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Photographing the new WU University Campus

Largely unnoticed, the new university campus of the Economic University of Vienna (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) was built in a relatively remote part of the city. So, most of us knew about the construction plans, but little did we know about the futuristic character and the sheer extent of the sight. What a surprise! The campus consists of about 6 to 8 buildings constructed by different architects in different styles. In common, they have a modern and environmentally friendly approach. They are centered around a student plaza, effectively creating a public space for its “citizens.” There are also a couple of cafés and shops there. One is the “Campus” (shot 4), with a mixed approach of modernism and natural elements of wood and plants. The centerpiece of the campus is the library (as it should be). It was designed by an architect from Hamburg and is simply astonishing (shots 2 – 3 exterior, shots 7 – 9 interior).

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Afternoon Project: London Pt. 3, Before Remembrance Day

As it turned out, the day I was in London on the 10th of November was the day before Remembrance Day, and Westminster was in complete preparations for the big event. Remembrance Day evolved out of the mourning for the death of World War I and became a kind of Veterans Day with many military parades and symbolism. Interestingly, the day before, there were a lot of veterans in White Hall, and I had the chance to photograph some of them.

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Afternoon Project: London Pt. 1

Being on a conference trip in London the past weekend, I had little spare time to enjoy the city alone. So there was just one Sunday afternoon to dive into the urban jungle of the British capital. Equipped with my camera, I wandered around Westminster, Trafalgar, up to Paddington, where I had to catch my train. So, the picture reflects the time constraints I had. There was no time to adjust and to wait for the perfect moment. I just captured the street life as it happened around me.

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Viennese Prater by Night

The so-called Prater is a massive park in the 2nd district of Vienna, and just a relatively small part of it is actually an amusement area. As a kid, I loved going there; it was our miniature version of Disneyland without Micky. Interestingly, the Prater hasn’t changed much since back in the 90s (still many Spice Girls and lousy techno music is played at the attractions astoundingly), and kids continue to love it. My first roller coaster ride was on the “Wilde Maus” (picture 2), and I will never forget how my father and I went lost in a house of horror, using a lighter to find the way out. Or how we used to get there on the 1st of May with friends. A construction of steel spinning around its axis was always somewhere in the background, with small red wagons attached to the outer frame. The beating heart of the park is the so-called “Riesenrad.” One of the oldest Ferris wheels in Europe is still standing and is also one of the defining landmarks of Vienna (picture 5).

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Stadtpark of Vienna in Autumn

The Stadtpark of Vienna is the green lung of the city center. It was inaugurated in 1862 to redesign the so-called Glacis, the previously abandoned area in front of the dismantled city walls of Vienna. The sight was planned in the English landscape style and architecturally enriched around 1900 when the Wienfluss, a river going through the park, was finally regulated and the City Railway was built. You see the river in the second picture and the modern iteration of the City Railway, our Metro line number 4, in the third picture. It always amazes me how this piece of artificial nature can snatch you from the urban madness of a concrete jungle and calm you down almost immediately, may it be just for a couple of minutes. A green lung, truly.

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