| Vienna International Centre | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Office, conference, used by approx. 5000 employees of international organizations |
| Location | Donaustadt, Vienna, Austria |
| Current tenants | United Nations Office at Vienna |
| Construction started | 1973 |
| Completed | 1979 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 127 m (417 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 28 (building A) |
| Floor area | 230,000 m2 (2,480,000 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Johan Staber |
| Website | |
| unvienna.org | |
The Vienna International Centre[1] (VIC), colloquially also known as UNO City in Vienna, is the campus and building complex hosting the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV; in German: Büro der Vereinten Nationen in Wien).
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The VIC, designed by Austrian architect Johann Staber, was built between 1973 and 1979 just north of the river Danube. The initial idea of setting up an international organization in Vienna came from the Chancellor of Austria Dr. Bruno Kreisky.
Six Y-shaped office towers surround a cylindrical conference building for a total floor area of 230,000 square metres. The highest tower stands 127 metres tall, enclosing 28 floors.
About 5,000 people work at the VIC, which also offers catering and shopping facilities, a post office (postal code 1400 Wien). Two banks (Bank Austria and United Nations Federal Credit Union offices), travel agents and other commercial services have offices on the premises.
The VIC is an extraterritorial area, exempt from the jurisdiction of local law.
Complementing the ongoing asbestos removal works in the VIC, a new conference building has been put into service in 2009. This facility, previously designated “C2”, now termed “M Building”, was constructed over the existing parking deck near the southern perimeter of the campus.
The M building is hosting all conferences while the C building, where the VIC conference facilities were originally located, is undergoing renovation from 2009-2011. Both buildings will later be used for meetings. Larger conferences can be accommodated in the neighbouring Austria Center Vienna[2], a separate conference and exhibition centre with a capacity of 6,000, which is not part of the VIC campus but has an indoor link to the VIC buildings.
A major UN site along with New York, Geneva and Nairobi, the VIC hosts several organizations:
Three other notable international organizations headquartered in Vienna, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and OPEC, occupy facilities outside the VIC.