Paul-Speiser-Hof, Municipal apartment complex in Floridsdorf, Vienna, Austria
Paul-Speiser-Hof is an apartment complex in Floridsdorf, Vienna, consisting of three separate residential blocks designed by Leopold Bauer, Karl Scheffel, Ernst Lichtblau, and Hans Glaser. The buildings form a cohesive housing estate with distinct architectural approaches that characterize each section.
Construction began in 1929 on part of the Floridsdorfer Athletik-Club grounds and on landfill from the 1870–1875 Danube regulation. Hans Glaser and Karl Scheffel built the first section, Ernst Lichtblau the second (1930–1931), and Leopold Bauer completed the third in 1931–1932. In February 1934, as the FAC-Hof, it was a Schutzbund stronghold; government troops used mortars and partly destroyed it.
The estate was still called FAC-Hof during the February 1934 fighting, when Schutzbund workers defended it against Dollfuß-regime troops from the Nordbahndamm and the allotment gardens; the police and military had to force entry, and mortar fire partly destroyed the building. A memorial plaque at Freytagstraße commemorates Paul Speiser (1877–1947), the teacher and Social Democratic vice-mayor and city councillor who gave the complex its name in 1948.
The estate lies near the U6 and S-Bahn station Floridsdorf, with the first section fronting Broßmannplatz and the other blocks running along Freytaggasse and Franklinstraße. Lifts were fitted from 1988, and the 1997–2000 renovation connected the blocks to Vienna's district heating, cutting heating costs. A memorial plaque to Paul Speiser stands in Freytagstraße.
The second building features a four-story quadrangular courtyard with glazed loggias and balconies designed by Ernst Lichtblau. This design creates a protected space that brings light and air into the apartments while offering privacy from the street.
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