Building on progress

Raising awareness for high-quality, contemporary, modern architecture

In signing the 2005 Architecture Declaration, the City of Vienna demonstrated its commitment to high-quality, contemporary architecture. As part of its ongoing commitment, the city promotes Viennese architecture through international exhibitions and favours contemporary architecture in the construction of public buildings. Europe-wide competitions and top-class juries guarantee that the projects presented are of the highest quality.In 2005, the City of Vienna made a commitment to high-quality, modern and contemporary architecture: the Architecture Declaration. The paper expresses the city's principles of quality planning and building, transparency of policy models, objectives and procedures, as well as Vienna's readiness for discourse.

Awareness for high-quality, contemporary and modern architecture can be seen in a variety of areas:

  1. School buildings as an example of public building planning: School buildings are designed in line with an educational approach that encourages students to identify with the building. As regards quality assurance, tendering procedures are in place for the renovation of large projects and competitions are held for the design of new buildings. Competitions are open, and submissions are invited Europe-wide and judged by a top-class jury.
  2. Design of public space: The design and renewal of public space has a great impact on the wellbeing of the citizens who use or live in it. An example of this effect is the new paving of Kärntnerstraße, an inner city pedestrian shopping street, whose attractive design forms a new public space.
  3. Architectural assessment: Every project to be built or altered in Vienna must comply with the city's appearance requirements pursuant to the Vienna Building Code. The Section of Architectural Assessment provides principals with information and advice and allows for design options despite the tight statutory corset under the Vienna Building Code.
  4. Exhibitions: Projects implemented in the City of Vienna are showcased in exhibitions in Austria and abroad - for example in the exhibitions "Draufsetzen", add on top (2003) displaying roof-top development, and "Reinsetzen", put inside (2008) - featuring examples of integration of blocks of buildings and empty building lots in the historical cityscape. An annual exhibition is also held presenting the city's 20 to 25 most interesting and completed buildings from the previous year (currently "gebaut 2008", built in 2008).
  5. "gebaut" architecture exhibition and award: In addition, the annual exhibition "gebaut ...." presents the projects that were completed in Vienna in the previous year. These buildings are published and displayed on the Internet. The architects of the projects receive a "Schorsch" award.

The YO.V.A Young Viennese Architects project was launched to promote young architects. Since 2005, 10 to 12 teams of young architects have been selected and publicised with an international touring exhibition. Through this exhibition the City of Vienna also comes into contact and embarks on a discourse with other cities on the issue of architecture and urban planning.

MA19_02_Modern Architecture 

Facts & Figures

  • Key year 2005: issuing of the Vienna Architecture Declaration; launch of the YO.V.A project and of the exhibition series "gebaut 200x" (built in 200x), then "built in 2005".
  • Vienna Building Code: The Vienna Building Code is a comprehensive provincial law governing matters concerning urban planning, land use and the whole building sector (building engineering, planning permission applications, etc.).
  • Previous YO.V.A exhibition locations: Vienna, Linz, Graz, Salzburg, Dornbirn, Spittal/Drau, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Brno, Bratislava, Zagreb, Belgrade, Prague, Ljubljana

 

Contact

DI Markus Damm
Tel. +43 1 4000 84268
Fax +43 1 4000 7997
markus.damm@tinavienna.at 

 

Links

 

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