Helmut-Qualtinger-Hof, Municipal housing complex in Döbling, Vienna, Austria
Helmut-Qualtinger-Hof is a municipal housing estate in Untersievering, in Vienna's 19th district, Döbling, built 1958–1959 to plans by Hermann Kutschera. Its 22 buildings, divided into 36 staircases, hold 368 apartments and are loosely scattered, leaving broad green spaces between the blocks. Most are three-storey houses with pitched roofs and punched-window facades; three eight-storey towers on a square plan stand along the central axis, the first high-rises in Döbling. The towers have loggias on the entrance side and balconies on the side facades, and three two-storey cube-shaped houses vary in facade colour.
During World War I the site between Grinzinger Allee and Daringergasse held the k.u.k. Kriegsspital Grinzing, a barracks hospital of 60 huts for 6,000 patients and staff, with a church at its centre and Arnold Durig as chief medical officer. After World War II, families whose homes had been destroyed lived here in a barracks camp. From 1958 to 1959 Hermann Kutschera built the 22 buildings of the Helmut-Qualtinger-Hof, named after its resident in 1989.
Three mosaics by Rudolf Hausner, Hermine Aichenegg and Carl Unger decorate the residential towers, and the fountain sculpture 'Mutter mit Kind' by Ferdinand Welz stands within the grounds. The complex is named after Helmut Qualtinger, who lived here from 1960 to 1976; a memorial plaque recalls the Wienerlied composer Sepp Fellner, and a memorial stone for Karl Grell was erected in 1958/59 to plans by Josef Schuster.
The complex spans across several streets with its main entrance at Daringergasse. Open green spaces between buildings create walking paths and help visitors navigate the site.
Helmut Qualtinger lived in the complex from 1960 to 1976, but it was only named after him on 25 September 1989. The politician Johann Koplenig also lived here from 1960 to 1968, and actor Teddy Podgorski stayed until the early 1980s. A memorial plaque in the complex commemorates the Wienerlied composer Sepp Fellner.
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