Baukulturführer 135 - IKEA Wien-Westbahnhof Versatile use Querkraft's intention was to create a
durable building with multiple uses. In fact it is already a hybrid building. The former shops
have returned to the ground floor zone facing Mariahilfer Straße. A hostel with 345 beds in
twin bed-rooms and dormitories has been accommodated on the fifth and sixth floors. The top is
crowned by a 2000-square metre roof terrace which in agreement with the City of Vienna is open
to the public even outside opening hours with no obligation to order food or drinks. This mixed
use concept with possibly totally different ones in future is facilitated by a
ten-by-ten-metre column grid and services shafts placed exclusively along the exterior walls.
As a result there are no constraints regarding the use of the floor areas measuring 50 by 60
metres. Jam-packed Swedish shelving unit The theme of a versatile shelving unit is quite
obviously also the characteris-tic feature of the outer appearance. The building has been
enveloped with a structural framework made of white steel members which reorganises the
transition between the public realm and the building interior creating both a sense of
distance and space. On the one hand the framework protects the facade from direct sunlight and
provides space for the interior to extend into loggias and balconies on the other hand it
accommodates ser-vicing elements such as lifts escape staircases sanitary rooms and
technical installations as well as the most significant design feature: trees planted in
massive pots. The city demanded the development of an arcade along Maria-hilfer Straße to
improve the formerly very cramped situation at the tram stops. The result achieved through the
shelving system is in fact much better. The setback of the enclosed space has not only
resulted in a greater distance to the neighbours but also more pub-lic space. In contrast to an
arcade it is not even fully covered due to the open character of the framework structure.
Architekten: querkraft Architekten Wien Bauherr: IKEA Einrichtungs-Handelsgesellschaft m.b.H.
Vösendorf Herausgeberin: Nicolette Baumeister Text: Franziska Leeb
