The historic KaDeWe department store (Kaufhaus des Westens, which is traditionally translated as "Trade House of the West") has been considered a landmark in Berlin for more than a century. Initially, it was and remains a unique institution - in terms of size and breadth of assortment. But its owner, the Austrian company Signa, decided to turn this "brand" into a chain and open a store of the same name with a hotel in the very center of Vienna, that is, move out of Berlin to the southeast.
To select an architect, the developer held a closed competition. Its participants, in addition to OMA, were Snøhetta (her project
can be viewed here), BIG and Hadi Tehrani. The jury gave the victory to Rem Koolhaas' bureau: perhaps the role was played by the fact that OMA is already working on the reconstruction of Berlin's KaDeWe. Koolhaas himself is not engaged in either one or the other store. The German project is managed by the partner of the bureau Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, and the Viennese project is led by Helen van Lohn.
The department store and hotel will be based on the former Leiner furniture store in the very center of Vienna, on Mariahilfer Straße, not far from the Museum Quarter. The Leiner is a large building, but the historic parts are only part of the façade, which will be preserved in the OMA building. A single block will be cut along the border between the commercial and hotel parts with a landscaped arched passage, which is preceded by a garden on the roof of the building. The public space upstairs will include both groves and sunbathing areas. The all-glass top floor will be occupied by the gastronomic section (as is the case in Berlin).
The facades, with the exception of the preserved part, will be covered with arcades and profiles of various sizes and silhouettes. The fractional ornament, as the authors explain, is a reference to the architecture of the Vienna Secession.
The total area of the store will be 25,000 m2, and it will not be "elite": the emphasis will be placed on everyday demand. Cooperation with local manufacturers of fashionable clothes is planned. The hotel will have a capacity of 150 rooms. Construction should begin in the first half of 2021 and be completed in the fall of 2023.
