There's been mixed reactions towards the building, but i think there's good context as precedence.
--dawn
URBAN PARAMETERS
The project is part of a revitalisation initiative undertaken by the City of Vienna for the Wiener Gürtel, an over-dimensioned, ring-formed slice through the urban fabric. Historically, the Gürtel has divided the Viennese from the hinterland and its waves of immigrants.
The site is formed via the culmination of densely overlapping infrastructural elements: the „Spittelauer Lände“ is one of Vienna’s most highly traveled roadways; the Danube Canal connecting Germany to Hungary, with a busy bike path running along its banks; and the physical manifestation of three historical steps in the development of the Viennese railway system, from Otto Wagner’s viaducts to the first underground and unused railway to today’s subway network.
A waterfront area is revitalized by linking the water’s edge to the city fabric, and the project acts as both an attractor and initiator for further interventions along the Danube Canal.
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT
A series of apartments, offices and artist’s studios weave like a ribbon through, around and over the arched bays of the viaduct, designed by Otto Wagner. The viaduct itself is a protected structure, and may not be interfered with. The three-part structure playfully interacts with the viaduct, generating a multitude of different outdoor and indoor spatial relationships. The perception of these is intensifed by the response of the architectural language to the different speeds of the infrastructural elements.
Public outdoor spaces are enlivened via the infill of bars and restaurants under the arches of the viaduct. The related service zone flows through the remaining openings of the viaduct and melts into the banks of the canal, creating a lively platform for public life. The rooftops are planned as private retreats and add to the visual activity along the canal. An additional challenge is posed to the project, as the program consists mainly of social housing, though studios and offices are mixed in. Later, the project should be connected to the University of Business and Northern Train Station via a pedestrian and cycle bridge.
