A new high-rise building (office or residential - the developer Bauträger Austria Immobilien has not yet decided) will appear very close to the famous Gasometers (gas tanks), in the actively developing Simmering district between the center of Vienna and the airport. The Erdberg metro station is located at the foot of the future building, and the height limit was 75 m with a trapezoidal construction plan.
MVRDV proposed a more compact square plan at 110 m (30 floors), which would compensate for the loss of floor space. Since in this case, height restrictions primarily protect the surrounding buildings from shading, the building will block the sun from neighboring buildings for no longer than 2 hours a day, that is, within normal limits. This was achieved due to the fact that the lower 10 floors of the building are twisted into a spiral (above is the traditional prismatic volume of 20 floors). This spiral creates the impression of a "slim waist", which MVRDV partner Vinnie Maas called "the classic definition of beauty."
10 floors is the level of the eaves of the surrounding buildings: this is how the new tower responds to their scale. The tiers of the "spiral" part of the building are equipped with terraces connected to each other by external stairs: this will avoid the closure typical of high-rise buildings. In addition, the "waist" will be able to divert the strong autumn winds characteristic of the Danube Valley away from the metro station and the adjacent square.
"Spiral" tiers will each receive their own individual layout, and the 20 upper floors, thanks to an efficiently planned "core", will offer tenants up to 80% of the usable area without supports and a ceiling height of 3.5 m. As mentioned above, the building can be used and for offices of a different plan and structure, and for housing; in addition, the function can be changed later, depending on the market situation. Hand-opened windows and glazed doors (French doors) provide natural ventilation.
The tower has an underground garage for 110 cars; transport accessibility will be provided by the nearby metro station.
The estimated construction start date is 2016. The competition was also attended by Dominique Perrault Architecture, KCAP, Bevk Perovic Arhitekti, Delugan Meissl, Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes, Sauerbruch Hutton, Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos and others.
