Terrace Fu, 1030 Vienna
Little Brooklyn
Built in the 19th century as a residential palace, this building tells its story from the outside. The richly structured façade with its balustrades gives a glimpse of the splendor hidden inside. Its structure is particularly appealing: opulent and rich in detail at the bottom, it becomes calmer floor by floor until the later addition of the attic, which has a deliberately minimalist and contemporary look – a silent dialogue between past and present.
FACTSHEET:
Architecture: Wilhelm Fraenkel
Terrace area: 140 m²
Features: Fountain, stepping stones in the sedum area, lawn, uniqueTrees® in ceramic planters, IPE terraces, IPE trellises
Planting: Carnations, beard flowers, coneflowers, thyme, roses, chamomile, asters, uniqueTrees® solitary trees (Japanese maples), sedum
Plant pots: Graz, Texel, Hamburg, Dala (Domani), metal planters
The impressive staircase elegantly leads visitors to the upper floors. Once in the attic, an internal spiral staircase leads through the apartment with herringbone parquet flooring and further upwards – to a place that surprises.
What opens up here is much more than just a roof terrace. It is a garden above the rooftops, lushly planted, vibrant, and full of atmosphere. Raised beds made of IPE wood, gentle lawns, warm wooden terraces, and lush plant beds flow seamlessly into one another, creating a small landscape in the middle of the city.
The existing chimneys have been entwined with delicate trellises and climbing plants and carefully integrated into the green oasis. The planting follows a natural, almost meadow-like character – light, free and deliberately imperfect. Ceramic planters from Domani add special accents and bring additional depth to the overall picture with their colors, shapes and surfaces.
And last but not least, the success of the design is also evident in the animal visitors: they discovered the roof garden for themselves long ago.
