DC Tower 1

18 years ago, the development of the VIENNA DC Danube-City began a new, modern and multifunctional city center. The design of the two high-rise towers for the Danube-City in Vienna represents the concluding phase of a development extending over several decades: on what was originally a municipal rubbish tip the UNO-City was erected (1973–1979), tentative plans to hold the 1995 Vienna-Budapest EXPO here were soon abandoned. As a result, architects Krischanitz and Neumann (commissioned by WED AG) produced an urban design master plan for the area in 1992. The outcome is an entirely new urban district with a diverse range of functions. The international competition that followed in 2002 for the design of the remaining undeveloped third of the Danube-City (the jury included Zaha Hadid, Adolf Krischanitz, MVRDV) was won by Dominique Perrault. To ensure that the development would provide the entire Danube-City site with a new kind of urban quality Perrault's urban planning guideline project employs a number of different design measures: firstly his project continues the elevated slab of the Danube-City to the banks of the "New Danube" in the form of a generously dimensioned terrace providing direct access to the river. Secondly rather than interpreting the two high-rise towers as independent buildings Perrault treats them as the corresponding halves of a block that open towards the city and the New Danube with a space-defining gesture. "In planning it was not primarily a matter of setting new record heights, but to create a well-designed building, which stands out with its sophisticated design and the high quality of the property. The height of the tower stems from the ambition to preserve the attractive aesthetics of a slender tower at the obstruction of the proposed cubature extent." Dominique Perrault. The appearance of the DC Tower 1, the tallest building in Austria, is mainly characterized by its extraordinary "folded" facade and slim structure that results from the height of 250m and a width of only average 28m and a length of 59m. The majority of the area is planned for office space. In the bottom 15 floors, the Spanish Meliá group will open a four-star hotel. On the second floor an international fitness center chain rents space on 1.700 sq m, with an indoor pool, spa and a terrace with Danube view included. Other highlights include a restaurant and a bar on the 57th and 58th floor.

DPA Dominique Perrault Architecture