Since the middle of September 2008, Vienna’s Western Railway Station has been undergoing conversion work to create the Vienna West BahnhofCity, the first “railway station city” in Austria, a process that was carried out without operations being interrupted and with special account being taken of monument preservation. The new Western Station is a major milestone of the Austrian Railways “station campaign” in the course of which the most highly frequented stations have been upgraded to the latest technical and architectural standard with a strong focus on customer service.

The urban architectural competition for Vienna West took place at international level as early as 2002. The unanimous victor was the renowned Vienna architect team Neumann & Steiner ZT GmbH, whose proposal was used as the starting point for the development of the structural plan which then became the basis for the zoning and construction plans.
The building measures comprised the overall refurbishment of the listed station hall and the construction of new buildings immediately to the left and right, each with six storeys. To the left, above the park at the corner of Mariahilfer Strasse and Neubaugürtel, an office building with an open atrium has been constructed. To the right of the existing station hall now stands another modern office complex containing a hotel in addition. A new storey was constructed beneath the building complex thus created and links the outer Mariahlifer Strasse directly to the station. The station hall including service facilities and a roughly 17,000 m2 shopping centre with roughly 100 stores and a variety of catering facilities is to be found on three levels of the complex.
The Vienna Western Station complex provides rail travellers with a higher quality of travelling while at the same time assuming the role of local provider for residents of the adjoining area and visitors, thus serving as an open space for encounter. The design of the urban travel centre is naturally state-of-the-art. Thus, to ensure barrier-free access, lifts and escalators lead to all areas of the station, a complete CCTV system ensures the necessary security and an enlarged bright waiting area with more than 200 seats provides the comfort appropriate to the modern age; on average 43,000 persons pass through the station every day. A further aspect is that the conversion and building of the Vienna Western Station complex represents an important stimulus for the further development of the immediate neighbourhood, thus considerably increasing the attractiveness of the 15th District thanks to a better residential and life quality.

Source: Austria Post

published November 5th, 2011