Page 132 - AIT0423_E-Paper

BÜRO UND VERWALTUNG • OFFICE BUILDINGS INNERE WERTE • INNER VALUES

Die freie Fläche können MieterInnen selbstbestimmt gestalten. • The tenants can design the free space. Ein wiederkehrendes Element auf dem Areal: das Bullaugenfenster • A recurring element: the porthole window

T he listed Haus Havanna, built according to plans by Peter Behrens and Alexander çade is enveloped by a black steel band ending in a new canopy that, in its original
form, was also irrevocably lost during the demolition in the 1960s. In this way, the
Popp in the 1930s as a tobacco warehouse, is located near Donaulände and part
of the industrial ensemble of the Tabakfabrik Linz. About 60 years ago, the warehouse subtle interplay of the construction materials used and the structure of the façade
has been expanded and the open space between the additional depots developed. emphasize the characteristic appearance of the former Tabakfabrik Linz. The interior
After demolishing all the non-listed components in 2017, nothing got in the way of a re- benefits from the unusual façade design. The lighting mood produced by the scatte-
vitalization: An EU-wide tender to find ideas was to breathe new life into the formerly ring of the glass blocks gives the rooms a unique character independent of their use.
largely unlit construction with a new façade design and a new concept for the interior. The newly designed stair tower inside produces an introverted mood before entering
the open and individually designed office- and educational areas. Two stairs arran-
Revitalization with a glass façade curtain ged in opposite directions and clamped in overcome the height of an entire floor.
The additionally stepped soffits of the stair flights remind of a lithograph by M. C.
The credo of the revitalization is not to weaken the strong presence of the even ba- Escher. The banister is reduced to solid round-steel bars anchored right in the stair
lance of the industrial monument by Peter Behrens despite the new façade but to flights with hundreds of core drillings. The identity-establishing round glazing as a
complement it with a harmonious historic-preservation concept. The main feature – reminiscence of the many porthole windows on the factory site were positioned ex-
th
from the beginning of the 20 century and seen as an element of Neue Sachlichkeit actly at the height of the intersections of the stair flights. They thus make views in-
– is the glass block. Choosing this material makes maximum light output inside pos- side and outside from special perspectives of the warehouse possible. The range of
sible. The glass façade curtain consists of 70,000 glass blocks and extends across six materials inside differs from the look of the access with black steel and grey concrete
storeys with an area of more than 1,800 square metres. In line with Behrens’s domi- as well as the individually designed standard floors. These are oriented on the axis
nating structure, all the supporting steel constructions inside follow the glass-block grid of the existing architecture. The layout is reduced to the infrastructural supply
joints and are only visible horizontally in the form of supporting window bands. The in the centre. Four new sanitary zones were designed in the unlit end walls. The
steel windows, in turn, are arranged in the given grid of the listed concrete skeleton space in-between is individually designed by the users. On the ground floor, the first
structure and, with a swing-wing opening, ensure natural ventilation. As a clear con- Austrian school for digital humanism was established; on the first upper floor are
tour between the existing and the newly designed fabric, the entire glass-block fa- event- and research rooms and on the other floors are office areas.

132 • AIT 4.2023