The existing Vienna Westbahnhof train station lays in the end point of the Mariahilferstreet which is the shopping axis of Vienna. The “gürtel” which is a green band cuts the street and creates a undefined corridor.The neighbor on two sides; the Bahnhof City contains a lot of closed space with shopping, offices and a hotel.

Mariahilfer street begins with a public space: Former court stables Museumsquartier, now a big collection of museums different kinds. The project by Tan Akinci from the IOA (Institute of Architecture, Vienna) aims to convert the whole station simeltanously to a semi open public space by manipulating the ground which was derived from the site. The architecture is in sides and above; trying to mark the end of the street with a similar element like the beginning.

The morphlogical language which was developed during a one year period was used in a series of repetition and mutation in similar scales that lay in a warped grid and in a such array in section so that the Lazarus church becomes a focal point for a visual relationship.

Leave a Reply