A symbiosis of past and future, the Maria Rast Wiese design is based on reinterpreting former land uses and preserving existing blue and green infrastructures. The traditional principle of the streuobstwiese (orchard meadow) is translated to the scale of the neighbourhood through a system of vertical mixed use. At ground level — corresponding to the former meadow — public open spaces, sports areas, services (such as a care home and kindergarten), community gardens, commercial uses, ateliers, workshops, gastronomy and other flexible functions are located. Above this layer, new residential volumes clad in timber structures intersect the site, accommodating a wide range of living typologies. All roof surfaces are designed according to the principle of multifunctionality, combining intensive and extensive green roofs, largely supplemented by photovoltaic installations. The concrete column structure of the former military garages is retained and reinterpreted for new uses.

The existing tree stock, strongly structured in rows and of high local and ecological value, is preserved wherever possible. These retained elements serve both as memory of the past and as a manifestation of a resource-conscious future vision. Since the decommissioning of the barracks in 1995, the approximately 45,500 m² site has evolved into an ecologically valuable area and today represents an important ecological stepping stone between the Oberberg Forest and the Montiggl Forest. Through the extensive preservation of trees, the creation of a neighbourhood park, an orchard meadow, a network of smaller green spaces and intensively and extensively planted roofs, this ecological value is safeguarded and further diversified. Tree-lined paths along future pedestrian and cycling routes extend this ecological corridor function towards the surrounding landscape.