LANDMARK: TRAFFIC DISTRIBUTION AXIS
The so-called Verteilerkreis Favoriten is part of the Viennese city motorway system usually called the “Southeastern Tangent” which possesses the dubious distinction of being the most heavily frequented artery in the country. By extending the length of the U1 underground line as far as the Thermal Baths in Oberlaa, the conditions attendent on this zone change radically. Out of a traffic desert which only a few bus lines traverse, an urban zone with dense buildings can be created. This potential is restricted by numerous singular buildings which are scattered in motley fashion, in particular the tunnel of the motorway and the shafts containing the underground tracks immediately beneath it. The basic concept of Lorenzateliers with regard to this project is the extension of the Favoritenstraße coming from city center through and beyond the traffic axis. The work of urban planners would resemble that of a surgeon, stitching together nerve endings and ligaments, stabilizing bones. But the result is eyepopping: out of a shattered fragment of the city which was sacrificed to the interests of traffic, a pulsating city district could be born. The 6,900 m² large square is conceived as a shared space from which a broad ramp rises which then, high above the traffic lanes of the axis, leads to the Austria stadium. As a striking landmark, the project proposes a singular high-rise which would make this sensitive spot of the city visible from far away. If there is anywhere in Vienna which has the right and a justification to boast such a landmark, it is here. A cluster of high-rise buildings like on Wienerberg will not be possible here, but it would surely be a suitable gesture of city planners to permit this manner of articulating the southern rim of the city.
Christian Kühn
