contemporary architecture tour vienna

Destinations

New meets Old: Vienna‘s great tradition inspires a very dynamic present in this fast growing region at the crossroads of western and south/eastern Europe. Still unique: (social) housing as a motor for innovation.

Felicitas Konečny

Tour suggestions

Vienna: mélange – current buildings in vienna’s inner city, custom tour, happy clients.

Born in Vienna, studied architecture in Graz, Naples and Vienna. Freelance at architect firms, since 1997 curator and organiser of architectural events (including Architecture Days Vienna). Since 2006 guiding architect, since 2020 owner of Architectural Tours Vienna. Qualifying as an official tour guide has opened up new aspects of the city. Enthusiastic about the variety and everyday quality of Viennese architecture, also off the beaten track.

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Project Description

The capital of jugendstil.

Vienna , former capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire , is a beautiful city with a rich historical and monumental value that makes it a tourist destination and cultural of first order visited every year by millions of people.

In addition to all the cultural offer, Vienna possesses an architectural richness of all times without equal. The Ringstrasse is home to historic buildings such as the National Opera and the Museum of Art History and many other monuments such as Theophil von Hansen , Gottfried Semper or Friedrich von Schmidt . Vienna also has works of architects of great relevance of Jugendstil like Otto Wagner , Josef Hofmann , or Joseph Maria Olbrich . In addition, modern and contemporary architecture has important works in Vienna such as the Museums Quartier or Donau City signed by architects such as Dominique Perrault , Zaha Hadid and Peter Cook , among others. Vienna has all the attractions necessary to be a dream destination to admire all kinds of architecture .

Choose from one of our tours oriented to design , urban planning and architecture , or ask one of our architects to prepare a customized itinerary . All our guides are professional architects . Plan your next visit to Vienna with Artchitectours!

ARCHITECTURE TOURS IN VIENNA

Vienna – New Viennese School Buildings

Vienna – The Towers of Vienna

Vienna – Seaside Town of Aspern

Vienna – Nordbahnhof (North Railway Station)

Vienna – Ring Road of the Proletariat

Vienna – Red Vienna

Vienna – University of Economics and Business and Viertel Zwei

Vienna – The new city around “Hauptbahnhof”

Vienna – Downtown and Imperial Palace

Vienna – Werkbundsiedlung and Alt Erlaa

can i order an architectural tour with car in vienna?

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Contemporary Architecture in Vienna: 5 Buildings You Need to See

Vienna’s architecture is a magical fusion of periods and styles, with opulent Baroque palaces that evoke the grandeur and glory of the Hapsburg Empire standing alongside Otto Wagner’s Art Nouveau and Modernist masterpieces.

Steeped in history, the Austrian capital is and will always remain a city of Imperial palaces and elegant Neo-Classical boulevards, but a wave of thought-provoking buildings and shiny skyscrapers is slowly reshaping its skyline and identity, giving design aficionados even more reasons to visit.

From quirky, innovative structures to masterworks by the greatest names in the industry, here are some stunning pieces of contemporary architecture in Vienna to feast your eyes upon between a Wiener Melange and a piece of Sacher-Torte .

Steirereck Restaurant

Following a spectacular renovation by PPAG Ar c hitects , Vienna’s exquisite Steirereck restaurant in Stadtpark is now one of the most eye-catching buildings in town. In order to enlarge and reconfigure the dining space inside, four dazzling mirror-clad pavilions that reflect the surrounding parkland were added to the existing structure, creating an intriguing composition of shapes and volumes.

Soaring 250 m above Vienna, on the eastern bank of the Danube, DC Tower 1 is not only a landmark of the modern urban district Donau City , but also the highest building in Austria. As its name suggests, the slim, shimmering skyscraper, which bears the imprint of French architect Dominique Perrault , is part of a pair of towers envisioned as two unequal halves of a gigantic monolith.

In contrast with the pristine surfaces of black glass that characterize the high-rise, its southeastern side features an arresting folded facade meant to evoke and reflect the mighty nearby river.

Wien Mitte The Mall

Covering 30,000 m² of retail space, Wien Mitte The Mall is the largest shopping center in central Vienna, but that’s hardly its only claim to fame. A project by Ortner & Ortner in collaboration with Neumann & Steiner, the modern concrete, chrome, and glass building makes a bold architectural statement in an area that bursts with classical elegance.

Hotel Topazz

Scattered with large oval windows, the brown mosaic-tiled façade of Hotel Topazz provides a striking contrast to the Imperial jewels of Vienna’s historic first district. The distinctive round-cornered structure has been designed by BWM Architects and houses the city’s first green upscale hotel – a love letter to the Wiener Werkstätte artistic movement, with swish designer rooms dressed in bespoke fabrics and furnishings.

Library and Learning Centre at WU

Function aside, the new Library and Learning Centre at Vienna University of Economics and Business is a marvel to look at. Conceived by internationally acclaimed Zaha Hadid Architects , the 28,000-square-meter construction stands out thanks to its futuristic design, which consists of two contrasting elements separated by a glass joint.

The most spectacular feature is the massive cantilevered black volume perched whimsically over the roof, where the main library and a series of function rooms are located. The cutting-edge inclined façade is clad in sustainable fiber-reinforced concrete panels, and so is its flowing, light-filled interior characterized by fluid, curving lines.

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