Postcard From Karl Marx Hof

In Vienna I convinced Sabra that including some social housing in our vacation plans could really expand our understanding of mid-war, central European socialist democratic city planning policy. So we went to Karl Marx Hof, one of the grandest of all public housing projects.

Karl Marx Hof is a massive public housing project from the late 1920's. The housing complex, with over 1,300 units, is located just north of the historic city center and includes kindergartens, some commercial areas, and great access to transit (train, tram and bus). The monumentally-scaled public square - a grand civic gesture - is balanced by a series of residential courtyards, which are big enough on their own to host a Bayern Munich v. Chelsea football match.

 

 

Karl Marx Hof is essentially one giant, continuous building, the longest single residential building in the world: 5 blocks long, spanning four tram stops and 1.1 kilometers. Its bold forms and distinct color palette have given it an enduring, iconic quality. Vienna's extensive program of public housing in the 1920's is chronicled in Eve Blau's book "The Architecture of Red Vienna”.