Research focus: Qualities & standards in refurbishment
The research focus covers a.o. the following questions: What is the significance of the pre- and post-war housing stock in Vienna in connection with public housing policy, private investment and urban development? What are the quantitative and qualitative requirements for (subsidised) housing refurbishment? What ecological standards (e.g. in terms of energy consumption) should apply?

700 years of rooftops in Vienna's City Centre: The Viennese roofscape harbors a previously untapped treasure of century-old wooden structures. This stock has changed significantly in recent decades. From a closed historical texture, a heterogeneous ensemble of roofs transformed by contemporary interventions has developed. For this reason, the Federal Monuments Authority Austria, together with the City of Vienna and the Federal Chancellery, launched a research project to analyse the historic roof structures of the First District. more
RenovationPlus (2019): Using the example of an ongoing renovation project this study investigated the structural renovation process in the light of Universal Design / Design for All aspects. The inclusion of housing and social aspects, personal space and mobility led to the concept we call „Renovation Plus“, a strategy for future living in Vienna. more
Lohnt sich das? Chancen der barrierefreien Bestandssanierung von Wohngebäuden in Wien (2017): Vorliegende Studie analysiert die tatsächlichen Kosten für barrierefreien oder barrierefreizugänglichen Wohnraum im Kontext von Stadtentwicklung, Gesundheits- und Pflegekosten, sowie ob eine gezielte Förderung von Bestandssanierung für barrierefreies Wohnen langfristig ein Gewinn für die Stadt und ihre Bewohner_innen ist. more
Smart Block. Gemeinsam besser sanieren (2015): Ziel der Studie war es, erste Ansatzpunkte und Handlungsoptionen im Bereich Sanierung auf den Tisch zu bringen. Angesichts der großen Anzahl an Bestandsgebäuden in Wien wird deutlich, dass umfassende energetische Lösungen im Sanierungsbereich entwickelt werden müssen. Analysierte Beispiele zeigen, dass bei gemeinsamer Sanierung im Gebäudeverbund Energie effizienter genutzt, Energieaufbringung bzw. -versorgung unabhängiger gestaltet und alternative Mobilitätskonzepte geschaffen werden können. more
Evaluation of a web-based survey on mold growth and prevention (2013): An important task of Vienna’s Municipal Department 39 is to advise citizens on mold growth and prevention strategies. To evaluate the frequency of mold in Vienna, a web-based survey was developed. With this instrument the personal risk potential could be determined by residents based on their usage behavior and characteristics of the home, and feedback given immediately at the time of the survey. more
Ecological Optimization of the Thermal Insulation of Buildings (2013): In this project the reduction of ecological impacts due to the higher thermal quality of the building envelope was calculated for natural gas, light fuel oil and wood pellets and compared with the higher impacts due to the required greater thickness of the insulation, using EPS (expanded polystyrene) as an example for an insulation material. more
The Urban City and Residential Development - A New Urban Renewal (2013): The aim of this research project is to establish measures and interventions for the improvement of the living spaces provided by existing residential projects dating back to the 1950s and 1970s and examine the extent to which density can represent a relevant concept within the context of urban planning and residential development policies. This includes an assessment of the possible degree of effectiveness re-densification measures can achieve. more
Growing Inwards. Growth potential of Vienna’s Gründerzeit districts (2013): Gründerzeit districts, along with the peripheral expansion areas, have to provide an appropriate contribution to urban growth. This requires the development of effective strategies for creating new living space by refurbishing, extending lofts, and adding storeys, as well as for preserving and creating affordable and easily accessible housing. more
A Short Night of Urban Development III (2011): The project ‘A Short Night of Urban Development III’ served to establish a long-running series of events dedicated to establishing the position of urban development and advancing discourse and the development of future perspectives in the field of urban development in Vienna on an expert level. more
Open space rehabilitation for Vienna's municipal housing developments of the 1920s-1980s - Practice-oriented analysis and solution proposals based on concrete examples (2010): The project looks at open space rehabilitation in selected housing developments of the City of Vienna from a technical, spatial-analytic and activity-oriented angle. The focus is on how to further the development of open spaces in municipal housing projects so as to ensure better housing environment usability and improved open space serviceability. more
Daylight Conditions: Daylight in residential buildings after thermal refurbish-ment (2010): In the course of thermal rehabilitations for existing residential buildings the building insulation is primarily targeted to minimize thermal losses. The consequences are reductions of daylight quantity and quality in interior rooms. more
Innovative Programmes secure Ecological and Social Living Standards in Subsidized Housing (2008): The quality of living in Vienna may be seen in four innovative programmes that have been recognised by UN-HABITAT as Best Practices in the last years. The report provides an overview over the four UN-HABITAT Best Practices of the City of Vienna in the area of housing, recognised as Best Practice. more
Barrack-Conversions - Closing opens up new spaces (2007): The aim of the project "Barrack-Conversions - Closing opens up new spaces" is to collect and analyze experiences about the conversions of buildings and open spaces in former barracks for - in a broader sense - housing needs and to use these knowledge for conversions of barracks in Vienna in the future. more
Resource Re-use: Building Site Dwelling (2007): Refurbishment of housing units with the intention of improving the functional and aesthetic qualities can be seen as a sustainable strategy. There is not much research on the topic of housing refurbishment. During the course of the research project remodeling schemes for apartments designed by the younger generation of architects were critically evaluated. A set of criteria was defined in order to analyze and establish a typology of the designs. more
Evaluation of the THEWOSAN-promotion model (2007): The introduction gives an overview about the size of greenhouse gas emissions and an allocation of these emissions to individual polluters in order to define possibilities for estimating potential GHG savings. Research data for Vienna are always compared with mean values for Austria as a whole (data taken from Statistics Austria). more
Sustainability of thermal facade rehabilitation of residential buildings – Part 1: Durableness of thermal insulation compound systems (2006): Based on an assessment of 100 objects (residential buildings, mostly located in Vienna), the study examined the condition of thermal insulation compound systems working with the insulating materials styrofoam and rock wool. (German only!) more
Sustainability of the Thermal Redevelopment of Facades of Residential Buildings - Part 2: Creation of a CO2-Saving Module within the Energy Performance Certificate (Applicable for Big Redevelopments in the Context of the Promotion Model for Thermal Dwellin: The research project should establish - among the calculation of energy indicators - a tool for calculating the reduction of CO2 emissions. more
Burglary Prevention in Private Households in Vienna - An Exploratory Study (2005): The police bewails the lack of burglary protection in private homes, and the insurance companies threaten to mark up insurance rates, if the crime rates keep rising like in the previous years. This unsatisfying situation was considered the starting point of a research project at the Institute for the Sociology of Law and Criminology in Vienna. more
making it 2 / sprache der straße (2005): promoted new Urbanism and Architecture. It addressed the questions of location and locality, of culture and cultural studies, of the street and of urban research. The goal of the project was to use both the economic subvention of creative professionals as well as targeted public relations activities to reanimate the streetfronts of a rundown shopping street in Vienna's Margareten district. more
Wolke 7 – Kaiserstraße (2004-2006): Since 2002 „Wolke 7“ (cloud 7) provides a platform for the joint development of ideas, concepts and the implementation of interdisciplinary projects in the fields of innovative district management, sustainable urban development and soft urban renewal. First project modules have been realised in the pilot area Kaiserstraße (German only!) more
„Kabelwerk“: Temporary cultural use of housing sites (2004): The study aims at drawing general conclusions for future temporary use of abandoned sites or buildings from the very successful case of the cable factory in Wien Meidling which was temporarily used as a cultural arena between 1999 and 2004. (German only!) more
New strategies of urban renewal (2004): New approaches towards urban renewal have to admit the question whether the current “soft” model shall be regarded a success story or a phase-out model. For even success stories may become obsolete if they are not challenged on a regular basis. (German only!) more