Station 5 · Circulum
Active
Ground Floors
📍 Bruno-Marek-Allee, 1020 Wien
Background
The Bruno-Marek-Allee was designed as a "Wohnallee" — a residential boulevard with active ground floors. The concept: housing above, shops, services, and social infrastructure at street level. Different building heights and setbacks create rhythm along the street and let light reach the pavement.
Approximately 770 apartments and 90 residential care units were built here, along with a second Bildungscampus (the Christine Nöstlinger Campus). The area covers about 6.5 hectares.
The 2014 Leitbild explicitly mandates "Aktives Erdgeschoß" — a ground floor designed for public-facing commercial and social use. A dedicated Quartiersmanagement works on tenant activation and community building.
Since 2025, a new tram line (Linie 12) connects the Nordbahnviertel via a 2.2-kilometre new route, with greenery along the tracks. Shops and restaurants have begun to move in — but the process is slow and uneven. New districts lack the foot traffic and established routines to sustain commercial tenants in their early years — shops need people, people want shops.
YOUR TASK: Walk 200m along Bruno-Marek-Allee. Count active vs. empty ground-floor units.
Take 2–3 photos that capture the contrast between active and empty ground-floor units.
Upload to shared album →By uploading you agree to our photo consent terms.
Quiz