Austria Center Vienna (AT)
New building, Building in existing structures, Refurbishment

The Austria Center Vienna ACV is Austria’s largest convention center, with 24 halls for up to 30,000 participants. The building from the 1980s needs a modernization concept that primarily reorganizes its access situation and the forecourt.

A new entrance building with three further entrances will distribute the flow of visitors to the event areas better and allow parallel access to the different levels. An attractive roofing upgrades the forecourt on the Danube plateau.

Two mirror-symmetrical additions with now four equivalent entrances distribute the flow of visitors in a logical and intuitive way. The upper floors are accessed via staggered foyers and generous air spaces. A glass-fronted gallery on the first floor connects the entrances and creates an attractive visitor’s tour.

This way, the convention center can operate in a spatially flexible way and interconnect areas as well as use them separately. The bridge structure spans the two new foyer buildings and appears to float beneath the roof structure. Floor-to-ceiling glazing grants views of the forecourt to all convention visitors and creates a visual link to the surrounding public area.

The central element of the remodelling is the new roofing of Bruno-Kreisky-Platz. Underneath, a multifunctional hall with 4,200 m² of additional event space was created. The filigree steel framework rests on just four supports. Thanks to the mobile, removable side walls, the space can also be used for other activities, e.g. for markets, games festivals or cultural events.