hammock house by heri&salli rebuilt for second incarnation in vienna

hammock house by heri&salli rebuilt for second incarnation in vienna
photo by mischa erben
all images courtesy of heri&salli

after its first realization in the square of vienna’s museumsquartier in 2011, the ‘flederhaus’ has been rebuilt in flugfeld aspern, a developing district in the outskirts of the city. designed by austrian architecture office heri&salli, the open air structure is composed of five levels, with a gable roof form referencing the profile of a typical house. its spaces are infilled by 32 hammocks, creating a place for visitors to ‘hang out’ and enjoy a view. in both iterations, the building complements a predominantly horizontal field, by extending public space vertically.

the building is composed of five levels, with a profile referencing a typical house
photo by michael hammerschick

to allow for eased assembly and disassembly, the ‘flederhaus’ is composed of prefabricated elements, and with no structural connection to the ground. in contrast to its first incarnation, its existence in the ‘flugfeld aspern’ seeks to revitalize a developing area not yet experiencing heavy public use. the building functions as an information point, and also complements local events, such as the 2013 mies.festival.

its second assembly has taken place in a developing area of vienna
photo by michael hammerschick

designed to be usable in a variety of public spaces, the project has been envisioned in situations other than the two for which it has been realized. it was initially developed for a competition located in berlin, which ultimately was not built. in 2010, through means of a ‘postcard campaign,’ heri&salli created montage images to visualize the structure in different scenarios, and sent them to corresponding cultural institutions. this effort resulted in the 2011 installation in vienna’s museumsquartier.

the building’s name, ‘flederhaus,’ combines the german words for ‘bat’ and ‘house,’ in order to playfully reference its functional and formal qualities.