Old Gasometers Transformed into Incredible Urban Communities
Written by S. Kim Henson
In 1896, the city of Vienna constructed four gargantuan gas and electric utility buildings. The beasts churned out fossil-fueled energy for nearly a century until one day, the plants were all decommissioned. There they stood smack dab in the city center until 2001, when four architects spearheaded the Viennese project of a lifetime. Jean Nouvel, Coop Himmelb(l)au, Manfred Wehdorn, and Wilhelm Holzbauer took four abandoned industrial buildings and transformed them into incredible urban housing units.
Renovated and reopened in 2001, the exquisitely aged structures house 615 units and 76 student residences, about 181,000 square feet of commercial space, and nearly 280,000 square feet of office space. Structures that once provided energy to Vienna now provide an energetic spirit for life, work and entertainment.
Because the brick cylindrical structures were a significant part of Vienna’s cityscape, total demolition was not a consideration. Each architect redesigned one building.
Nouvel created a commercial and office plaza, blending contemporary with historical aesthetic under a glass covering. Himmelb(l)au added a 22-story building to the existing one and designed a 3,000-seat underground auditorium. Wehdorn produced an indoor garden and an eco-friendly configuration. Holzbauer planned office and apartment spaces within three compact sections divided by indoor gardens.
More on the Gasometer History
After winning an international competition to design Vienna’s city gasworks, a German engineer named Schimming began construction on these four gasometers on October 27, 1896 – that’s 113 years ago, almost to the day. Three years and approximately $300 million later, the structure opened in 1899. They were in service for almost a century until natural gas was introduced in the mid 1980s. The gas storage tanks were listed by the country’s heritage ministry as “outstanding examples of industrial architecture.”
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