[Zurück]

A. Psenner:
"The Price of Generous Ceiling Heights: The Influence of Historic Building Value on Vienna´s Gründerzeit Architecture";
Vortrag: ARCHTHEO 2011, Theory of Architecture Symposium, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul (eingeladen); 23.11.2011 - 26.11.2011.

One quarter of all apartments in Vienna are located in Gründerzeit buildings. Real properties that date from the time between 1848 and 1918 are actually rated rather high, as the real estate marked states a lively demand for those buildings and flats. Although this trend has already reached its peak, especially single independent entrepreneurs still do focus on the value "GZ immovable". This fact is as much surprising as the structural drawbacks of these historic buildings are well known. It is a matter of:
­ densely built-up areas:
The street-level space created during the GZ period is dense and receives little daylight. The average street width is between nine and 16m, which in relation to the building height of 25m is extremely narrow; the interior courtyards are of minimal size. By this means GZ districts lack a good balance of sufficiently accessible outdoor recreation areas.
­ high vacancy rate in the ground floors:
As a result to the relatively scarce daylight supply to the lower levels-and to other socio-economic and nomological reasons-the ground level in most off-site areas is vacant.
­ expensive overheads, high maintenance cost and sparse population:
The huge buildings are actually sparsely inhabitated, as fewer and fewer people live in large former family homes. The average capita living space has increased from 4m² in 1901 to 42m².
So what does GZ-buildings make so valuable?

First of all the generous ceiling heights have to be mentioned. By measuring 3.60 to 4 meters-in ground floors up to five and six meters-they basically constitute the framework for the grand and lordly facades. The extravagant floor height also allows for diverse forms of utilization, as the modular and small-scale lot structure of the units can be merged or separated as required, by conserving the well-balanced spatial proportions.
Hence GZ buildings from the outset have been used for both: housing and working; and even nowadays they offer space for apartments, hotels, offices, premises for representation (like lawyer´s offices), Kindergarden, congregational gatherings, gymnastic clubs etc.
Why have money-oriented businessmen put that much effort in high rooms, when on the other hand GZ buildings are said to be the prototypes of the unlimited unfolding of liberalistic-capitalistic ideas?
By quoting original literature of the time the paper offers a most astonishing answer to this question and with this a new approach to the ongoing discussion about the value of use-neutral architecture.

"Gründerzeit"-Historic City, Ceiling Heights, Use-neutral Architecture, Socio-Urban Diversity