Sophie 7

The construction of the new “Sophie 7” urban quarter, located in the immediate vicinity of Vienna’s Westbahnhof, presents the SWIETELSKY Hochbau Ost team with unexpected challenges.

The site, which once housed the historic Sophienspital, is set to revitalize the Neubau district as a new urban quarter by the end of 2025. On an area of 1.3 hectares, two listed pavilions will be carefully restored while more than 200 subsidized and municipal apartments are being built alongside them.

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A new neighborhood with many possibilities

The Kenyon Pavilion will house a modern event hall, while the Karl-Ludwig Pavilion will accommodate a kindergarten and a senior citizens’ club. In addition, the development will include a community education center (Volkshochschule), restaurants, shops, pop-up stores, and much more.

“You don’t get a project like this very often in your life – this challenge is exciting,” says site manager Markus Angelmayer-Leiner. There are two clients involved, the non-profit housing developers WBV-GPA and Sozialbau AG, as well as two architectural firms. “That requires strong coordination and communication,” adds fellow site manager Wolfgang Raschbach.

Protected animals

The project is scheduled to be handed over on time at the end of November. This depends not only on the expertise and dedication of the SWIETELSKY team on site – they will certainly manage it – but also on the goodwill of the local swift population. Along with protected bats, the two architects, and the two developers, the birds are central to this complex construction project.

The common swift (Apus apus) is strictly protected in Vienna and nests, among other places, on the façades of the old pavilions at Sophie 7. A dedicated bird protection officer from the City of Vienna’s environmental department (MA 22) monitors the protection of these birds throughout the entire construction phase.

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The birds in focus

“We installed special, species-appropriate temporary nesting sites for the birds on the scaffolding. These must be removed by the end of April, before the next nesting season begins. If we fail to do this due to any delay, the nesting boxes – and the scaffolding – would have to remain in place for another year. That would mean the project could not be handed over on time, with all the consequences such as penalty payments,” explains site manager Markus Angelmayer-Leiner.

Wolfgang Raschbach adds: “At SWIETELSKY, sustainability is a major priority on all our construction sites. I am confident that we will successfully meet this challenge as well.”

A sustainable future

Species protection is not the only special feature of the project. In the future, the energy supply will be provided by district heating, geothermal energy, and photovoltaic systems. Green façades will help regulate the microclimate.

At the center of the new quarter lies a park with mature trees, which may not be used for transport or material storage during construction.

“Thanks to our well-coordinated team, we will meet all of these requirements,” emphasizes Markus Angelmayer.