Vienna City Event Hall - Addition Halle F

In order to be able to tape beside the large Viennese Town Hall with a space offer for 15.000 persons a building with middle capacity for approx. 2000 visitors, a competition has been written out in 2002 for the extension Halle F of the Viennese Town Hall. The sole competition entry that did not use up the entire site area available was that of Dietrich|Untertrifaller; instead by employing a cantilevering hall it not only takes up less of the site but also makes a gesture of reverence to the neighbouring old building and, additionally, creates a generously dimensioned and protected forecourt. By means of a "democratic" interpretation the hall acquired a form that is reflected in the building s external appearance: by dispensing with galleries or balconies in favour of an inclined plane on which all the seating is evenly distributed the architects intended to create a kind of stadium atmosphere. The performers can exploit their closeness to the public by walking along "catwalks" that bring them directly to the middle of the auditorium s sloping plane. This game with ramps can be noticed throughout the building. On entering through the large glass front you immediately feel the inward pull of the sloping canopy roof that is continued seamlessly through the glass wall in the form of an inclined ceiling and exerts an almost magical attraction. At the end of the vast, elegant reception area an opening extends across almost the entire width. The glass front of the (sheltered) main entrance to the new hall is exactly in line with the low entrance front of the old hall (that is not sheltered). Thus the way the building line is positioned is also an example of the respectful and - especially in the organisation of the volumes - highly intelligent treatment of the original building.