Kuku23 in Vienna – Living in a Cultural Centre

The art and culture quarter is located in the rapidly growing 23rd district of Vienna. Dietrich Untertrifaller designed a new type of building, a studio house, to bridge the gap between the existing cultural centre in the former Atzgersdorf coffin factory and the new 429-unit residential quarter. The base of the building houses event spaces for a high-calibre programme of exhibitions, theatre and music – not only for the residents of the building, but also for the entire district of Liesing. Above this, the architects have developed a type of studio apartment: Working and living for creative people in a compact but highly functional space at an affordable rent of 8.50 Euros.

Two-storey ground floor with cultural uses, © Aldo Amoretti

What makes KuKu 23 different from other new developments in Vienna? “Above all, it is the finely structured and integrative spatial programme, which is intended to stimulate a positive and lively everyday structure for all users. This was developed in a series of workshops between potential stakeholders and residents, and us representatives from the fields of building sociology, architecture and programme planning,” explains Maria Megina. Dietrich Untertrifaller brought the international cultural agency art:phalanx into the team at an early stage of the planning process in order to find professional interested parties for the residential studios and, above all, for the long-term operation of the cultural spaces. The building sociologists Reality Lab ensured the involvement of the future residents right from the start.

Exhibition and performance space on the 1st floor, © Aldo Amoretti

The ground floor, first floor and first basement of the Studio House provide over 1600 m² of public cultural space. The two-storey concert hall with foyer, stage and technical rooms on the first floor seats 120 people. Special curtains provide adaptive acoustics. To ensure that the occupants of the building are not disturbed, the hall is acoustically decoupled as a room within the building, with a double reinforced concrete ceiling, a double reinforced concrete wall to the central corridor and a double facade to the cultural centre. In addition, the exhibition area descends from the galleries on the ground floor to the first basement floor via two steel staircases. This is where performances or meetings of the building's residents take place. Behind this, on the west side, are two-storey artists' studios with a prominent exhibition space in the studio room. The two-storey theatre space for dance performances is located in the basement on the cantilevered bridge construction of the arcade flats. All-round glazing transforms the ground floor space into a gallery overlooking the hustle and bustle below. Above this is an exercise room for yoga, dance and movement with appropriate changing rooms, which is available to the entire neighbourhood.

Concert hall without acoustic curtains, © Aldo Amoretti

The programme of events is developed by the operator F23 in collaboration with leading figures in Viennese high and sub-culture. The aim is to bring Vienna's internationally renowned cultural scene, which is heavily concentrated in the Burgtheater, the State Opera and the Musikverein, to the periphery and to appeal to young and old who do not belong to the educated middle classes.

Find out more in Detail 3.2025 and in our databank Detail Inspiration.