesi Honorable Mention for “Rivus Vivere”

The Jury of the International Piranesi Award has awarded our „Rivus Vivere“ project in Vienna the 2023 Piranesi Honorable Mention!
Here is is a quote from the official statement by the jury: „This is an ambitious large-scale project. It creates high-density housing while keeping the character of a city neighborhood. It makes intimate shared courtyards with different layers of privacy. We commend the exploration of different living typologies in a major project of this kind.“

Read more about the award and the other awardees here.

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Der Film – Architekturpreis des Landes Steiermark 2023

After yesterday’s premiere at the Haus der Architektur in Graz of the "Steirereck am Pogusch" project, which was awarded the 2023 Styrian Federal State Prize, the film is now online.
Heinz Reitbauer and his team, curator Indira van 't Klooster as well as Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka have their say and provide insights into the "making of" the project.

Director: Anna Prugger
Camera and editing: Patrick Neves
Production: kanal3 Regionalfernsehen, www.kanal3.tv

Watch the video here.

Film still: © kanal3 Regionalfernsehen

Book presentation & film premiere at the HDA: STYRIONOMICS – Architecture Prize of the Federal State of Styria 2023

The HDA is presenting a book and film premiere to mark the awarding of the Architecture Prize of the Province of Styria 2023:

The curator of the Architecture Prize of the Province of Styria 2023 Indira van 't Klooster has proposed the awarding of three projects after a thorough examination and inspection of the submitted works. The Province of Styria has followed her recommendation. The following projects were selected:

AWARD WINNER
Steirereck am Pogusch, PPAG architects

RECOGNITIONS
Weinhof Locknbauer, Mascha Ritter
Ortszentrum Stanz, Nussmüller Architekten

NOMINATED PROJECTS
Voisthalerhütte, Dietger Wissounig Architekten
Anatomielehrstuhl Med Uni Graz, Franz&Sue
Kiubo 1.0, Hofrichter - Ritter Architekten
Stadtbootshaus, KUESS Architektur
Club Hybrid, Pretterhofer Arquitectos und MVD Austria
MED CAMPUS Graz, Riegler Riewe Architekten

The "Styrianomics" publication, released by Jovis Verlag, presents award winners and recognitions as well as the six nominated projects to the public. In the book, Indira van 't Klooster explains nine architectural qualities that stand for contextual and sustainable architecture and are represented by the selected projects in Styria.

This will be followed by the film premiere of the "Steirereck am Pogusch" project by PPAG architects, which was awarded the 2023 Styrian Federal State Prize. The project participants, users and curator Indira van 't Klooster have their say and provide insights into the "making of" the project.

The event will take place on Monday, 20.11.2023 from 7 pm at the HDA.

More details at hda-graz.at.

Film still: © kanal3 Regionalfernsehen

Austrian State Prize nomination

On Tuesday, November 7, the State Prize for Architecture 2023 was awarded by the Austrian Ministry of Labor and Economic Affairs. In line with the three state prize winners, the jury honored four additional projects with nominations and a special prize.

We are delighted about the nomination of the Steirereck am Pogusch in the "Services" category as well as the associated visibility and role model effect that the Ministry aims to achieve with its recognition based on the concept of excellence!

Congratulations to the three State Prize winners, in particular to the architectural practices querkraft, maria flöckner und hermann schnöll as well as Pichler & Traupmann!

More details here.

Design the design process: Guest lecture on design methods at TU Wien (in German)

The Research Department Building Theory and Design at TU Wien cordially invites you to
Design the design process!
einszueins architecture and PPAG architects
Guest lectures on design methods

When: Thursday, 16.11.2023, 19:00
Where: Lecture hall 7 Schütte-Lihotzky, TU Vienna, Karlsplatz 13, 1040 Vienna, ground floor
Event recording: http://www.youtube.com/gbltuwien
Chair: Fabian Wallmüller

Designing architecture means designing, but how do we as architects shape the design process? In other words: what tools do we use to design, what methods do we use to analyze, research, experiment, evaluate and decide in the design process? And in general: how open-ended is this design process, and how flexible is the built result with regard to changing framework conditions and usage behavior?

More info here.

Learning Quarter – School as a Hybrid Urban Space (in German)

The BDA Baden-Württemberg is hosting the 65th "Learning Quarter - School as a Hybrid Urban Space", a discussion between architects and representatives from the administration on the potentials and obstacles of hybrid learning quarters and schools as social urban actors. Schools as social and diverse places have not only undergone a fundamental change in their inner organism over the last few decades. Rather, it is increasingly being perceived as a multifunctional building block and an active member of the urban context. Educational buildings are thus becoming an important public interface in the neighborhood community.

Participants:
Roland Hatz, Project Management School Construction, Frankfurt am Main
Anna Popelka, PPAG Vienna/Berlin
Julian Weyer, CFMøller, Copenhagen/Berlin

Moderation:
Hannah Pinell, IBA'27, Stuttgart

When: Monday 13.11.2023, 19:00 h
Where: BDA Wechselraum, Friedrichstrasse 5, 70180 Stuttgart

Our first Berlin school building will open in 2024

One of the first school buildings of the Berlin School Construction Offensive is nearing completion on Allee der Kosmonauten in Berlin-Lichtenberg, . With its 32,000 m² GFA, it is also the largest. Our new school consistently follows the model of the Berlin Compartment School, with which the state of Berlin has achieved a paradigm shift in educational construction. The realization was taken over by the municipal housing company HOWOGE.

This educational building with its exemplary design is intended as a supportive learning and living space for a heterogeneous generation of young people: an integrated secondary school, a grammar school and two sports halls are combined in one building on a 38,000 m² site. Five identical, five-story compartment arms are arranged in a star shape around the large and double-height gymnasia, which thus also take on expanded tasks in everyday school life. The entire first floor with its 900 m² piazza under the sports halls, the multi-purpose rooms, music rooms, refectories and workshops is also open to non-school uses.

Everything is educational space, including the library, workshops, science rooms, or teaching kitchen. And even the facade: the individual facade modules, in combination with shelving and furniture elements inside, are an appropriation-open part of the furnishings.

In September 2024, about 1,600 students and 200 teachers will start school in the high school and the secondary school united under one roof.

Visit “Rivus Vivere” during OPEN HOUSE VIENNA

OPEN HOUSE WIEN opens architecture that is normally not accessible to the public - free of charge and for everyone. On September 9 and 10, 2023, all those interested in architecture will have the opportunity to visit a wide variety of buildings during short guided tours. On Sunday, September 10, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., "Rivus Vivere", our urban building block in Breitenfurter Straße, will be part of the event, and we will provide a specialized guided tour with Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka at 11 a.m.!

On top of an artificial mountain housing cars, storage and technical equipment, 296 apartments and 12 commercial units were built right on Breitenfurter Straße. The project "Rivus Vivere" is a statement to the city. Not another condominium, not a dwelling house, but a lively urban district. On three publicly accessible levels, the 7 houses, all different in height, width and length, form an exciting urban space with narrow paths and stairs, wide squares and built-over passages.

More info is available here and on the OHW city map, which will be available from 17 August 2023 at the following locations, among others:
Town Hall City Information, Tourist Info Albertinaplatz, Vienna Main Library or WIENXTRA Jugendinfo.

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

“Future Münster 2050” at the IBA’27-Festival in Stuttgart

With "Future Münster 2050", our Stuttgart project for the Münster am Neckar building cooperative, we are showing what the transformation of an aging cooperative housing estate into a socially, ecologically and economically sustainable neighborhood can look like. The first construction phase is to be completed in time for the International Building Exhibition 2027!

Our design features five new houses in dense and modular timber construction. Apartments with a wide variety of floor plans, community rooms, a bicycle workshop and a repair café are planned. In total, around 220 new apartments will be created, about 60 more than today. With the 1:50 scale model, members of the building cooperative can get an idea of how they will soon be able to live!

Until September 23^rd you can get to know out project any many others during the IBA’27-Festival! In the middle of Stuttgart's pedestrian zone, the Festival Headquarters invites you to get to know the IBA'27. More info here.

PPAG at the Architecture Day in Berlin

Under the motto "Architecture Transforms", numerous project tours and open offices on the last weekend in June invite you to discover architecture through current contributions in Berlin.

We will be showing a gem at the end of Schwartzkopffstrasse, right next to the park at Nordbahnhof, on an elongated plot along the Berlin Wall, a listed monument. Each of the apartments has rooms of individual length, width and height. The inner liveliness carries to the outside, which is noticeable, among other things, in very different window formats and in protrusions and recesses.

When: Guided tours on June 24 at 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Where: Meeting point Schwartzkopffstrasse 11a, 10115 Berlin

More about the program here: www.ak-berlin.de/baukultur/tag-der-architektur/programm-2023

Photo: © Jan Bitter

“gebaut 2022” Architecture Award of the City of Vienna for Rivus Vivere, our Urban Building Block Breitenfurter Straße

In the fight against climate change and the heat, the City of Vienna is looking for innovative building projects that take climate change into account architecturally in their planning. For the "gebaut 2022" architecture award, pioneering, inspiring and exemplary solutions were sought that also contribute to social sustainability and climate protection. Of all the projects submitted, 27 were selected and awarded prizes. They will now be shown for one year in the exhibition of the same name in the premises of the Department of Architecture and Urban Design (MA 19) as well as reproduced in the publication "gebaut 2020-2025".

BUWOG commissioned PPAG architects with the project "Rivus Vivere" in Vienna's 23rd district: 296 apartments and 12 commercial units later we are pleased to receive this award from the City of Vienna!

Details of the exhibition „gebaut 2022“

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Two A+ Jury-Awards for the Steirereck am Pogusch

We have won two A+Awards! The jury has chosen our project Steirereck am Pogusch as a winner both in the “Sustainable Hospitality Building” and “Restaurants (L >1000 sq ft)“ categories!

The Architizer A+Awards, with a global audience of 400+ million, is the largest awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture. Its mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful design in the world and champion its potential for a positive impact on everyday life.

We are proud and thrilled and are looking forward to the awards ceremony in Paris this fall!

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Rivus Vivere (Urban Building Block Breitenfurter Straße) on display in Venice

In conjunction with the Venice Architecture Biennale, Platform is organizing an exhibition and an architecture festival  at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia.

The theme of the 2023 Exhibition, THE NEW TOGETHER, taking place from 20 May to 30 July 2023, is the Manifesto and at the same time an active platform in which to start gathering all those projects that are children of a new time, generous and able to indicate the change we are experiencing and the solutions that can accompany this transition.

We happily accepted the invitation to participate with our project Urban Building Block Breitenfurter Straße (commissioned as „Rivus Vivere“ by BUWOG) and are also looking forward to the Platform Architecture Festival, from 23rd to 26th June 2023. Paul Fürst will give a speech on the theme of The New Together as seen by PPAG architects. Follow us and all the other participants on Platform Architecture's digital channels.

Scuola Grande della Misericordia, Venice
Opening event: 19 May 2023 at 6 p.m.
Exhibition from 20 May to 30 July 2023.
PLATFORM architecture festival from 23 to 26 June 2023

More info on the exhibition and the festival here
Find the entire Manifesto by Luca Molinari and Simona Finessi here.

Have you voted for us yet?

We’re an A+Awards finalist – and you can help us become a winner!
Vote for our Steirereck am Pogusch project in the “Architecture +Landscape”, “Sustainable Hospitality Building” and “Restaurants (L >1000 sq ft)“ category at awards.architizer.com. You can vote until May 12, 2023.

The Architizer A+Awards, with a global audience of 400+ million, is the largest awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture. Its mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful design in the world and champion its potential for a positive impact on everyday life.

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Architecture Award of the Province of Styria 2023 goes to PPAG

Our Steirereck am Pogusch project has won another architecture prize! This time it’s awarded by the Land of Styria in cooperation with the Haus der Architektur in Graz. We are particularly delighted by the comment of curator Indira van 't Klooster:  “The Steirereck am Pogusch establishes a close relationship with nature, both in the way the project works with local materials and in the way it forms an enclosed human habitat that functions as a regional node in the network of food production for gastronomy. The architects have created a unique architectural language by respecting the conditions of the past, applying a transparent form-follows-function principle, and practicing the reuse or repurposing of materials wherever possible. The result is an eclectic ensemble that provides inspiration for present and future challenges in Styria and beyond."

We thank all the experts who have realized this project together with us! And a special thank goes to Birgit and Heinz Reitbauer for the trust they put in PPAG for realizing their extraordinary vison.

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

New Vienna Address!

We have a new office in Vienna! From now on you and your mail can reach us at Gumpendorfer Straße 65. Sounds familiar? Yes, we were already there a few years ago, on the ground floor. This time we have taken over the first floor. Our phone numbers remain unchanged.

“Hot Questions” that are relevant to today’s world

The Architekturzentrum Wien collects and exhibits Austrian architecture. Since 2022, the new permanent exhibition "Hot Questions Cold Storage" deals with burning questions, first and foremost "What can architecture do?

Now the catalog for it has been published, in German and English, and it is just as colorful and fantastic as the show collection! We are particularly proud to be represented in it with the Sonnwendviertel Education Campus, as well as the specially developed Manta tables, which allow numerous different combinations for learning in groups.

More here.

PPAG in dialogue

Right from the beginning of the year, Anna Popelka, Georg Poduschka and Christian Wegerer will present different PPAG projects at several symposia. Save the Dates!

25.01.2023 – Vienna, imh Fachkonferenz:  Nachhaltiger Bildungsbau with Christian Wegerer

01.02.2023 –  Karlsruhe, KIT Architecture Lectures: Rencontre accidentielle between Daniel Niggli & Anna Popelka >>> Online via Zoom: Meeting-ID: 963 393 8137

04.03.2023 –  Vienna, TURN ON ‘23 Architecture Festival with Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka

18.04. 2023 – Munich, DETAIL forum / BAU23 : Homes of the future with Christian Wegerer

School building offensive in Italy – one third and two fourth prizes

In the summer of 2022, the Italian government launched 220 two-stage individual competitions for new school replacement buildings throughout the country.  PPAG architects, after reviewing the individual competitions and the types of schools requested (such as elementary schools, secondary schools, capacity...), submitted a proposal for 22 of the projects: a predesigned school building, identical for all plots, mainly in timber construction, which meets the demanded requirements of contemporary pedagogy.

For the planned reformation of everyday school life (NUOVE SCUOLE), including a new conception of suitable spatial structures, repetitive, identical framework conditions are in fact of great advantage, as it is conducive to the exchange of experiences of the users in operation. The multiple realization of an identical building naturally also brings organizational and construction-economic synergies in the planning and execution phases.

Out of a total of over 1,200 submissions, our building was selected for in-depth work in the second stage of four competitions under jury chairman Renzo Piano. Three of the projects were actually submitted by PPAG for the second stage of the competitions. They were awarded the following placements by the jury: 3rd prize for Cento (Emilia Romagna), 4th prize for Foggia (Puglia) and 4th prize for Boviso-Masciago (Lombardy).

Sharing good news

As the year comes to a close, we would like to look back on projects that provide us, and hopefully everyone involved, joy! After completing the new Steirereck am Pogusch in spring and the shell of our Berlin school in the Allee der Kosmonauten in autumn, we have nearly finished our urban module Breitenfurter Straße in Vienna. On the other hand, we have started a new project for neighborhood development in Stuttgart, and a creative construction site also awaits us in our new Vienna office next year!

Until we  diclose more details we are closing our offices in Vienna and Berlin from December 23, 2022 to January 6, 2023 and will treat ourselves to a well-deserved break.

Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones !

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

The shell for Berlin’s largest new school building is in place

We have good reason to be proud and happy! On the Allee der Kosmonauten in Berlin-Lichtenberg, the shell of the first and largest new school building of the Berlin School Construction Offensive is in place. At the same time, PPAG architects have designed Berlin's first compartment school. Two schools will be united under one roof there in the future.
The five-wing reinforced concrete skeleton building stretches 167 m in length in a north-south direction and 107 m at its widest point from east to west. 1,600 students are to be taught there by around 200 educators from the summer of 2024. Three of the five wings will house a high school, two of the wings a secondary school.
Together, the students will be able to use not only the 900-square-meter piazza that forms the entrance area of the double school, but also the library, workshops, science classrooms, teaching kitchen and roof terrace with green classroom. The two sports halls stacked on top of each other in the core of the building can also be used by everyone, as can the outdoor facilities on the 38,000-square-meter site. The outdoor area will offer opportunities for sports activities ranging from bouldering to playing basketball or skating.

Photo: © Howoge / Adrian Schultz

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture 2022

The catalogue of the EUmies Awards 2022 is out! This 500-pages book is the last piece of the collection of catalogues that depicts a wide panorama of the best European architecture along the years with text and detailed plans of each of the nominated works from A to Z.

On page 232, you’ll find the combination of the Primary and Vocational School we built for the City of Vienna! You can also see it in the archive on the award’s website.

More about the the EUmies Awards: www.eumiesawards.com

Steirereck am Pogusch gets awarded the GerambRose

The GerambRose 2022  has been awarded! This architecture prize is awarded biennially in recognition of achievements that have been made in the sense of preserving or creating high-quality building culture. We are delighted that our project Steirereck am Pogusch has been chosen by the jury and is now officially a cultural landmark of Styria.
Many thanks to Heinz and Birgit Reitbauer for their trust in our interpretation of their vision!

The Award ceremony took place inmidst of picturesque styrian wineyards and contemporary architecture at Weinhof Locknbauer in Tieschen.
From left to right: Barbara Meisterhofer (Baukultur Steiermark), Andreas Tropper (Regional Building Director of Styria), Much Untrifaller (GerambRose Jury), Heinz Reitbauer (Steirereck), Anna Popelka, Georg Poduschka, Christian Wegerer (PPAG architects).

Read more about the jury's decision here (in German).

Photo: © CreateJu

Steirereck am Pogusch awarded a „Best of Best“ Iconic Award

The prize-giving ceremony of the German Design Council’s Iconic Awards took place in Munich on October 5th. We are thrilled that PPAG architects have been awarded the "Best of Best" prize in the category “Innovative Architecture” for the Steirereck am Pogusch!

More about the award can be found here.

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Primary and Vocational School Längenfeldgasse featured in DETAIL magazine

"Light and interiors" is the focus of the October issue of DETAIL magazine. Good lighting is essential in schools. Often, however, the site layout and the desired urban density obstruct an optimal supply of daylight. We are proud that with the latest school building in Vienna's Längenfeldgasse, PPAG was able to show how this dilemma can be resolved in the best possible way: Thus, our architecture brings daylight into the deep cluster spaces and relies on its effect for daily well-being.

Learn more about the project in the brand new October issue of DETAIL magazine: In the DETAIL Editorial Podcast, in the DETAIL 10.2022 Light and Interiors issue and in the Detail Inspiration database.

And here you can watch a video by Wolfgang Thaler!

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Exhibition for the Bauherrenpreis 2021 – “Ausgezeichnete Lebensräume”

Award-winning contemporary architecture "made in Austria" is on display in Vienna's Ringturm. A total of 152 buildings, landscapes or urban planning solutions that have been created in the past three years - including residential, office and educational buildings, scientific and cultural institutions as well as non-profit facilities - were submitted to the Austrian Bauherrenpreis 2021. The current exhibition features the 24 shortlisted projects selected from all submissions, including the Primary and Vocational School Längenfeldgasse.

Exhibition venue:
Exhibition Center in the Ringturm
Schottenring 30, 1010 Vienna.

Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Oktober 4, 2022 - January 13, 2023 (closed on holidays and on December 24 and 31, 2022)
Free admission.

More info on: www.airt.at

Photo: © Wiener Städtische Versicherungsverein

Europe’s best Buildings

Every two years, the ever increasingly popular exhibition ‘Europe’s Best Buildings’ puts the focus on outstanding architecture projects from Europe: developments with visionary character, providing orientation or even serving as manifestos for the development of contemporary architecture.

For the third time, remarkable residential projects have made it into the final round, while for the first time the main prize goes to an educational building: the Town House — Kingston University in London, by Grafton Architects from Dublin.

The distinguished jury selected a total of 40 projects for the exhibition from over 500 nominations in 41 countries. The nominees from Austria include the Längenfeldgasse Primary and Vocational School by PPAG architects and are on view in the exhibition at the AzW.

When:  06.10.2022 – 23.01.2023, daily 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: Architekturzentrum Wien
Opening: 05.10.2022, 7 p.m.

An exhibition by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona and Creative Europe at the Architekturzentrum Wien.

More info here.

“More is possible” with PPAG and the Az W

The Quartierhaus OPEN UP! in the Sonnwendviertel can be visited on 07.10.2022 as part of the excursion "Es geht auch mehr / More is possible" of the Architekturzentrum Wien: In the Sonnwendviertel, Michael Wallraff and PPAG architects show that (residential) architecture can be far more than merely humdrum.
With Loft Living (Wallraff), an artistic/creative building group put its ideas for good accommodation into practice. The OPEN UP! house (PPAG) frees people from typological pigeonholes. For living in or for work? Both projects render such an either/or decision obsolete. Skeleton constructions permit spatial flexibility. The ground floor zones enter into a close relationship with the urban setting, with high rooms and an extreme openness well-suited to public use.

Registration required here.

Photo: © Paul Sebesta

Last chance to vote for the DETAIL Reader’s Award… and for our Längenfeldgasse Primary and Vocational School !

The international jury of DETAIL magazine has nominated 15 projects for the DETAIL Award 2022. And our Längenfeldgasse Primary and Vocational School, built for the City of Vienna, has been shortlisted!

Also, if you like our school project, you can vote for it for the DETAIL Readers' Award until September 30th, on the DETAIL magazine website. There are only a few hours left...

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Housing: IBA excursion in the Sonnwendviertel and round table with Anna Popelka

As part of the program of the IBA_Vienna 2022 - New Social Housing, a discussion platform on the six topics of actors*, mixed use, public space, housing, mobility and architecture under the name of "Round Table Sonnendwendviertel Ost" invites you to stroll through the new neighborhood around Helmut-Zilk-Park. Each round table will take a position on these six topics, at six different locations in the neighborhood.

On September 22, a panel discussion on the topic of housing will take place at the neighborhood house Bikes and Rails.

Program:
2 p.m. to 7 p.m., unguided tour on the topic of "Housing" see flyer
7 p.m., Panel discussion at Bikes and Rails, Emilie-Flöge-Weg 4, 1100 Vienna

with Anna Popelka, PPAG architects
Andre Krammer, dérive, TU Wien / Vienna University of Technology
Daniel Glaser, Wohnbauförderung
Andreas Hofer, Intendant IBA 2027 Stuttgart
Bernadette Krejs, TU Wien / Vienna University of Technology

Moderation: Robert Temel
(The panel discussion will be held in German.)

Further information and registration here: IBA Wien

Map: © IBA Wien

Bildungscampus Sonnwenddviertel on TV

Since the Austrian Education Reform 2017, a lot has changed in Austria's schools. Teachers can design their lessons entirely according to the needs of their pupils. The school bell has fallen silent in many places. Yet the new teaching methods, the move away from frontal teaching to free learning in small groups, require not only committed educators, but also new school architecture. Nicola Eller visited five examples of innovative learning environments for her ORF documentary in the summer of 2022.

We are glad to announce that our Bildungscampus Sonnwendviertel, the first of its kind in Austria, will also be featured!

On September 12th, the first transmission will take place on television, on ORF2, as part of kulturMontag.

More info here: Architektur macht Schule ("Architecture makes school", in German only)
And a reading tip: Klassische Klassen haben ausgedient ("Classical classes have had their day" in German only)

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Visit the “Slim City” by PPAG during OPEN HOUSE VIENNA

OPEN HOUSE VIENNA opens exciting architecture that is otherwise not accessible to the public on September 10 and 11, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For two days, free short tours of around 50 fascinating buildings in Vienna are on the agenda.
The following topical theme trails are planned for this year:
• IBA Vienna - New Social Housing
• Sustainable building: Climate, Energy, Renovation
• Building Groups

We are happy to be part of OPEN HOUSE with our Slim City completed in 2015 in the Seestadt Aspern! Also, on Saturday September 10 at 11am there will be a guided tour by Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka in person. Come and join us!

More info about the program can be found here.

Photo: © Wolfgang Thaler

DETAIL award: Primary and Vocational School Längenfeldgasse shortlisted!

The international jury of DETAIL magazine has nominated 15 projects for the DETAIL Award 2022. And we are thrilled because our Längenfeldgasse Primary and Vocational School, built for the City of Vienna, has been shortlisted!

Also, if you like our school project, you can vote for it for the DETAIL Readers' Award until September 30th, directly on the DETAIL magazine website.

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

»Zukunft Münster 2050«  winning design

In cooperation with the IBA 27, the International Building Exhibition 2027 StadtRegion Stuttgart, the building cooperative Münster am Neckar (BGM) had invited tenders for the urban planning and architectural workshop procedure for the new Moselstraße neighborhood.

We are very pleased to have convinced with our proposal for a socially acceptable, ecologically sustainable and economically viable neighborhood development and to have emerged as the winner for the urban design as well as for the realization of the 1st construction phase!

More information about the building project »Zukunft Münster 2050« and the IBA27

Rendering: © joyjoy studio

Topping out of our residential project on Breitenfurter Straße

We are celebrating the topping out of our residential and urban development project on Breitenfurter Straße! Rivus Vivere is the last construction phase of the Rivus neighborhood in Vienna's 23rd district.

Here we have designed a district that is integrative and inclusive from the start, with the aim of harmonizing individual human scale with urban density in an exemplary way. Squares, passages and infrastructures complementing the apartments are evolving on different levels, between buildings of different heights and depths. And the whole block will be car-free!

Completion of the nearly 300, very diverse, rental apartments is planned for the end of 2022.

“Tag der Architektur” in Berlin

Come and visit our house in Lützowstrasse 7!
On the occasion of the Berlin Day of Architecture, curated by the Berlin Chamber of Architects, Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka are guiding through our latest residential bulding in the German capital. Also, you will get the opportunity to visit our Berlin office!
No registration needed: simply drop by for one of the two appointments!

When: June 25th, 2022, at 4:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Where: Lützowstraße 7, 10785 Berlin

Read more about the event here
More info on the Lützowstraße project by PPAG.

Photo: © Jan Bitter

Education. What spaces do we imagine?

Video documentation of the discussion on June 10^th 2022 (in German).

An impulse and discussion round on the central question "What kind of spaces do promote learning and teaching in our increasingly digital age?" moderated by Antje Lehn (Senior Scientist, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna), adapted from the popular show of ORF from the 1970s to the 1990s, vividly remembered by all as "Club 2":

With:

Amelie Muthsam, former student representative, Aktion kritischer Schüler*innen NÖ (Action of Critical Students Lower Austria)
Herbert Pfeiffer, director of the elementary school Gloggnitz
Georg Poduschka, architect, PPAG architects, Vienna
Michael Salvi, architect, Schenker Salvi Weber, Vienna
Rosa Strasser, Bertha von Suttner Private University St. Pölten

Concept and Moderator:
Antje Lehn, Senior Scientist, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

An event by ORTE Architekturnetzwerk Niederösterreich in cooperation with the Bertha von Suttner Private University St. Pölten

Direct link to the video (in German).

PPAG lecture at “architektur in progress” in the Domenig-House

We are very pleased to be guests at the lecture series of “architektur in progress”, a great platform for innovative and future-oriented architecture, on June 14 2022 at 7 p.m. We will talk about our understanding of architecture and are eager to discuss our latest projects - such as the Steirereck am Pogusch, the Integrated Secondary School (ISS) and the High School in Berlin's Allee der Kosmonauten, or House 10 on the grounds of the former Otto Wagner Hospital.

The event is being held in cooperation with DIMENSIONAL, the international architecture festival in honor of Günther Domenig. We are pleased to hold our lecture in a very special building of his!

Lecture (in German): Anna Popelka & Georg Poduschka
When: Tuesday, June 14 2022, 7 p.m.
Where: „Domenig-House“, Favoritenstraße 180, 1110 Wien

Registration: architektur in progress

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Circular Culture Festival in the MQ Vienna

A festival for young and old, in order to experience and create together. Waste becomes recyclable material and the benefit is more important than the product itself. Our linear economy is giving way to thinking in cycles.
And PPAG show their proposal for RE-PURPOSE with the now world-famous Enzis!

Refuse. Rethink. Reduce. Reuse. Repair. Refurbish. Remanufacture. Repurpose. Recycle. Recover.

On: June 11, 2022
At: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In: MuseumsQuartier, Hof 7, Vienna

Organized by the Institute of Design Research Vienna and Designaustria
as a side event of the New European Bauhaus Festival. 

More info here.

The Finale of the Architekturtage 2021/22 is approaching!

This year's edition of the Architekturtage (=Architecture Days) with the motto "Architecture and Education: Living Learning Space" is all about the future and the potential of learning spaces.
We are very much looking forward to being guests of ORTE on June 10, 2022 in St.Pölten, lower Austria, as part of a panel discussion to explore the role of architecture in education: What characteristics must learning spaces have in order to best support (young) people in their acquisition of knowledge and the development of their creativity?
And on June 11, 2022, we are happy and proud to show off our latest Viennese school again, that is, naturally, only rarely accessible to the public. Join us and discover what we have to say about this building in particular and education architecture in general.

Friday June 10, 2022
Bildung! Welche Räume stellen wir uns vor? (=Education! What spaces do we imagine?)
Presentation and discussion, curated by ORTE Architekturnetzwerk Niederösterreich.

18:00 Project presentation Kinderkunstlabor (=Children's Art Lab) St Pölten
with Michael Salvi, architect, Schenker Salvi Weber
and Mona Jas, artistic director KinderKunstLabor

18:30 Break for meeting and exchange of ideas

19:00 Panel discussion with
Anna Popelka, architect, PPAG architects, Vienna
Michael Salvi, architect, Schenker Salvi Weber, Vienna
Herbert Pfeiffer, director of the elementary school Gloggnitz
Rosa Strasser, Bertha von Suttner Private University St. Pölten
Amelie Muthsam, former student representative, Action of Critical Students Lower Austria
Antje Lehn, Senior Scientist, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (Moderator)

Location: Campus St. Pölten, Campus-Platz 1, 3100 St. Pölten
Registration: ORTE Architecture Network Lower Austria

Saturday June 11, 2022
“Education path” through an exemplary “Educational Grätzl”
City walk, curated by the ÖGFA

On the very last day of this edition of the Architecture Days, we will tour our Primary and Vocational school in Längenfeldgasse in Vienna before heading to other exciting Viennese educational buildings with the ÖGFA! The foray on Saturday morning is dedicated to the in-service and vocational schools around Margaretengürtel with the Third Central Vocational School at Längenfeldgasse (1965, expanded in 2020) and leads along the urban wilderness at Gaudenzdorfer Gürtel past informal places of education, to the First Vocational School at Mollardgasse (1911). Come along and don't miss this opportunity!

Details on the exact program and registration: ÖGFA Austrian Society for Architecture

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

The KURIER about the Otto-Wagner-Areal and House 10 by PPAG

Space to live, study and get healthy: The Otto-Wagner-Areal in Vienna is being reused, but remains accessible to all. The first apartments have been occupied, historic pavilions are being renovated, and students are to study here.
The former service area in the east has been converted into subsidized, affordable housing, and House 10 is a very special residential building: the neighboring Lichtblickhof, an equine therapy center for seriously ill and traumatized children run by the association e.motion, took over the entire building as a residential home. PPAG have developed a house in which therapists and cared-for children now live in barrier-free apartments, which even allow therapy horses access to the young patients on the ground floor.

Read the complete article (in German) here.

More details about our project here.

Photo: © e.motion - Lichtblickhof

PPAG’s „klimaaktiv“-project OPEN UP! will be officially awarded

On May 12, 2022, selected projects of the climate initiative “klimaaktiv Bauen und Sanieren”, which stands for energy efficiency, ecological quality, comfort and execution quality, will be awarded at the BauZ! Congress in Vienna. We are particularly proud that our apartment building OPEN UP! will be among them and are looking forward to the presentation of the certificates by Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler!

Photo: © Paul Sebesta

Our housing project OWS is “Residential Building of the Month”

This residential building by PPAG is the northernmost of ten houses realized so far in the eastern part of the area of the former Otto-Wagner-Spital (hospital). The basic idea for it was to avoid "sprawl" in the recreational area through the aesthetics of the house: An abstract building was to be created, that would not immediately appear as a residential building.
At the ÜBERBAU On-Stage Seminar on April 12, 2022, starting at 5 p.m., you will learn details about the residential project, the architecture, the landscape design and the users directly from the planners, and you will have the unique opportunity to visit the building during a guided tour with its architects, Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka.

Programme:
(The lectures and the guided tour will be hold in German only)

17:00 Begrüßung
Mag. Hans Staudinger, Überbau Akademie

17:05 Vorträge
Das Wohnbauprojekt der Gesiba im Otto-Wagner-Areal
Ing. Ewald Kirschner, Generaldirektor Gesiba

Die Architektur des Hauses 10 – Oh, wie schön!
Arch. Dipl.-Ing. Anna Popelka und Arch. Dipl.-Ing. Georg Poduschka, PPAG Architects

Die Landschaftsarchitektur des Otto-Wagner-Areals
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Maria Auböck, Auböck + Kárász Landschaftsarchitektur

Das Projekt e.motion - Lichtblickhof
Mag. Roswitha Zink, Geschäftsführung, Therapeutin

18:15 Führung durch das Gebäude

19:15 Get-Together, mit kleinem Imbiss und Drinks

Sign up here or write an email to akademie@ueberbau.at

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

An evening at the Primary and Vocational School Längenfeldgasse

DUE TO THE CURRENT LARGE NUMBERS OF INFECTIONS, THE EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO MAY 12!
School buildings are usually not accessible to outside parties. This is especially unfortunate when the architecture has a lot to offer that’s new. On March 24 May 12, interested visitors will have the opportunity to get to know our latest Viennese school building and to visit it! As part of ÜBERBAU's On-Stage Seminar, starting at 5 p.m., you can learn more about the development of this novel school building project, the architectural and urban planning concept, and other important elements such as daylight planning and window gap ventilation. We will of course also take you on a guided tour of the school building.

Programme:
 (The lectures and the guided tour will be hold in German only)

17:00 Begrüßung
Mag. Hans Staudinger, Überbau Akademie
Mag. Andrea Trattnig, Leiterin, MA 56 - Wiener Schulen

17:05 Vorträge
Die Entwicklung des Projekts Volks- und Berufsschule Längenfeldgasse
Dipl.-Ing. Ing. Michael Kern-Farkas, BSc, Referent - Planung öffentliche Bauten, MA 19

Das architektonische und städtebauliche Konzept
Arch. Dipl.-Ing. Anna Popelka, Arch. Dipl.-Ing. Georg Poduschka, PPAG architects

Der Umgang mit dem Tageslicht
Arch. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Renate Hammer, MAS
Geschäftsführerin Institute of Building Research & Innovation ZT GmbH

Natürlich automatisierte kontrollierte Fensterspaltlüftung
Dipl.-Ing. Ernst Kainmüller, Geschäftsführer, Bauklimatik GmbH

Herausforderungen an die Bauausführung
Ing. David Glößl, Projektmanager, PORR Bau GmbH

18:15 Führung durch das Gebäude

19:15 Get-Together, with snacks and drinks

Sign up here or write an email to akademie@ueberbau.at

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

PPAG architects at the Architekturzentrum Wien

The Architekturzentrum Wien is the only museum in Austria devoted exclusively to architecture. As the Az W Collection has expanded over the last 17 years and consists of over 85 architects’ estates as well as extensive collections of individual projects, a large number of objects are being shown for the first time in the new permanent exhibition: ‘Hot Questions — Cold Storage’. Selected models, drawings, furniture, fabrics, documents and films develop new threads in seven thematic episodes. Each episode is preceded by one of today’s burning issues, a Hot Question that brings Cold Storage to life.
We are happy to be part of the new permanent exhibition with our Bildungscampus Sonnwendviertel, a communal educational facility for children aged from 0 -14, the first of its kind in Austria.

Exhibition: from February 3^rd 2022, daily 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Opening: February 2nd at 7 p.m.
Location: Architekturzentrum Wien, MQ, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna

Read more about the new permanent exhibition and the Az W here.

Poster: © Architekturzentrum Wien

We are nominated for the ArchDaily 2022 Building of the Year Awards!

Our latest School building in Vienna, the Längenfeldgasse Primary and Vocational School, is a nominee for the ArchDaily 2022 Building of the Year Awards!
Voting is open!

Photo: © Hertha Hurnaus

Round Table at the Aedes Architecture Forum

Climate crisis, distributive justice, complexity of a pluralistic society - we are in the midst of a unique change that effects on all areas of life. In this context, change especially holds an opportunity to rethink and redesign our coexistence and our environment. "Finding the 'necessary new' is also the task of architecture and urban planning. It is the sought-after face of the European Green Deal, going far beyond conventional design strategies and leaving conventions behind," say Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka. They see new forms of mixing and lived density, houses that are no longer recognizable as such, cities in which the concepts of house, street or square are obsolete, in which nature is not an antagonist, and that are there for everyone: livable and beautiful.
To discuss the vastness of architecture's space of possibility, Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka, architecture journalist Maik Novotny, and Christian Kühn, Dean of Studies for Architecture at the Vienna University of Technology, met for a conversation at the Aedes Architekturforum, in the midst of the exhibition "Die Möglichkeit steht im Raum / Making Space for Possibilities”, one day before its closing.

Photo: © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk

Making Space for Possibilities. This year, next year.

2021 is coming to a fantastic ending! And before we meet again in 2022, here are a few projects we look back on in delight:
In November, our latest exhibition "Making Space for Possibilities" was inaugurated at the Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin with much success. By the way, you can visit us there until January 13, 2022. We are organizing a Discussion Panel (in German) on January 12, 2022 at the exhibition space: Kaye Geipel, Christian Kühn and Maik Novotny will join us to discuss the Space of Possibility in architecture and what we call the “Necessary New”. Come and join us, as it concerns us all!  The panel will begin at 6:30 pm.
 
In the meantime, we are excited to see how our construction site on the Pogusch, in the Austrian Alps, is coming to life and how the Steirereck restaurant is gradually beginning its operations in all the newly built structures successively. You can follow this project up at here and in 2022 you can expect to discover even more new surprises.
 
We at PPAG architects will be taking some time off from December 23, 2021, and will be back in our offices in Vienna and Berlin from January 10, 2022. Wishing you all a wonderful new year and many success!

Photo: © Marco van Oel

First concrete poured at the Allee der Kosmonauten!

On this Berlin site of almost 38,000 m², on Allee der Kosmonauten, an integrated secondary school and a grammar school are being built under one roof - they jointly share the entrance, the multi-purpose area and library, the double sports hall and other open spaces.
For this school building, the Compartment Model was applied as part of the Berlin School Construction Offensive, which has long been an integral part of PPAG's work. In contrast to the previously common room structure, in which all classrooms lead off from a corridor, rooms are combined into functional units, the compartments. They offer space for differentiation and provide opportunities for individual or group work. The result is a sustainable school building that is not only a place for learning, but also a place for the entire school community to meet and exchange ideas. Around 1,600 students will learn together here from 2024.

Follow the progress on the construction site here, day by day!

Further information on the "Berliner Schulbauoffensive" (Berlin School Construction Campaign) can be found here.

PPAG-exhibition in Berlin: MAKING SPACE FOR POSSIBILITIES

Space influences us and we influence space. Within the infinite “space of possibility” of architecture, PPAG are constantly searching for relevance and social benefit, tracking down the “necessary new”. The result of this search is shown in the exhibition by means of a multitude of projects in the form of plans, models, films and 1:1 objects: projects that push boundaries and exhaust their realm, regardless of typology, scale, date of manufacture, price range or timeframe for realisation, in Ecuador, Northern Macedonia, Norway, Yakutsk, Vienna or Berlin.
Our exhibition at the Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin presents the spectrum of what is feasible (for PPAG) and thus becomes a possibility space itself. It is a plea for an unbiased, forward-looking view of architecture and urban planning, full of confidence in the collective human planning ability. Especially in view of the current global challenges, we need the courage to find alternative paths for a good future for all of us.

Location: Aedes Architecture Forum, Christinenstr. 18-19, 10119 Berlin
Exhibition: 20 November 2021 – 13 January 2022
Opening: 19 November 2021, 6:30 pm (Registration here)

Read more here.

PPAG on air! “Up and down – How cities can grow sustainably”

What could the city of future look like? Urban centers are growing at a rapid pace worldwide. How can we manage growth in such a way that our cities remain livable and become even more attractive? Despite increasing density? With intelligent, sustainable growth upwards and downwards. With a controlled growth that uses the existing stock, converts it if necessary and expands it sensibly. The co-production by Arte and BR shows exemplary projects from all over the world as part of the ARD theme week "Stadt.Land.Wandel" and asks experts for possible solutions.
Our project "Tunisian Village - Radetzkystraße" can be seen in episode 2 from 04’44”.
Have fun viewing it and the numerous other contributions!

Broadcasts on BR television (in German):
Episode 1 on November 10th. 2021 at 10.45 p.m .: The house on the roof (S01 / E01)
Episode 2 on November 10th. 2021 at 11.30 p.m .: The village on the roof (S01 / E02)
Episode 3 on November 17th. 2021 at 10.45 p.m .: Above and Below – New Urban Spaces (S01 / E03)
Episode 4 on November 17th. 2021 at 11.30 p.m .: Building landscapes (S01 / E04)
... and from now on in the ARD and BR media libraries.

Postmodernism? Now! Panel discussion with Anna Popelka

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the building of the Austrian Embassy in Berlin, the Austrian Cultural Forum Berlin and the Bundesstiftung Baukultur invite you to attend a panel discussion on November 4, 2021 on the subject of communicating building culture, the design of places of knowledge and the importance of postmodern architecture in times of climate change.

Panel:
Barbara Feller, Architekturstiftung Österreich
Reiner Nagel, Bundesstiftung Baukultur
Anna Popelka, PPAG architects
Christoph Rauhut, Berliner Landesdenkmalamt

Moderation: Jürgen Tietz

On Thursday, November 4th, 2021, 7 pm, at the Austrian Cultural Forum Berlin

The panel discussion will be recorded. After the event the recording will be available on the YouTube-Channel of the Austrian Embassy in Berlin.
Further information about the event here (in German only).

OPEN UP! is “On-Stage”

Our OPEN UP! building in Vienna's Sonnwendviertel is a so-called “Quartiershaus” meant to be a stimulus for a new social neighborhood, with a high-quality mix of uses and a flexible structure. It is in the focus of the next On-Stage lectures of ÜBERBAU on September 28th, at 5 pm.
Robert Temel will explain the new Sonnwendviertel neighborhood’s concept and Anna Popelka with Georg Poduschka will talk about the ideas behind their Janus-faced design, before all participants get a tour though the building.

More information here.

Photo: © Paul Sebesta

OPEN HOUSE WIEN at the Längenfeldgasse Primary and Vocational School

Open House Vienna invites everybody to personally experience architecture, to get a fresh look at architecture and design as such, and to feel the urban energy of Vienna.
On September 11^th you also have the opportunity to visit our latest School building in Vienna between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.. Furthermore, at 11 a.m. Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka will personnaly guide you through the school!

More info about the tours here (in German only).

Photo: © Herta Hurnaus

Laying of the foundation stone for two schools in Berlin

For around 1,600 students, the 2024/25 school year will begin at one of Berlin's first secondary compartment schools - and the first school by PPAG architects in Berlin. To this end, the cornerstone was laid today on Allee der Kosmonauten, in the Lichtenberg district, for an integrated secondary school (ISS) and a grammar school, a double sports hall and around 9,000 m2 of outdoor sports space.
In the spirit of joint learning, both schools will be housed in one building. The heart of the campus is the jointly used double sports hall with six hall sections. Directly below it on the first floor is the 900-square-meter piazza, which can be used by both schools as an event center, theater stage or multipurpose room. 
The topping-out ceremony is scheduled for the end of 2022.

f.l.t.r. Thomas Felgenhauer (HOWOGE), Ulrich Schiller (HOWOGE), Georg Poduschka (PPAG architects), Sebastian Scheel (Senator for Urban Development and Housing), Sandra Scheeres (Senator for Education, Youth and Family), Dr. Matthias Kollatz (Senator for Finance), Kevin Hönicke (District Councillor for Urban Development, Social Affairs & Economy and Labor in Lichtenberg), Michael Grunst (District Mayor Lichtenberg), Martin Schaefer (District Councillor of the Department of Schools, Sports, Public Order, Environment and Transport in Lichtenberg), Marian Punt

Photo: © Howoge_Lintner

Shelf prototypes, body heat and the quality of stay in a room

Our PCM shelf is part of the exhibition "die körper und der raum", which opened in the aut.architektur und tirol. It is dedicated to today's dimension of physicality in the production and reception of architecture.
The PCM shelf is a solution to the problem of overheating in densely used rooms such as schools, universities and offices and, together with the natural summer night ventilation, contributes to heat compensation: the aluminum panels filled with PCM (phase change material / latent heat storage) absorb the ambient heat. Choosing the right material determines the temperature at which the material changes from solid to liquid.

the body and the space. 114 contributions on sensual cognizance
Exhibition at the aut. architektur und tirol until 18.09.2021

PPAG architects’ latest school project at the Austrian Cultural Forum Berlin

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Austrian Embassy - and thus Hans Hollein's design of the building - the exhibition IM ALLTAG, DER RAUM examines Austrian positions in Berlin's architectural landscape. Built everyday worlds are portrayed and juxtaposed, from the rooms of the Austrian Cultural Forum out into the urban space of Berlin. The focus of photographic work and polyphonic audio contributions are the people who use the buildings and bring them to life: residents, users and planners describe personal views of architecture, thus showing a change of perspective and reflecting the everyday life in specific spaces. We are pleased that our school project in the Allee der Kosmonauten is represented with contributions from Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka and project leader Petra De Colle! You can listen to the audio feature here (in German).

IM ALLTAG, DER RAUM. VIEWS ON AUSTRIAN ARCHITECTURE PRODUCTION IN BERLIN
16.07.-08.10.2021
At the gallery of the Austrian Cultural Forum Berlin and via the app at 7 locations in Berlin

Concept and curation by POLIGONAL Büro für Stadtvermittlung
With photographs by Ivan Marković and Katharina Hauke.

Registration here.

“gebaut2020” award of the City of Vienna

We got the gebaut2020 award of the City of Vienna for our OPEN UP! building in Sonnwendviertel, a new neighborhood south of Vienna Main Station that includes a 7ha park area! Many thanks to the officials of the Architecture and Urban Design Department of the City for personally bringing the trophy to our office, and congrats to the project team, especially Christian Wegerer and Anna Zottl, for making our “Quartiershaus” what it is: a stimulus for a new social neighborhood, with a high-quality mix of uses.

The award-winning projects will be exhibited for one year on the premises of the Architecture and Urban Design Department of the City of Vienna (MA 19) and presented in the catalogue “gebaut 2020–2025”.

Photo: © Paul Sebesta

We have been selected as a Finalist in the A+Awards!

Our latest School building, the Längenfeldgasse Primary and Vocational School in Vienna has been selected as a Finalist in the Architizer A+Awards! This project is now one of only five remaining, competing for the Popular Choice Award in the PLUS > CONCEPTS > Architecture +Learning category.

Voting is now open, until June 25 at Midnight Pacific Time. And you can cast your ballots HERE.
All Finalists can be viewed at: https://winners.architizer.com/2021/

We are particularly proud as this year, the A+Awards received over 5,000 entries from 100+ countries, making it highly competitive. So let’s rock it and help us for the very last steps to the podium! Until June 25 at Midnight PT, vote, spread the word far and wish us luck in the Popular Choice competition!

More info about the project here.

Photo: © Herta Hurnaus

“Architecture and Education: Living, Learning, Space” at the Architekturtage | Architecture Days

The requirements for educational buildings have changed fundamentally in the last few decades. How can architecture best support learning and teaching? This year, the Architekturtage (“Architecture Days” taking place all around Austria) focus on the subject “Architecture and Education: Living, Learning, Space”.
The opening on June 11^th starts with the live stream of „Architekturtage TV" from 4 to 11 pm, with short films, documentaries and interviews about schools from all around Austria. We are looking forward to the many inspiring architecture solutions that will be presented across Austria – this weekend and the coming year – on the subject of "Living, Learning, Space"!

Watch the Live-Stream of the Architekturtage here. (In German)
Watch the whole Architekturtage TV here. (In German with automatic subtitles)
Watch our video by Wolfgang Thaler and take a tour in our latest school building, the Primary and Vocational School Längenfeldgasse in Vienna.

New dimensions of architecture and gastronomy at the Steirereck am Pogusch

This weekend, for the first time since months, we will be able to enjoy fine food and drink in nice company, as Austrian restaurants are reopening!
At the Steirereck am Pogusch (in Styria, Austria) you may also take delight in contemporary architecture paired with haute cuisine, thanks to the new project of the Reitbauer family. We are proud to be part of this adventure and will keep you updated about the many different buildings, facilities and details we designed for the site. Stay tuned!

Have a look at Birgit and Heinz Reitbauer with their bright team of Steirereck am Pogusch in the kitchen garden, our small glasshouse, here.

A weekend in Vienna with the AIT magazine

In its May issue, the AIT magazine for architecture takes us to Vienna for a weekend in order to discover its modern and contemporary architecture. PPAG architects are proud to read that our architecture for the Steirereck restaurant is an "iconic pavilion" and a must-see with its "iridescent façade"!
Illustration: Irmela Schautz

Check out the whole article (in German) here.

More info about the project here.

“Frauen Bauen Stadt” with Anna Popelka

In Vienna, only 8 percent of street names celebrate women and their contributions. However, in a new urban development area for 20.000 inhabitants, the Seestadt Aspern, all newly built streets and plazas put women in the spotlight, some of them architects, urbanists and designers – such as the Zaha Hadid Square, the Lina Bo Bardi Square, the Eileen Grey Lane, or the Jane Jacobs Bridge. This is why Katja Schechtner and Wojciech Czaja chose these streets to show the first instance of their outdoor exhibition about global urbanistas:

The show is featuring 18 positions from around the world with portraits and projects of female architects, urban designers and urban planners from Austria, France, Ireland, Pakistan, Iran, Brazil, Australia, and many more.

The exhibition is open from May 10^th – December 31^th, 2021 in Vienna’s Seestadt Aspern, at the Wangari Maathai Square.

www.frauenbauenstadt.at/exhibition/

New publication on 21st century kindergartens and school buildings

Growing up with architecture: The book "Dječji vrtići i škole u 21. stoljeću", edited by Borka Bobovec, Davor Mateković and Goran Rako, with a foreword by Maroje Mrduljaš, presents stimulating environments for conducting education, all built after 2000. PPAG architects’ Bildungscampus Sonnwendviertel is featured too: It is presented as belonging to the typology of city/village...and thats exactly what we  had in mind when building this municipal education facility for 0 to 14-year-olds: a City of Children. “Structure and form are what the architects create from the program brief and the identity of the place through their imagination and creation.”(p.229)

More about the book on the publisher’s website (Croatian only)

More about the project on our website.

“When, if not now!”

On March 5, 2021 Anna Popelka gave the keynote lecture of the architecture festival TURN ON:

“We know a lot about what would be good for everyone.Where we want to develop.It just doesn't flow into our everyday reality yet.We do not implement the conceivable possible.We do not implement what we can already imagine.The built environment is a poor copy of the possible.Architecture and architects can do much more than is required of them. "

You can read the entire lecture here (in German only).

TEC21 writes about PPAG architects‘ elastic apartment

The need for room configurations able to take our diversified life models into account isn’t anything new. But the corona crisis intensifies it and makes it even more evident. The current edition of the Swiss construction newspaper TEC21 shows examples of projected and implemented buildings that make working from home more viable and interesting - our "elastic apartment" even inspired the topic of the entire magazine.

The article has been published online as well here (in German only)

More about the initial project on our website.

Anna Popelka will be holding the keynote speach at the TURN ON architecture festival

Anna Popelka hält den Festvortrag bei TURN ON 2021

STAYING HOME, BUT HOW? traveling exhibition from Vienna to Isfahan

Vote for our Secondary School Sauland!

Last year the secondary school was "Building Of the Week" on the online platform austria architects. It presented 48 Buildings of the Week in 2020, featuring short Q&As with architects about recently completed buildings.
Now it's your turn to crown a Building of the Year by voting for your favorite. If you like the schools we make, have a look at the small secondary school in the Norwegian village of Sauland we designed together with Helen & Hard.
Austrian-international school construction expertise and Scandinavian timber construction expertise were the subject of a successful fusion: free learning and project-oriented teaching are in the foreground!

You can vote here until January 31st: https://austria-architects.com/de/building-of-the-year/

Check out last year´s article here (in German only)

More info about the project here.

 Photo: © Wolfgang Thaler

PPAG-exhibition at Aedes in Berlin

THE SHOW HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO THE UNCERTAIN COVID-19 SITUATION. SAVE THE NEW DATE!

We will be inaugurating our exhibition Keine halben Sachen [=No Half Measures] Making Space for Possibilities on 19.11.2021 instead of 28.05.2021 at the Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin. Save the date!

www.aedes-arc.de

Mies van der Rohe Award 2022

We are very pleased to announce that PPAG architects has been nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Awards 2022, for our School Building in Längenfeldgasse, Vienna. A further prototype for modern pedagogy, an abstract, vertical city of children in the city.

The official European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture is granted every two years to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe.

https://miesarch.com/about-the-prize/

Photo: © Herta Hurnaus

What a year!

“A school building can also consist of apartments in the open air”

Secondary School Sauland on DETAIL online

We are gradually returning from home office!

Secondary School Sauland: Building Of the Week

The Süddeutsche Zeitung about the elastic apartment

Competitionline Ranking 2019/2020

PPAG Stays At Home

Topping Out Ceremony at our project OPEN UP!

New Schools

Jan. 14: Georg Poduschka As Speaker

PPAG wishes Happy Holidays!

Ö1 Morgen-Journal: Anna Popelka and Georg Poduschka about the Hans-Hollein-Artprize for Architecture

Lecture Nov. 28, 2019 – “Bau & Betrieb von Bildungseinrichtungen”

School at Längenfeldgasse – Façade in Progress

You will find more Information about the project here.

Biotope City – IBA vor ORT

The neighborhood center Open Up! - a project by PPAG - is one of the candidate projects of the IBA Vienna 2022. The event series IBA vor Ort will take place in the Biotope City next week. On Tuesday, November 26th, the exhibition with IBA candidates from Vienna's south will be opened at 5 pm. The variety of projects submitted ranges from new urban development areas, through projects in the existing city to post-war settlements, from community building to experimental and ecological building.

Exhibition at the Wienerberg shopping mall  Nov 26th - Dec 1st 2019

Additional program: Nov 26th / 28th / 3-6 pm

You'll find the whole program here on the IBA-Website. (in German only)

You'll find more about the project Open Up! here on the PPAG-Website.

Anna Popelka at “Architects, not Architecture” in Berlin

3. Okt, 2019 –  “Erfolgreiche Erneuerung des Schulgebäudes” in Bratislava

Competition Success – 1st Prize: German School Stiehle Cuenca Ecuador