Carsten Roth Architekt

The new headquarters of the Österreichische Volksbank, Austria’s fourth largest bank, sits in the heart of Vienna’s historic Innere Stadt or Inner City. This district, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, presented great opportunities as well as great challenges for us as designers. Most importantly, the building had to embrace the historical context of the old city while presenting the client’s corporate identity to the modern world.

“To complement the architecture at the heart of this World Cultural Heritage site,” says Carsten Roth, “the outside of the building exercises a discreet restraint while not appearing too humble. The width and height in the interior of the building, on the other hand, allow ÖVAG the space to present itself as a modern bank. While, around the world, other banking institutions dream of leaving their mark on the skyline, this building’s interior, with it’s six enclosed six towers, gives the bank its own unique internal skyline.”

The jury that awarded this project to us praised the way in which the old building stock was incorporated into the new complex. The facades for the new section respect the design principles of the original buildings and engage in a dialogue with the building’s surroundings. Key to the success of the building is that the design avoids a “retro” look and feel. The new does not merely copy the grammar of the old. They both truly speak the same language with a shared syntax.

The newer iteration of this language allows the building to employ modern architectural elements that both embody the client’s values and encourage people - customers and employees - to experience these values in a personal way. We used light and shadow as elements of the building itself, for example, using a unique support structure that reflects the static requirements and creates a floating façade. The façade offers a sophisticated public face to the world. But we would like people to engage the architecture as well. As they stand in front of the building, they must look at the façade, look at the lights and shadows, and let the architecture draw them into the building. Inside, the design continues to encourage this personal engagement. Every employee has the opportunity to look outside at the world and we would like them to do just that – to look up from their work on occasion and make a point of enjoying the view to the outside.

Layered onto the challenges of integrating old and new was the need to make the building green and sustainable. We achieved these goals through design and state-of-the-art technology without sacrificing comfort and generosity. With 25,000 square meters, we created high quality space for 800 employees. The structure features an internal courtyard spacious enough to host events, plus conference rooms, customer centers, an employee dining room, and a garage. The result is a building that is able to be economical and generous at the same time as it makes a vital contribution to the cityscape of this significant historical district.