Postsparkasse & Peveril Gardens

Two Case Studies analysed in Architectural Affordances – Typologies of Umbau

• Postsparkasse (Wien, Austria) by Maike Gold (pp. 192-197)

• Perveril Gardens (London United Kingdom) by Francesca Serazanetti / Maike Gold (pp. 298-303)

Postsparkasse and Peveril Gardens are two graphic case studies in Architectural Affordances – Typologies of Umbau, examining transformation as a design attitude that balances continuity with carefully targeted change.

"Postsparkasse" (pp. 192–197) explores Otto Wagner's Viennese Modernist landmark, which was constructed in two phases (1904–06 and 1910–12) to span a full city block and feature an iconic public banking hall. The text interprets the recent conversion of the building into a university campus (completed in 2022) as a precise upgrade of the structure, services, and interiors. The intervention remains deliberately restrained, with only three new emergency staircases added as light, glass-defined insertions that protect the historic fabric while improving accessibility and safety.

"Peveril Gardens" (pp. 298–303) shifts the focus to Old Kent Road in south London, where a housing block from the 1960s is being expanded to create civic space by converting garages into artists' studios and a public room, and by opening up a replanted rooftop terrace via a public staircase.

Together, these studies demonstrate how adaptive reuse can extend the life cycle of buildings, create public value and enhance their social and spatial functionality.