Vienna in December 2013
Impressions from a snowless month over here in Vienna.
City in Construction: Seestadt at Sunset
On the site of a former airfield, a new city planned from scratch is being built to accommodate thousands of new people. Vienna is expected to grow in the upcoming decade. A city within the city, basically. Seestadt, translated in English, means lake city and is named due to the artificial lake in the center of the town. To date, there is not much to see besides the newly built metro station (the Violet Line U2), many cranes, and a giant mud hole in the middle (the lake to be). But especially at sunset, the symphony of cranes has beauty on its own. There is also an exhibition worthwhile visiting with a lot of information about the project and a wooden panorama tower with a nice view (last picture). Local artists were allowed to spray the exhibition’s container, giving the place an urban flair. Although the city itself is yet missing…
Horse Carriages (Fiaker) in Vienna
Vienna in Late November
Impressions were collected in late November around Prater and Donaucity.
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).
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).
Michael Hoffman Photography 