Older people particularly suffer from heat waves and tropical nights. The houses for living and pensioners’ clubs support seniors with numerous cool offers.
Vienna (OTS) – When it’s 34 degrees outside, like yesterday, the Gumpendorfer Straße pensioners’ club is busy. Thanks to the air conditioning, it was a pleasant 24 degrees in the clubhouse. The people who come here are diverse: of course mainly older people, but also young people from the Grätzl, some with their children, because everyone is welcome here! Cool water, games, newspapers and even relaxation exercises such as Qigong are offered.
As part of the City of Vienna’s heat protection plan, so-called “cool zones” were built at numerous locations. These offer a cool, consumption-free space for physical relaxation. The pensioners’ clubs for the city of Vienna have been involved in the campaign since the beginning and are expanding this offer to include four more locations across Vienna this year! “The cool zones in our clubs clearly show how neighborhood help in neighborhoods and generational interaction can work. The campaign is a great success and will be expanded further in the coming years,” says Madlena Komitova, head of the pensioners’ clubs for the city of Vienna.
The clubs become a “cool zone” in the summer
The “Cool Zones” offer a consumption-free and air-conditioned place to relax, unwind and exchange ideas. Heat-stricken city residents have the opportunity to stay here free of charge, drink soft drinks and discover the information and entertainment options on site. Specially created quiet zones invite you to relax, while chat sessions, shared games and entertainment activities encourage you to join in.
The “Cool Zones” offer:
- pleasant room temperatures of 20 to 24 degrees Celsius
- Quiet areas to relax
- Zones for communication and exchange (games, magazines, chat sessions, etc.)
- cold drinks
- WLAN
- Advice offers and information material on the subject of heat protection
- Toilet facilities
- Club offers for club members
The following pensioners’ clubs invite you to a cool club visit:
- Club Gumpendorfer Straße 117, 1060 Vienna | open July, August from Mon-Fri, 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m
- Club Herzgasse 15-19, 1100 Vienna | open July, August from Mon-Fri, 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m
- Club Greiseneckergasse 5, 1200 Vienna | open July, August from Mon-Fri, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m
- Club Jedlersdorfer Straße 99/19, 1210 Vienna | open July, August from Mon-Fri, 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m
- Club operations in the Währing office building, Martinstraße 100/ 2nd floor, 1180 Vienna | open July, August from Mon-Fri, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m
The opening hours have been specifically extended at these locations. Admission and on-site offerings are free of charge. And there is no pressure to consume.
In addition, members can take advantage of the Vienna-wide summer clubs and an extensive range of excursions to cooler climes. A summer vacation catalog with numerous senior-friendly local holiday destinations and affordable accommodation providers is also offered.
Link: www.dieklubs.at
The heat protection concept of houses for living
The 30 houses for living have been working according to an extensive catalog of heat protection measures that covers all areas since 2018. This begins with care and support in the pensioners’ homes and extends to catering and the construction sector.
This means that residents are informed early on about the correct behavior in hot weather using posters. A lot can be achieved with the right ventilation, blinds, fans and the right choice of clothing. During these weeks, all employees are paying even greater attention to vulnerable people. They are motivated by a variety of free offers to drink water in numerous tasty varieties. The gastronomic area, in collaboration with the company’s own dietician department, increasingly offers light, summery food during the hot season.
The great cooling offensive of houses for living
In the construction area of houses to live in, projects have been running since 2018 to make the houses fit against summer overheating and thus protect the residents from overheating. With success: There are generally accessible areas in all houses that are conditioned for living. New buildings are designed so that the entire house can be cooled. Improvement measures such as cooling the aisles are implemented in ongoing renovation projects. Recent successful implementations worth highlighting are:
- The Schmelz house has wall and ceiling cooling. Radiant cold is produced here, which does not cause any “drafts”. Older people often find this unpleasant. The new system pleasantly cools the entire building including the apartments, corridors and lounge areas.
- The Trazerberg House has cooled areas in the corridors of the residential floors, the lounges for the residents, the dining room and the wards.
- Haus Mühlengrund has cooled corridor areas on the resident floors. Cooling of the dining room and hallways is currently under construction.
- Haus Föhrenhof has a refrigerated station. Cooling ceilings were installed in the residents’ lounge area and in the work room.
“The houses for living offer their residents maximum support to get through the hot days safely. In addition to our extensive catalog of measures and the cooling of rooms, the shady arbors in our gardens also offer noticeable relief in high temperatures,” says Mag. Christian Hennefeind, the managing director of Haus zum Leben.
You can find all basic information about the houses for living here: https://www.ots.at/pressemappe/32303/haeuser-zum-leben
Cultural summer 2024 in the houses to live
As part of the Vienna Cultural Summer, great summer concerts will also be taking place in the Haus zum Leben this year. This year, for the first time, club members and external guests can take part in the free garden concerts!
With free admission, concert guests can enjoy well-known Viennese songs. Pieces from the genres of jazz, swing or world music are also played here. The artists include well-known names such as Sandra Pires, Agnes Palmisano, Andy Lee Lang, “Fifi” Pissecker and many more.
Registration for the garden concerts in our Houses for Life is possible via the event calendar. If the weather is bad or it is too hot, the concerts will be moved to cooled halls.
Datum: July 15, 2024, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m
Ort: Laaerberg pensioners’ residence, depending on the weather in the shady garden or in the cooled hall
Ada-Christen-Gasse 3, 1100 Vienna, Austria
Url: https://kwp.at/pensionistenklubs?s=kultursommer
Questions & Contact:
Marketing & Communications Department
Board of Trustees for Vienna Pensioners’ Residences (KWP)
Seegasse 9, 1090 Wien
Tel.: +43 1 313 99 170232
Email: press@kwp.at