The central strategy of Asset One is to find the best possible utilisation for designated construction sites in urban locations and to develop them so that they acquire the highest possible value.
Behind Asset One are not property speculators but rather Austrian investors who seek to develop, in a responsible way, properties that have grown over generations.
We have a long-term company philosophy of partnership. For all sites we have a location-oriented development strategy.
And we also have our own vision of urban development and architecture.
Asset One owns properties in the best areas in the most beautiful towns and cities in Austria. Some of them are very large properties.
What we develop on these properties affects not only us, but also the people who live and work in these towns and cities. That is why our development work has to proceed on a partnership basis. Not because we like to be particularly amicable, but because success is not possible otherwise.
Long-term development work is very costly and only possible with an excellent equity capital basis. This derives from private investors, who expect us – despite our relationship as partners – to act dynamically and professionally.
The third pillar of our philosophy: in case of doubt, we always act unconventionally. Because we do not want to act in any other way. Or perhaps because we cannot act in any other way.
It is not Asset One’s intention to impose its own architectural and developmental signature on all its own properties. On the contrary, every location needs its own strategies and visions. Site-specific development strategies entail doing justice to the location and to its qualities.
It is our ambition to anticipate the scenarios of the future, the life of the site in the coming decades and thus to perform development work which deserves the label ‘further development’ and does not simply try to consolidate the status quo in concrete, steel and glass.
The extent to which Asset One influences the actual implementation, varies greatly. In Salzburg and in Reininghaus our commitment will be very extensive and take many concrete forms. In Graz Puntigam and in Schwechat our contribution consist in pre-development and the creation of framework conditions; the responsibility for the building work will be borne by other developers, building contractors or even the future users.
The Salzburg Festival is a world-class event, the old city of Salzburg is one of the most beautiful historical monuments in the world – if we are going to build something new in such surroundings, we have to match this level.
We will only be able to arouse the enthusiasm of the people in Salzburg for modern architecture if we offer the same quality of modern architecture as can be admired in the best examples of historical architecture in Salzburg.
Documents and criteria for the architectural competition have been compiled in close cooperation with the Salzburg City Planning Council, the Old City Commission, and the Salzburg Design Advisory Board with the support of Kleboth & Lindinger Architects. These preparations entailed many painstaking details including visits to the offices of all international architects – from New York and Tokyo, from Oslo to Lisbon – who have been invited to participate, in the understanding that perfect output requires equally perfect input.
We have been able to attract both the interest and the enthusiasm of architects who normally work on projects which are ten, or even a hundred times larger than ours. In addition to the thorough preparation work, one aspect which has been particularly helpful is the opportunity to establish a building on the very last vacant space in the centre of Salzburg, which also appeals to world-class architects.
In the development of the Reininghaus sites in Graz, which cover approx. 54 hectares, we are involved in a new development process, one based on identity and the creation of value. At the outset we might call it: ‘A Concept of the Desirable’
Taking this as their motto, 28 people from Graz, of varying position, name and in January 2006 got together to form an ‘editorial board’– the ‘werkstadt017’ – in order to redefine the framework conditions fort he development of the Graz municipal district by means of four departments (work, education, life and the urban).
In the case of Graz Puntigam, the responsibility of Asset One lies in coordinating the future forms of utilisation and ensuring that they are in accordance with the long-term planning of the municipal and regional governments and of investments to provide an optimised infrastructure. Apart from that, these areas are available to both Austrian and international developers and investors for implementing their own vision.
In the case of its own properties, Asset One AG basically pursues a philosophy of development which places great importance upon qualitative, sustainable urban development. This can only be implemented in cooperation with first-class architects and open-minded, committed authorities in the towns and cities. In Schwechat we have only one small property at the edge of a large development area. We are therefore all the more pleased to see how many highly interesting initiatives there are in Schwechat and we would like to congratulate the team of architects 000y0 upon winning the European competition Europan 8.
Unlike in Salzburg, where we ourselves have initiated a competition that is currently attracting a great deal of attention, and also in Graz, where we are developing whole districts of the city, in Schwechat we are at present biding our time and adopting the role of observers. It remains to be seen which strategy the Brau Union will pursue in developing its properties. We ourselves are at any rate open to projects that correspond to our own philosophy of development and which also seek to fulfil similar economic aims.
We believe that Schwechat has great potential for economic development, so that in future a corresponding demand for property for various purposes will arise. If this can be more concretely foreseen and when the decisions of the Brau Union have finally been made, we will also adapt our course for the benefit of our smaller properties.