Roland Rainer – Siedlung am Mauerberg

Roland Rainer wished to support his theoretical works through practical examples. He designed Mauerberg Estate relying upon the experience he gained during the Veltingergasse project in Vienna. Containing a total of 43 residential units separated from each other by their own gardens and access stairs intervals, this development echoes the image of a grown alpine village when viewed from the valley. Facing southwest, the densely scattered buildings stand on a slope wedged between two roads, which allows pedestrian routes that are totally free from motor traffic. Parking is permitted in the central parking lot on the upper side of the development. To meet a variety of needs, three types of design were introduced here by Rainer in various dimensions, but with similar floor plan configurations. The designer’s residential buildings were defined by his experimentation with prefab elements and his quest for potentials in economically-realised low-rise residential buildings. This development in Mauerberg features walls made from durisol bricks filled in with concrete and trussing that integrates prefab layered and cemented beams. Via the system of stairs enveloping the site, one arrives in a courtyard carved into the terrain and defined by a small wall. Because of the incline, the gardens are supported by low counterforts and double as green terraces separated from the access routes by their shifts in level.