Green.Diversity.Linz - Post City Linz – biodiverse, climate fit mixed-use instead of sealed infrastructural wasteland

The closed mail distribution center next to the Linz train station is currently undergoing a fundamental transformation from an industrial wasteland with largely sealed soils to a mixed-use quarter with approx. 150,000 m² gross floor area. The plans emerged in 2019 from an open EU-wide architectural competition, which the Graz based office Nussmüller Architekten won. A multifunctional district with 11 high-rise buildings and open and green spaces on several levels will transform the formerly closed area into a permeable, connecting building block in the urban fabric.

The focus of the exploration is on a bundle of measures as part of a systematic and coordinated approach: biodiversity-promoting building envelopes based on "animal aided design", CO2-neutral energy supply and innovative energy management in the district, as well as rainwater management based on the "sponge city" principle. Based on these concepts, innovative green structures are planned and their impact on urban heat islands and the increase in the quality of life and potential energy and resource savings are examined. The possible combinations of greening and renewable energy production are also being intensively investigated. The knowledge gained in the exploration forms the basis for the ongoing planning and implementation and represents generally valid knowledge for the transformation of inner-city industrial and commercial areas in the direction of resilient, energy- and resource-saving quarters.