A Facade that Beats Like a Heart
SVS Headquarter Vienna
Successful refurbishment: The SVS headquarters is one of Vienna’s top refurbishment projects and was nominated for the city’s Urban Renewal Award in 2021. The comprehensive refurbishment enabled us to upgrade the working environment, optimize the spaces, and improve the energy efficiency.
The headquarters that was built in the 1970s in the form of a main building with an annex no longer met the needs of a modern advice and health center. This is why the Social Security Office for the Self-Employed (SVS) commissioned us to carry out a “radical” all-round renovation. The objectives of the measures were to improve the working conditions of the employees, optimize the spaces to permit more flexible use, and improve energy efficiency. The comprehensive refurbishment project was nominated for Vienna’s Urban Renewal Award in 2021.
The challenges of refurbishment projects are always greater than those of new buildings. Here, the tight site in a dense urban location was an extra complication. Despite this, however, the excellent integrated cooperation with the client and all those involved with the realization enabled us to complete the refurbishment as planned, in terms of quality, time, and budget.
Hannes Achammer
Authorized S ignatory and Lead Project Manager
ATP Vienna
Refurbishment rather than new-build
The refurbishment concept was based on the “Immobilienstrategie 2020” by M.O.O.CON. As a basis for the design, ATP carried out a comprehensive analysis of the existing building as part of the initial information gathering, with a focus on fire protection, building services, and the shell and core structure. This provided a foundation for the smooth execution of the large-scale remodeling project. During the comprehensive refurbishment and modernization, the facade, the building services, and the interior of the office tower were completely renewed. The building services and the facade now meet the requirements of a modern, energy-efficient building complex. The existing flat roofs were replaced by warm roofs with gravel and extensive areas of planting.
New facade look
The redesign of the facade didn’t only upgrade the building in optical terms, but also hugely improved the energy efficiency. The cantilevered slabs were removed and replaced with aluminum cladding. Thermal insulation and triple glazing provide high levels of thermal protection.
While the new rear-ventilated metal facade continues the warm pastel tones of the surrounding late 19th-century buildings, the white frames in front of these metal panels determine the new “rhythm” of the SVS building complex – and this rhythm is based on a healthy human heartbeat. This grid optically combines the base, the main building, and the annex into a single headquarters and integrates these powerful volumes into the surrounding built fabric by reducing the dominance of the individual stories and establishing a relationship with the neighboring buildings. The generous glazing of the base zone establishes a contrast between the ground floor and the rest of the complex and creates extra transparency that visually expands the interiors to the outside.
Documentation of the refurbishment: a comparison of before and after
