“Densification doesn’t stop in the city”

​Authorship: Petra Suchanek / Salzburger Fenster

Photos: Julian Höck

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Original text in German

Building in existing buildings, greening and efficient, user-friendly development of areas are the order of the day for lechner & lechner architects. The family business based in Priesthausgasse is happy to take on challenges. ​

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Around twelve hectares of soil are used up and sealed in Austria every day, warns the environmental protection organization WWF in its soil report from June 2024. Densification and building in existing buildings, which includes renovation as well as conversion and construction, are now central keywords for sustainable construction.

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For the “Bierbrunnen” project in Liefering, which was completed in summer 2023, the architectural firm lechner & lechner architects took the route of densification. In order to widen the Munich federal highway, two of the three existing buildings on the site had to be demolished, including the former “Bierbrunnen” inn at the intersection with Forellenweg. The third building was integrated into the new building. “The stock from 2004 was in great condition, but not beautiful. We tried to integrate it without embellishment and let it stand as a statement,” describe the brothers Horst (32) and Paul (30) Lechner. Together with her mother Christine, who founded the architectural office in 1987 with her husband Horst Lechner, who died early, and Lukas Ployer, they form the team at lechner & lechner architects. “Preserving the building was not just a pragmatic solution. A new building would have meant additional CO2 emissions, energy and resource consumption.”
 

Of course it is easier to build on a greenfield site, but the brothers agree that they love the challenge. “Our first look at the site was a perplexing one. It was an industrial area, a non-place,” remembers Horst Lechner. Developing remaining areas imposes rules on you. Neighborhood distances would have to be maintained and sightlines at intersections would have to be set up to ensure the safety of road users. Their aim is that these do not look like security interventions, but rather fit well into the overall picture. “In urban development, an ensemble has to mesh together. This also applies to the interior. It has to have a logic and support the users in their daily routines,” says Christine Lechner, explaining the company philosophy. “This includes extensive staircases in large buildings where people can meet each other, or emphasizing lines of sight so that people don’t feel trapped.”

The “Bierbrunnen” is not only a good example of densification, but also a typical mixed-use townhouse. The lower two floors of the L-shaped hybrid building are a commercial zone. There is space for 34 apartments on the three floors above. These slope down in steps on the noise-calmed side away from the road. “It was exciting to bring this density into this very narrow site,” says Horst Lechner. This was also achieved through the multiple use of areas. The corridors to the apartments are located above the footpath and cycle path. There is a green children's playground on the roof. Green plants replace structural boundaries between the balconies. They “landscaped as much as possible”; after all, the residents should feel comfortable. Creating quality of life in the urban area was already a central theme in his master's thesis, which received a lot of media attention, in which Horst Lechner and his fellow student at the time, Lukas Ployer, formulated ideas for the Salzach river region. That's why he thinks the work of the Old Town Commission to protect the old town is very important, even if it means that "every plank you put in place has to be coordinated," as he also knows from his current construction site at Salzburg's town hall. “But otherwise there would be little left of such old houses today and Salzburg’s silhouette would be different.”

The architectural office not only plans for the city, but also takes on orders throughout the entire state of Salzburg. For Christine Lechner, compaction in order to minimize soil consumption does not stop in urban areas. For the Gerlosplatte in Hochkrimml, where a chalet settlement was originally planned, the Lechners designed a youth guest house with 450 beds on 7,500 square meters. “It is a seven-story, purely wooden building that has been woven into the landscape. In order to keep costs low, industrial wood was used, and inside there are huge sports areas and ramps as meeting areas. “It was the most complex interior that came out of our office,” she says. The architecture firm doesn't want to specialize because: “It's fun to delve into a wide variety of topics ken.” The most exciting thing is the task that you have never had before. “You may not be as efficient, but you can develop your own approach.” And how does collaboration work in the family? Good, the three agree. “We coordinate with each other and have a view from outside, so to speak, within the office. Whoever is in charge of the project has the final say.”

The architectural firm was also recently pleased to receive an international award: the expert jury at the Architizer A+ Awards in New York named it “Best X-Small Firm”.

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