The task
The property was used as UNIQA Versicherung’s head office until the move to the new UNIQA Tower in August 2004. Possible adaptation was investigated in detail, the result being that the building did not meet today’s demands as far as technical aspects of safety, building physics or functionality were concerned. Not only the technical facilities but also the exterior of the building were, after 50 years, at the end of their life cycles. Thus, the economic necessity to demolish the building was acknowledged.

The aim of the two-phase competition was to develop an impressive project with an attractive publicly accessible bottom zone which was to be integrated into the public space in the surrounding streets, especially the adjacent Taborstrasse. Furthermore, owing to its exceptional location opposite Schwedenplatz, the possibility of facilitating a connection between the centre of Vienna and the 2nd district arises. The building was also to appear independent and self-assured, with emblematic architectural language. Besides its main use as a hotel, the building is also to feature space for a restaurant on the uppermost tower floor, an impressive shopping passage on the ground floor, offices and a conference centre. UNIQA CEO Konstantin Klien explains: “But what we want to do most of all is to take into account the significance of this attractive location as far as urban building is concerned. For instance, one of the important specifications for the participants was to consider the axis of vision, Reichsbrücke – St. Stephen’s Cathedral. In the first phase of the competition, the most significant aspects were to design an urban building that could be incorporated into the given surroundings and be used in as flexible a manner as possible.”

The winning project
Jean Nouvel convinced the jury with his design for the 2nd district’s new architectural highlight. Architect Franz Eberhard from the City Planning office in the city of Zurich and chair of the jury announced the result after its members had voted for Jean Nouvel’s project. He commented, “An exciting new piece of architecture is going to be created on the Danube Canal. The “Media Tower” is to be incorporated in its position and strengthened as well. Jean Nouvel’s project promises an internationally high level both as a symbol and as an example of architecture.” A traffic concept for the new building and the surrounding streets has been developed.

“The project by Jean Nouvel is going to represent a signal from the 2nd district towards the city centre and with its intended multifunctional concept will become a new attraction for Leopoldstadt and for the whole of Vienna,” remarked  city councillor Rudi Schicker, revealing his positive attitude to the winning project.

Gerhard Kubik, mayor of the Vienna district, Leopoldstadt, is thrilled with the 2nd district’s new highlight: “This complex, with the structure and size of its business and catering units along Taborstraße fitting perfectly into the surroundings,  will liven up the whole area and considerably enhance the infrastructure of our district.”

An exhibition of all the projects from both phases of the competition is planned in the Vienna Architectural Centre at the Museumsquartier during the summer months.

Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel was born in 1945 in Furnel (France) and attendedthe École des Beaux Arts in Paris.He started his career as an architect in 1970 and has been Vice-President of the Institut Frençais d'Architecure since 1991 and an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects since 1993. Nouvel has won numerous important architecture prizes. His "Atelier Jean Nouvel in Paris" carries out projects all over the world. Among them are museums, congress buildings, concert halls, prestigious office and apartment blocks. Nouvel is one of the leading architects of today.

Some of his buildings of the past few years which have caused sensations in the world of architecture have been the Fondation Cartier in Paris, the Lyon Opera House or the Paris Institut du Monde Arabe. In 1998 Nouvel’s Lucerne Concert House was opened. In Vienna, Nouvel designed the most westerly of the four gasometers – Gasometer A.

Participants in the second phase of the competition were:
MURPHY JAHN Architects, Chicago
Paul KATZBERGER, Wien
Jean NOUVEL, Paris
Gustav PEICHL, Wien
Richard ROGERS Partnership, London.