Housing is not a product.
It’s a social system.
Homes change with the people who live in them. Good housing makes room for privacy, community and everything in between.
Living
Common Ground
How we live together, beyond the building.
Neighbourhoods are made by more than buildings. Streets, landscapes and shared spaces shape how people meet, move and live together.
Place
How place shapes what we build.
Climate, topography and local building knowledge are the first materials of a project.
Resources
How we build with less.
Materials, energy, land and climate shape every design decision. Timber and hybrid construction, passive strategies, circularity and low-tech solutions are considered from the beginning.
Reuse / Rework
How we work with what is already there.
Existing buildings hold space, material and memory. We preserve what works, transform what can change and add only what is needed.
The existing becomes the starting point for design, not its limitation.
Not Building
When building less creates more.
Sometimes the most responsible intervention is the one that is not built. Architecture begins before construction. Reorganisation, sharing and adaptation can achieve more than building something new.
Building less is not the absence of architecture. It is a design decision.
Future
How architecture stays useful.
Buildings usually outlive the conditions for which they were designed. We make room for changing uses, households and technologies — including those we cannot yet predict.
Learning
How we learn together.
Learning happens in more places than the classroom. Schools are social infrastructure: shared places for concentration, exchange and community.
news
From Styria to the State Prize
Österreichischer Staatspreis Holzbau 2026 · Nomination
Following its recognition with the Styrian Timber Construction Award 2025, Gratwein am Grünanger has been nominated for the inaugural Austrian State Prize for Timber Construction.
The nomination places the project among selected award-winning timber buildings from across Austria. It also brings subsidised housing, shared space and timber construction into the same architectural conversation — exactly where we believe they belong.
Gratwein, in print
Best of Austria 2024–2025 · Publication
Gratwein am Grünanger has been selected for Best of Austria 2024–2025, presenting a cross-section of Austria’s current architectural landscape.
The project brings together subsidised housing, timber construction and shared outdoor space. Now it also goes into print.
One for the office bookshelf.
Social housing deserves timber
Holzbaupreis Steiermark 2025 · Multi-storey Housing
Gratwein am Grünanger received the Styrian Timber Construction Award 2025 in the category Multi-storey Housing.
Seven staggered buildings with 63 subsidised apartments create a clear and permeable neighbourhood with generous balconies, shared green spaces and a central communal room. The jury recognised the project for combining architectural and craftsmanship quality with a clear commitment to regional, resource-conscious timber construction.
A hospital is more than a corridor
LKH Graz B-Gebäude · Invited Competition · 3rd Prize
Our proposal for the transformation of the psychiatric wards at LKH Graz received third prize in the invited, two-stage competition, developed in collaboration with TDC GmbH / HP Architekten.
Clear spatial sequences, calm shared areas and stronger relationships to the park create space for orientation, retreat and encounter. Architecture cannot replace therapy, but it can contribute to an environment that supports recovery.
Housing does not stop at the front door
Auszeichnung beispielhafter Wohnbau 2024 · Multi-storey Housing
The State of Styria recognised Gratwein am Grünanger as exemplary multi-storey housing.
Seven buildings with 63 subsidised apartments form a compact and permeable neighbourhood. Balconies and private gardens are complemented by shared green spaces, residents’ gardens and a central communal room.
The award recognises a project in which everyday living quality, ecological responsibility and economic efficiency are developed together.