Coming Out of Its Shell: How We Transformed the Lobby of a Somewhat Outdated Tower into a Representative Space

Expertises

Millennium Tower Vienna

The Millennium Tower by architects Peichl, Podrecca and Weber soars 202 metres into the sky over Vienna. Designed as an office complex and completed in 1999, the tower is slowly beginning to show its age. This is particularly true for the lower entrance area to the tower, which shares a roof with an adjacent shopping mall to form one multifunctional centre. This was the problem, however, as the mall context proved to be rather less desirable. The owners of the office and hotel areas of the tower wished their clientele to see a clearer demarcation between lobby and shopping mall, as well as a more contemporary, high-quality appearance. We were commissioned to transform the tower entrance area into a representative space.

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Entrance and reception in the center
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New protects old
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Circulating light
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Facts & Figures

Entrance and reception in the center

In order to position the entrance/reception area as the new trademark of the tower, we ensured that it was clearly distinguishable from the mall both in terms of visual appearance and in channelling the flow of visitors toward the lifts. Our response was to attach an elaborate, shell-like carapace to the outside of the tower. A three-dimensional, fibre cement, moulded carapace is mounted onto a steel substructure, a process that required meticulous planning and production. There are two separate shells to be precise: a white, outer shell that guides visitors into the lobby and a brown, inner shell that delineates the reception area.

New protects old

The 800 m² plasterboard-panelled steel skeleton is positioned as a spatial sculpture in front of the existing construction from 1999. Its organic design vocabulary and impressive form, both in its dimensions and technical execution, transform it into an identity-forming trademark. The shell serves as a protective shield for the newly created space between hall and tower: a lobby for hotel visitors and office tenants.

Our iconographic shell construction ensures that the Millennium Tower retains its relevance to businesses as a modern office location.

Circulating light

The ‘sky’ is hung with a multitude of pendant luminaires, bisected by a long, curving, decorative lighting element that appears to encircle the tower. Altogether, the shell-like construction creates an optical suction effect that pulls visitors inside. The iconographic shell thus becomes the new calling card of the Millennium Tower. And ensures that it retains its relevance to businesses as a prime office location.