Passive House Mühlgrund Apartments Boast a 7-Story Vertical Garden

Since nobody in their right mind wants to live eight meters away from a busy train station, <a href="http://www.artec-architekten.at">ARTEC Architekten</a> devised several clever solutions to mitigate noise and visual pollution at the Mühlgrund apartment building in Vienna, Austria. Built to passive house standards, the 7-story apartment complex features a perforated metal skin on the northern side, an indoor <a href="http://inhabitat.com/vertical-gardens-by-patrick-blanc/">vertical garden</a> and balconies shaded by solar screens on the more aesthetically-pleasing southern side.

ARTEC Architekten managed to create a cozy home environment for this apartment complex in Austria

Located mere meters from a busy train station, the complex is wrapped in a perforated steel skin

Inside the building a corridor creates a sound barrier

A 7-story interior vertical garden is suspended from tension cables

In terms of energy efficiency, the complex is built to passive house standards

Each apartment has one room but it's possible to expand into the adjacent apartment for larger families