InterContinental Vienna

The InterContinental Wien (own spelling: InterContinental Wien ) is a hotel located in the 3rd district highway. It is located at the city park and ordered 2011 about 458 rooms and suites and 1,200 square feet of meeting space.

History

The InterContinental Vienna was opened in 1964 as the first hotel of an international chain in Vienna. At the time of its opening in 1964 it was the largest hotel in Austria. The original 504 guestrooms spread over 12 floors. Previously, the Hotel Metropol with 360 rooms was until its destruction in 1945, the vast majority of all hotels in Vienna. The hitherto novel space program established the hotel as a social center. Size and construction site requiring an advanced design and internal control over supply and the logistics of the processes required intelligent planning solutions.

The InterContinental Vienna was the 23 hotel of the InterContinental Hotels Group, which was founded in 1946 by the American airline Pan American World Airways for its opening.

Architecture and design

With the planning of the InterContinental Vienna the architectural firm Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880 was appointed, which was one of the most traditional architecture firms in the U.S. and contributed decisively the development of American high-rise architecture with steel-frame structure. Task for the InterContinental Vienna was to design a building with a profiled corporate identity. The local construction and design of the InterContinental Vienna was transferred to the Viennese architect Carl Appel.

Carl Appel designed the facade of the InterContinental Vienna Tyrolean sandstone and small-scale, colored mosaic stones with which the reinforced concrete skeleton was dressed and was particularly robust. This was in relation to the casting process, an innovation dar.

Space economy

With height of 39 meters provided the InterContinental Vienna is one of the first skyscrapers Vienna dar. Originally, the height should be 50 meters, but this could not be implemented because of the urban consequences. On the one hand the legendary Canaletto view from Belvedere Castle would have been lost to the inner city, on the other hand, such a high building would have reduced the ventilation in the adjacent city park and pulled an injury to the tree population by itself. Thus it succeeded Appel, supported by the Vienna City Council and the Construction Authority to adapt the guidelines to the urban situation and enforce a reduction to 39 meters. To accommodate despite all the extensive space program (504 guestrooms, numerous lounges, extensive care facilities, 240 parking spaces for cars), he planned the building is T-shaped and set the ceiling height of the rooms down to 2.45 meters. The fully air-conditioned hotel allowed this exemption. The reduction of the ceiling height was on the one hand the recovery of land, they can, however, classify also developed by Adolf Loos tendency of a deliberate economy of space, after which measured at the floor plan depending on the function and use of the height and the volume of a room.

Presence

Over time, the interior of the InterContinental Vienna has been repeatedly modified and revised. The current design of the lobby and conference facilities goes back to the interior designer Pierre Yves Rochon. During the last renovation from October 2008 to June 2009, all twelve guest floors as well as the Club Lounge and the Presidential Suite with views over Vienna were visually redesigned. For the design of the British design office Y2k was responsible.

In 2012, the real estate company acquired WertInvest the Intercontinental Hotel and the majority shareholder of the adjoining land of the Vienna Ice Skating Club. It consisted of the request, the hotel and the area of ​​the skating rink in the next few years completely neuzugestalten. After hearings with the project participants end of 2012 a multi-level cooperative Experts procedure was performed in the course of three design teams worked out recommendations for the urban development of the whole territory. The two basic scenarios "Preservation of structure " ( leaving the hotel bar ) and were considered " new ". As desirable among others, the receipt of approximately 6,000 square meters of ice as well as the creation of new transit options was considered. On the basis of this method finally an architectural competition was held, at which 24 offices from Austria and abroad participated. In February 2014, the project of the Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld emerged as the winner. It provides for the preservation of the existing 40 -meter-high skyscraper hotel disc, which, however, both inside and outside thoroughly renovated. Intended for example, the renovation of the facade, as well as the demolition of the perpendicular to the main bolt projecting tract, in its place, a 73 -meter-high solitary new building is to be erected. Since the number of rooms will remain unchanged, is to be expected with a slight increase in the remaining bolt.

After graduating zoning method of construction is scheduled to start in 2016 and carried out completion in 2018..