Built between 1980 and 1981 Gemeindebau Dreihausgasse 8-10 stands before you. This four-story building with its expanded attic and small roof terraces completes a continuous row of buildings along Dreihausgasse. It’s a quiet residential building housing 33 apartments. Designed by architect Hans Scasny it represents a later phase of Vienna’s Gemeindebau tradition.
The Gemeindebau Dreihausgasse 8-10 is more than just apartments. It’s a piece of Viennese history. Before this building stood structures from the 19th century. One was a one-story house with a stable. The other was a metal goods factory. Parts of these older buildings were damaged during World War II. They were later rebuilt. The permit for the current building was issued in 1979.
Notice the architecture. The long building features three staircases. Broad window sections project like bay windows. The facade is almost flat in these areas. The different colors emphasize this effect. The ground floor and similarly aligned sections are red. The projecting fronts and the recessed attic are white. The facade is smooth without ornamentation. Two and four-part windows are set simply into the front. A small area behind the building is landscaped. A passage leads to Braunhirschengasse which runs parallel to Dreihausgasse.
The name Dreihausgasse itself hints at a fascinating past. It commemorates an earlier settlement of three houses forming the base of the Braunhirschengrund area. The exact date of the street’s naming remains unknown. Gemeindebau Dreihausgasse 8-10 though a newer addition to Vienna’s municipal housing program still reflects the city’s ongoing commitment to providing affordable and quality living spaces. It silently speaks volumes about Vienna’s dedication to its citizens through carefully planned housing. It is a microcosm of Vienna’s broader social housing project a testament to a commitment that started back in ‘Red Vienna’.