This essay examines how working-class women’s daily lives were influenced by domestic technologies and communal infrastructure in interwar “Red Vienna”. It has a particular focus on the communal laundry facilities in the Karl-Marx-Hof, one of Vienna’s largest municipal housing projects. The study emphasises both the physical strain of domestic work and the potential of social and technological advancement by drawing on newspaper excerpts, archival photos, and articles from workers’ associations’ journals. The study reveals that while domestic chores like laundry continued to be taxing and gendered, the installation of communal washhouses marked a significant change in living circumstances, especially for women. In addition to easing the technical and spatial constraints of private apartments, these areas functioned as centres for social interaction and collective labour. Women are shown performing labour-intensive tasks in both visual and textual sources, highlighting the ongoing struggle even in social contexts.
The study places Red Vienna’s housing projects in the context of larger socialist reform initiatives that sought to improve women’s status and modernise urban life by providing them with access to innovative amenities and infrastructure. However, it also highlights the shortcomings of these efforts, since many duties stayed the same in terms of gender and level of intensity. This paper provides a framework for understanding how infrastructure design can either alleviate or reinforce domestic inequality. The case of the Karl-Marx-Hof serves as an example of both the potential and difficulties of utilising technology and collaborative approaches to enhance the lives of women in the domestic environment.