Both projects - the administrative building of the funeral services companies Bestattung Wien GmbH and Friedhöfe Wien GmbH in the city's central cemetery and the renovation of the Geriatriezentrum Donaustadt senior housing complex - are based on creating and developing a connection with the surrounding space and interaction with context.
In the first case, the building, a quadrangle in plan, will have the first floor almost completely transparent to the eye: glazing alternates with openings, and in its center there is an open courtyard. Thus, the visual connection between “Gate 2” of the cemetery and the crematorium, which sets the main axis of the entire ensemble, will be preserved. Matching in mood with these emphatically monumental buildings of the early 20th century, the facades of the office building are faced with stone, which will alternate with vertical stripes of glazing. The restraint and intense rhythm of such a decision, as well as the motive of the threshold chosen for the project of the main entrance, exactly correspond to the atmosphere of the environment and the function of the building, which determined the unanimous decision of the jury.
Geriatriezentrum Donaustadt is a housing complex for the elderly, in fact a nursing home with an important component of a medical facility, which opened in 1981. Now it needs reconstruction and expansion: after construction and repair work, its total area will be 31,700 m2; in addition, a new 11,600 m2 building will be erected.
The Delugan Maysl project is based on the concept of a new urban planning solution for the entire territory of the complex and the development of its connection with the surrounding urban space (including through the creation of new green areas). Also, individual buildings will receive a different design of the facades, which will also facilitate orientation on the territory of the ensemble for its residents. One of the main means in this case will be the development of loggias, which were originally available on the facades of the buildings. They will be decorated with wood, glass, fabric screens, which will enliven their appearance, as well as make them a transitional zone between the privacy characteristic of older people and the revitalization of city streets.
