The apartment house Heerenwiesen 30/32 is located right in the center of Schwamendingen, eventhough it is not exposed to the public, being hidden behind other buildings and protected from the noise of the traffic.
The whole district is still very much influenced by the plans of Albert Heinrich Steiner from the year 1948 and his idea of a garden city in Schwamendingen. This apartment house was built in the year 1954 and is therefore almost certainly integrated in those early plans.
The drawing shows the balconies on the hidden front of the building. Typical for these balconies is that they are being supported by two steel columns. They go straight up from the ground and end in the façade of the house. The front side of the balconies include built-in plant pots. On the sides you can see fixtures with a steel frame and milky glasses to provide some more privacy. Different sun blinds can also be found. Although these balconies fit nicely to the building itself, the design of the building and the design of the balconies can easily be separated.
Based on these two facts, that the support-structure of the balconies is built separately on the outside and that the two designs can easily be separated, it is assumed, that these balconies were added later, after the building was already in use. They connect the appartements to the outdoors and serve as an upgrade. They also provide quite some space, allowing diverse usage. If you look outside, you can see a small green court.
The area in which the building is placed is rather modest. This type of house is characteristic for this neighborhood and can be found quite often.
