Vertikalbegrünung & Vorplatzgestaltung der Bezirkshauptmannschaft Neunkirchen
Credits
Company / Customer
Designer
Year
2026
Location
Neunkirchen (DE)
Disciplines
Architecture
Category
Surface and Facade
Award
Best of Best
Details
The forecourt of Neunkirchen District Authority was previously dominated by asphalt. During hot periods, the sealed surfaces caused significant heat accumulation, increasing temperatures inside the building. The redesign follows climate-positive strategies, including large-scale greening, unsealing, and sponge city principles. A green wall near the facade provides shading and improves indoor thermal comfort, while rainwater from all surfaces is integrated into the local water cycle.
The Jury‘s Statement
What was conceived as a climate-positive pilot project has become Lower Austria’s largest freestanding green wall. The idea of vertical greening and redesigning the forecourt gave rise to a concrete, practical, and above all ecological solution to one of the most pressing problems facing our cities: the increasing overheating of buildings and public spaces. The innovative and robust system acts as a natural heat shield and can reduce indoor temperatures by up to eight degrees, which has been shown to improve the quality of the environment. In addition, the asphalted car park was largely unsealed and replaced with permeable paving. The natural cooling of the building on the south-facing side exemplifies how architecture, in conjunction with landscape design, can respond to the challenges of climate change.
