Donau City

Donaucity, seen from Donaupark (right to left): Ares Tower, Hochhaus Neue Donau, Andromeda-Tower, Mischek Tower, UNO-City, Saturn Tower and IZD Tower.

The Donau City (Donaucity), or Vienna DC, is a new part of Vienna's 22nd District Donaustadt (both literally meaning Danube City) - next to both the Reichsbrücke and the left bank of Danube's 21.1 km long diluvian bed, Neue Donau (literally: New Danube, separated from the river's streambed by the Donauinsel / Danube Island).

Construction work for the first building on this site started in 1995.^[1]

History

Vienna Donau City

Donau-City seen from the Donauinsel.

Donau-City seen from the Reichsbrücke (left to right): Ares Tower, STRABAG Haus, Andromeda-Tower, Tech Gate Vienna.

Austria Center Vienna with UNO-City.

In Donaucity.

Donau-City seen from another Donauufer.

View of Donau City from the Wiener Riesenrad wheel.

Although the Danube river has been inextricably connected with Vienna, for centuries, it had played only a subordinate role in the city of Vienna.

Unlike in many other cities, the Danube River, because of the numerous floods it regularly caused, was omitted from the urban area. Buildings grew up in Vienna on both sides of the Danube - but not up to the Danube. Only through the Danube-regulation and the creation of the relief arm New Danube, with Danube Island, in the 1970s, was the surrounding cityscape of the Danube of interest to builders.

The establishment of Danube City today has its origins through the organization of the Vienna International Garden Festival in 1964. This was on a site of a former landfill, later superficially rehabilitated, in an area between the Old Danube and the New Danube.

In 1962, the construction of the Danube Tower began, and two years later, the Garden Festival was held. The site of the garden show was known as Donaupark. Not far from Donaupark, in 1967, the planning of the UNO-City was started, opened in 1979. Through the construction of the U1 and the Reichsbruecke (Empire Bridge), the UN-City had a high-ranking access to the traffic system.

The terrain gained increasing importance with the opening of the congress center Austria Center Vienna in 1987. Next, there were plans, at the end of the 1980s, to hold an EXPO Vienna-Budapest, along the northern bank of the Danube in Vienna. However, the planned EXPO 1995 was canceled, because the Viennese population rejected this project, as part of a referendum, by a majority of the votes. The site was then developed for a subsequent use as a multifunctional district.

The EXPO 1991 from the resulting AG Vienna Development for the Danube Region AG (WED) to the largest Austrian banks and insurance companies (BA-CA, Erste Bank, Raiffeisen Bank for Labor and Economy, Invest Bank AG, UNIQA, Wiener Städtische) involved owns and is responsible for the overall development. The area, still undeveloped, arose within a few years, as an internationally acclaimed urban center with pioneering residential and office buildings, research facilities, recreational facilities and event locations: the Danube City also known as VIENNA DC.

The A22 began in 1993, with the establishment of the infrastructure for future use and Überplattung. The foundation for the first building was completed in 1995, with the start of construction of the Andromeda Tower laid.

The total area is 17.4 hectares. Of this total, approximately 1.7 million cubic meters are used for construction, which represents a gross floor area of approximately 500,000 square meters. Nearly two-thirds of those buildings are already completed and utilized.

Concept of the Danube City

Following the cancellation of the EXPO in 1991 was then still in the undeveloped area within a few years, an urban centre with residential and office buildings, research facilities, recreational facilities and event locations, the Danube City.

The concept of development is Donaucity of a broad mix of use: the office and commercial use of up to 70 percent, a residential use of about 20 percent, and cultural and Freitzeiteinrichtungen of approximately 10 percent.

Approximately 7,500 people currently live and work in this new "city within a city". With the overall expansion, which is expected to be completed in 2012, the population could increase to 15,000. International companies such as IBM, sanofi-aventis and Bauholding Strabag SE are also located in the Danube city. Also established are well-known high-tech companies that deal with their employees and scientific institutions in Vienna's first Science and Technology Park, Tech Gate Vienna.

In addition to the above institutions, Danube City has: stores, restaurants, cafes, offices, a school and a church. The area bordering the Danube Island has recreation areas, Donaupark and Old Danube. The Danube City has two direct connections to the motorway network; and the Vienna International Airport is about 20 minutes away.

Future

Due to the rapid development, the AG WED by French architect Dominique Perrault a new master plan for the remaining plots conceive. The focus of the plan is the design of the core area, still undeveloped, and the transition zone to the New Danube. In the core area, the plan is to create two distinct high-rise towers - DC Tower 1, with up to 220 meters, and the DC Tower 2, at 160 meters above sea level - a new density. Of particular importance is the establishment of the highest tower of Austria - the 1st DC Tower. The DC Tower 2, with about 160 meters in height and 46 floors, is designed to be slightly lower.

A third tower at 100 meters will complement the skyline. Construction is expected after the DC Towers in 5 years. In addition, also planned are: a block of flats (about 50 meters high), a house of the cultures of about 70m, and a Sea Life Center on Überplattung.

On October 2, 2012 S+B Gruppe and Sorovia Group announced in a joint press release the construction of another high-rise called "Danube Flats". It will contain 500 flats distributed over 45 floors and 145 meters located next to the "Hochhaus Neue Donau". Overall the two developing companies will invest a total of € 140 millions on this project. Construction is scheduled to start in 2014 and end in 2016.^[2]

Building

The construction of Danube City occurred in the following steps: Coordinates: 48°14′02″N 16°24′54″E / 48.234°N 16.415°E / 48.234; 16.415

Notes

References

[Parts of this article were translated from German Wikipedia.]

• "Wien - 22. Bezirk/Donaustadt", Wien.gv.at, 2008, webpage (15 subpages): Wien.gv.at-donaustadt (in German).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donau City.

• Raumplanung Donaucity ("Capacity planning of Donaucity").
• Stadtentwicklung Donaucity ("Urban development of Donaucity").
• surfvienna.net - 360° panoramas of vienna.