New Office Tower Schnirchgasse

Location: Vienna, Austria

Client: Austro Control

Date: 2014 Competition (1st Prize), TBC Completion

Total Area: 26,000m²

Budget: €60 million

Team credits:
AZPML: Alejandro Zaera-Polo, Maider Llaguno-Munitxa, Guillermo Fernandez-Abascal, Manuel Eijo, Donghua Chen, Lidia Martinez, Roberto Benitez
SHARE architects: Thomas Lettner, Silvia Forlati, Hannes Bürger, Laura Risatti, Stefania Catania, Zuzka Gallikova, Federico Cheloni, Michele Realis Luc

Our proposal for the Austro Control Tower building in Vienna aims to strike a balance between a distinctive identity for the complex and an efficient operation, both in terms of flexibility of use and environmental performance. We have tried to reach a solution where expression and efficiency are mutually reinforcing.

The tower volume was first determined by a combination between the provision of a floorplate with a column free 7m bay surrounding a central core, and the application of shading regulations which constraints the position of the tower to the southernmost location.

On the site, to keep away from the University building. These two constraints produced a rhomboidal floorplate, derived from the geometry of the site and the shading conditions. The maximum recommended height in the area, 100m above the +8 level gives us a 30 storey building with floor to floor heights of 3,60m, which we consider adequate for a commercial use, and suitable also for residential functions.

The form of the tower has been designed as an airfoil to minimize the impact of the wind on the structure, and to minimize the downdraft. The basic plan of the tower adopts a diamond shape, which is oriented in direction NW-SE, to follow the prevailing wind directions in the area.

On the west side of the Schnirchgasse we have located another volume, approximately square in plan with 6 levels of approximately 900m2 GFA, which is limited by the shading regulations in respect of the surrounding buildings. This building has been thought primarily as a commercial/retail building, with some leisure facilities at the top of the building.