IKEA Vienna

by querkraft

October 20th, 2020

(rendering courtesy querkraft)

 

 

The IKEA building was designed by querkraft architects, an internationally successful architectural firm. The construction site is located directly behind the Westbahnhof railway station on a terrain with many underground installations, which made the project structurally challenging. The basement floors were built using the cut-and-cover technique (Deckelbauweise).

„The external envelope is reminiscent of a kind of shelving. this 4.5 metre deep zone runs around the building like a series of shelves that offer shade. it allows spaces to expand, offers room for terraces and planting and for servant elements such as lifts, escape staircases, toilets and building services.the entrance level is a lively place – a spatial continuum with a mezzanine level and retail areas at the front, along mariahilfer straße. the continuous void in the interior of the building allows visual contacts between the different floors. this encourages visitors to make their way to the upper floors which are connected by escalators.  the roof top will also to be accessible to the public, and on the upper two floors there will be a hostel.“ (excerpt from the architects‘ project description on https://www.querkraft.at/en/projects/ikea-city-center)