EUROPAN GENERATION

EUROPAN GENERATION: How did the E4 Innsbruck winners reinvest their ideas in their following projects?

Innsbruck E4 – A Typology That Echoes Across Time, Europan 4 Winner (AT)
Frötscher & Lichtenwagner

How does one Europan project shape a lifetime of urban design?
In Innsbruck’s Olympic Village, the winning duo proposed a radical yet contextual hybrid: a podium of social uses (supermarket, daycare, public hall) topped by a modest residential tower. The L-shaped base carved a vibrant public square, while the tower echoed the Olympic-era skyline — sparking debate, and eventually transformation.
The project became a design matrix, feeding into future urban developments in Salzburg, Vienna, Linz, Korneuburg, and more.
Themes that shaped their work:
- Upper City / Lower City — Strong links between ground-level collective life + elevated housing
- Framed Public Spaces — Squares + “breaches” creating open, accessible ground
- Mixed-Use Ground Floors — Programs for the whole neighborhood, not just residents
- Towers in the Clouds — From 30m to 100m: housing that opens up to sky, light, and views

Two decades later, the Innsbruck E4 project remains socially rooted and spatially adaptable — a timeless urban prototype.